Florida Investment Blog

A construction loan is a commercial loan to finance the improvements on real property. It has special guidelines to ensure that the project is completed and the repayment takes place thereafter.

When somebody owns real estate in Florida, and makes it their primary residence, they’re entitled to a homestead exemption. This provides for the assessed value of your property to be reduced. It is a great benefit for us here in the State of Florida.

A Florida land trust is a trust agreement that is prepared for someone to buy, sell and hold Florida real estate. Typically it is used for confidentiality purposes as well as asset protection.

A notice of commencement signals the beginning of construction. It provides the necessary information to contractors in the event that they need to file certain notices with the property owner to protect their lien rights, under the Florida lien law.

A reissue credit is available if certain conditions are met. It is a significant savings on the title insurance premium.

A small business administration loan, or SBA loan, is a government backed loan that is administered through your local community bank or credit union. It supports local business and entrepreneurs.

A survey is a sketch of the property performed by a surveyor. It will determine if there are any overlaps, encroachments, or boundary issues with the subject property.

In Florida, an ad valorum tax is a tax on real property. It is determined by the property appraiser as of January 1 of that year.

A non-ad valorem tax is an assessment on your property tax bill for services or infrastructure that affect the property. A common type of non-ad valorem assessment is for a community development district.

In the context of homeowners associations and condominium associations, an estoppel letter is a document that provides the buyer with the details of the assessments charged by the association.  It prevents the association from later claiming sums that are not reflected in the estoppel letter.