Annual Reports Due May 1 All Florida Businesses registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations must file an annual report by May 1 of each year. The deadline for this year is coming up quickly and if the payment is late, a $400 penalty (that cannot be waived!) will be imposed. Additionally, if you do not renew, the business will ultimately be ...

Real Property Ownership and Interests Methods of Ownership and Holding Title Tenancy by the Severalty When ownership of real property is in the hands of an individual or corporation it is referred to as a severalty estate. The law considers a corporation an individual which must act by corporate resolution with official decisions by the board of directors. The word ...

Senate Passes Flood Insurance Fix Bill On Thursday Congress passed a bill to undo the federal flood insurance Biggert-Waters bill that imposed sharply higher premiums for property owners across the country and Florida. The U.S. Senate passed this corrective bill that will stop the big rate hikes faced by many primary homeowners while still stabilizing the flood ...

Establishing Domicile in the State of Florida Welcome to Florida! To establish domicile in Florida, you should complete as many of the tasks listed below as are possible: 1. File a Florida Declaration of Domicile form with the Clerk of the Court, County Comptroller 2. File an application for Homestead Exemption on Florida residence 3. Register to vote, and actually ...

MDFRA expired December 31, 2013 and has not been extended to 2014; although an extension is being considered by Congress. In December of 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act (MDFRA) to provide relief to struggling homeowners potentially facing crippling tax liability. When the United States Senate and House passed the 2012 American Tax Payer ...

National Association of Realtors Flood Insurance Update: January 17, 2014 By Austin Perez, National Association of Realtors On Jan. 16, 2014, Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3547) to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2014. The bill prohibits FEMA from implementing future premium increases on “grandfathered properties” for nine ...

Sarasota Association of Realtors Report Single Family Home Median Prices Up 20.6 Percent in November In their January news posting, the Sarasota Association of Realtors provided the following information on the Sarasota real estate market for November. Median sale prices for single family homes sold in Sarasota County in November 2013 were up 20.6 percent over last ...

In the Market for a Home Loan? ACT FAST before Mortgage Loan Limits Change in 2014. Important news if you are in the market for a home loan: Effective January 1, 2014, the loan limit for FHA for Sarasota and Manatee Counties has been REDUCED to $285,200. This means that if you have been sitting on the fence about obtaining a mortgage, NOW is the time to apply for a ...

WHY DO I NEED A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY? There is an old lawyer joke: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Fifty four. Eight to argue, one to get a continuance, one to object, one to demur, two to research precedents, one to dictate a letter, one to stipulate, five to turn in their time cards, one to depose, one to write interrogatories, two to ...

Flood Insurance Rate Increase Impacts SW Florida Real Estate Purchases Buyers considering the purchase of a coastal Florida home need to be aware of recent changes in flood insurance coverage. Properties located in designated flood zones V, A (except AR and A99) or D are facing significant flood insurance rate increases over 2012 rates due to the change in federal ...