South Florida On The Market

In the 1985 case Johnson v. Davis, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a home seller who knows of facts that materially affect the property's value that aren't readily observable and known to a buyer has a duty to disclose them to the buyer. This is the law in Florida today. A nondisclosure claim under Johnson v. Davis has four elements: The home seller must know of a defect in the property The defect must materially affect the property's value The defect must not be readily observable by the buyer and must be unknown to the buyer The buyer must establish that the seller failed to disclose the defect to the buyer In 2011, the 2nd District Court of Appeal heard a separate case, Jensen v. Bailey, and rendered an opinion that focused on the first element of liability under Johnson v. Davis – that the home seller knows of a defect in the property. Specifically, the court considered whether anything less than actual knowledge is sufficient to satisfy the first

April 17 is the deadline for paying income taxes, but tax advisers still can't agree on whether homeowners who prepaid their 2018 property taxes in 2017 can fully deduct them. Congress passed a tax reform bill late last year, capping write-offs for state and local taxes at $10,000 per return for single filers and married couples. The move set off a rush of homeowners to prepay their property taxes for 2018 at the end of the year before the tax bill took effect this year. The overhaul "barred deductions for many prepayments of 2018 state and local income taxes, but it was silent on deductions of prepaid property taxes," The Wall Street Journal reports. On Dec. 27, the IRS warned prepaying owners that not all prepayments of 2018 property taxes would be deductible on 2017 returns. To be eligible for a write-off, the owners must have known their tax liability at the time of payment, the IRS stated. But some tax specialists disagreed with the IRS' reasoning that prop

Colombia / Canada / Brazil / Venezuela / Argentina/ France / Spain/ India/ Philippines / Ecuador Colombia continues to be the top foreign country searching for South Florida Real Estate.

Home improvement ideas abound during summer, but now that our warmest season is soon coming to a close, you might be thinking, "OMG, have I done anything around the house at all?"   We get it—and the good news is, it's not too late. Summer doesn't officially end until Sept. 22, and the weather is still decent, which means there's still time to squeeze in a few more weekend projects. To help narrow down your options, here's a list of prime home improvements to try before summer's end. In fact, this is the perfect time for many of these projects, since you can score deals on materials as home improvement stores try to clear out their summer inventory. In other words, slacking off was the smart thing to do. Backslap! 1. Plant a vegetable garden Spring and summer aren't the only times to plant produce. Fall is also a great time to start a vegetable garden, but since the weather has cooled, you'll want to focus

For Lease MLS:  A10326683 8777 Collins Ave #807 Surfside, FL 33154 Asking $2,400 Fully furnished (may be rented unfurnished),  spacious  1 bedroom / 2 bathroom  plus private den with closet.  Beautiful water  and city views from oversized balcony.  Easy access  to the beach,  lounge chairs, jogging path,  new pool,  spa, gym,  BBQ area with seating,  valet, in house  management  and 24hr lobby attendant.  T ennis courts  across  the street  and minutes from shopping, restaurants  and  entertainment.

Article Submitted by  Fixr.com With warmer weather and longer days, summer is the ideal time of year to take on a project in or around your home. Many contractors and other pros often find this time of year a little slower, as many homeowners are waiting until fall to tackle big interior projects, which means that you’ll have an easier time finding the right person for the job. These eight projects are designed to add value to your home, without breaking the bank at the same time. Tackling them now will make your home more comfortable for the coming months, while ensuring that you can get maximum ROI when the time comes to sell. 1. Fix Window Leaks Air gap around your windows could be driving your air conditioning bill up higher than it needs to be this summer. Old or leaking windows can cause you to lose  as much as 20% of the energy  you use to heat and cool your home, which can also make it less comfortable as well. There are two ways to fix window leaks: installing new

RISMEDIA, Tuesday, December 29, 2015— The average time to close a loan increased by three days to 49 total days in November, the longest time to close since February of 2013, according to the latest Origination Insight Report released by Ellie Mae®. The average time to close FHA, Conventional and VA loans all increased to 49, 49 and 50 days, respectively. The increase could be due to lenders adjusting to the new RESPA-TILA (Know Before You Owe) regulations. Ellie Mae’s data also shows that the average FICO score on all closed loans fell to 721, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline. The driver of the FICO reduction appears to be average FHA refinance FICO scores falling for the second straight month to 648. Closing rates for all loans reached their highest point, 68 percent, since Ellie Mae began tracking data in August of 2011. The closing rate on purchase loans increased to 72 percent. “We are beginning to see the anticipated impacts of the Know Before You Owe changes that w