Fund News and Alerts

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Joins the Department of Commerce in Issuing Implementing Rules to Florida’s Foreign Interest Law.

On Mar. 15, 2024, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) issued rules implementing the provisions of Ch. 2023-33, Laws of Florida, relating to the interests of foreign principal ownership of agricultural land. The FDACS rules went into effect on Apr. 4, 2024, and are in Ch. 5J-27, F.A.C. The rules mirror in many ways the implementing rules issued earlier this year by the Florida Department of Commerce (FDOC) relating to the interests of foreign principal ownership of non-agricultural real property. The FDOC rules are in Ch. 73C-60, F.A.C. This article will highlight some key aspects of the FDACS and FDOC rules. 

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Did You Know? Fund integrations with closing software can be used to place, check and receive orders, CPLs and jackets, and submit and pay policies seamlessly. Talk about a time saver!

On Feb. 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The new rule would replace the temporary Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that have for years required title insurance companies and their agents to report residential real estate purchases above a certain dollar amount in certain localities by business entities without institutional financing. FinCEN issued the proposed rule on Feb. 16, 2024.  The proposed rule is currently subject to a 60-day comment period.   

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The Polk Area Real Estate Council held their Annual Member Meeting and Elections on January 25 in downtown Lakeland.  Congratulations to Keith Wadsworth of Peterson & Myers, PA, who was elected President!

Last year, The Fund introduced its Attorney Value Campaign to promote the message of working with a real estate attorney to consumers and real estate agents. As a Florida real estate attorney, you protect property rights and ensure efficient, secure, reliable, professional, accurate and safe transactions for buyers and sellers. The Fund Gets You!

By: René Rutan, Manager, Events & Affiliate, REC & Realtor® Relations

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jessica Lautz, Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research of the National Association of REALTORS®, will sit down for an intimate conversation exclusively for REC members during this year’s Assembly REC Luncheon. It will provide attendees with a unique opportunity to meet Dr. Lautz and hear her thoughts on the economic issues driving the Florida real estate market.

If you have not read the Florida ARECs Blog recently, you need to check it out!  We discuss a variety of topics of interest to REC Member Attorneys, Realtors® and consumers.  We encourage you to read one our interesting posts like, Whose Property Is It Anyway: Heirs Property and Its Impact on Underserved Communities, written by Brenda Ezell of the Ezell Law Firm in Jacksonville. This article touches on an important topic, and not only provides resources to consumers who may be affected by this issue but also includes a hyperlink to a Fund Concept article with details Fund Members need.

Objections to development agreements and development orders generally arise in commercial transactions. This article is the third in a series of articles addressing specific title objections. Like its predecessors, it is designed to help Fund Members analyze specific objections’ merits and provide potential resolutions. For guidance in addressing title objections related to surveys or tenants, please see, “Addressing Specific Title Objections Relating to Surveys and Tenants,” 54 Fund Concept 49 (May 2022), and for guidance in addressing water and oil, gas, and mineral right objections, please see, “Addressing Title Objections to Water Rights and Oil, Gas & Mineral Rights,” 55 Fund Concept 69 (June 2023).

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The Fund continued its sponsorship of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section’s (RPPTL) Residential Real Estate & Industry Liaison Committee (RREIL) at the November RPPTL Meeting in Tampa under the banner of the Attorneys’ Real Estate Councils of Florida.  RPPTL, and specifically the RREIL Committee provide an excellent opportunity to highlight the benefits of REC membership among a distinguished organization of real estate attorneys.

By: René Rutan, Manager, Events & Affiliate, REC & Realtor® Relations

A new year always seems to make us take stock of our lives.  Many of us are evaluating our lifestyle and trying to implement healthier habits to improve our physical and emotional wellbeing.  The non-stop TV ads for diets and fitness equipment are a testament to this annual ritual.