Real Estate Investing 101 and Beyond

Florida House Bill 483 passed and goes in to effect Saturday. This bill is a win for the real estate consumer in that it makes the delivery of estoppel certificates a more uniform practice. The highlights you should  know are as follows: 1. It caps fees that can be charged for the preparation and delivery of an estoppel: a) $250 for unit owners who are current b) Additional $100 for "expedited" estoppel requests c) Additional $150 can be charged for owners who are delinquent 2. Requires that the estoppel require certain information 3. Estoppel certificate is to be issued within 10 days of written request of owner or owner representative 4. If the closing does not occur and a proper request is made the fee for the estoppel is to be refunded. As always, if you're just a glutton for punishment, the full bill as provided by the FLTA can be found by clicking  HERE . 

Just like Subject To's vs. Assumptions , Tax Certificates vs. Tax Deeds fall under the category of terms investors use interchangeably, but really they are two different things. To know (and remember) the difference it’s helpful to also understand the basics of how the tax sale process works. Tax Certificate: When a property owner becomes delinquent on their property taxes the county issues a tax certificate for the owed amount. There are investors who are attracted to these certificates because they earn interest. When the owner finally remembers to pay their taxes they must pay the money owed to the county, and they also must pay all of the accrued interest owed to the certificate investor. The key point to take away here is that a tax certificate investor is entitled to earn interest in the investment,  but has no ownership interest in the property.  Tax Deeds: If after two years the property owner has not paid the amount owed to satisfy the certificate holder