Florida Homestead Exemption Filing Deadline is March 1st

Posted on 02/01/2017 by khaniauerbach

All legal Florida residents are eligible for a Florida Homestead Exemption on their homes, condominiums, co-op apartments, and certain mobile home lots if they qualify. The Florida Constitution provides this tax-saving exemption on the first and third $25,000 of the assessed value of an owner/occupied residence. While a complicated formula is used to explain this — as the additional $25,000 only applies to the non-schools portion of your tax bill — for example, a Broward County homeowner can save anywhere from $627.99 to $1,053.22 (depending upon your city’s millage rate) in annual tax savings for all homes with a value of $75,000 or higher.

You are entitled to a Homestead Exemption if, as of January 1st, you have made the property your permanent home or the permanent home of a person who is legally or naturally dependent on you. By law, January 1 of each year is the date on which permanent residence is determined.

Most counties provide for ONLINE filing. See below for a few links in the tri-county area.

The timely filing period for Florida Homestead Exemption for 2017 is March 2, 2016 through March 1, 2017. The absolute deadline to LATE FILE for any 2017 exemption — if you miss the March 1 timely filing deadline — is September 18, 2017. State law (Sec. 196.011(8), Fla. Stat.) does not allow late filing for exemptions after this date, regardless of any good cause reason for missing the late filing deadline.

What You Need When Filing for Homestead

When filing an application you must bring the following items listed below. To claim 100% coverage, all owners occupying the property as Tenants in Common (i.e., proportional share co-owners) must file in person on jointly held property. In the case of a married couple (“Tenants by the Entirety”) or Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship (“JTRS”), any one owner may qualify for 100% coverage — although it is always highly advisable to have all eligible owner-occupants to file.

Proof of Ownership: In general, the recorded Deed or Co-op Proprietary Lease must be held in the name(s) of the individuals applying for Homestead. You do not need to bring a copy of the deed or co-op lease if the document has already been recorded in the Official Records of Broward County. If the PROPERTY IS HELD IN A TRUST, WE ALSO NEED EITHER A NOTARIZED CERTIFICATE OF TRUST OR A COMPLETE COPY OF THE TRUST AGREEMENT. Note: Most taxpayers prefer to use the simple Certificate of Trust form, instead of submitting the entire trust for our review, as it better protects the privacy of your estate planning and other financial matters.

Proof of Permanent Florida Residence — preferably dated prior to January 1 of the tax year for which you are filing — is established in the form of:

FOR ALL APPLICANTS: Florida’s Driver’s License (or — for non-drivers only — a Florida I.D. Card) is REQUIRED. Note: You must surrender to DMV any out-of-state regular driver’s license. You MUST also have either of the following:

Florida Voter’s Registration; or
Recorded Declaration of Domicile.

FOR NON-US CITIZENS, you MUST have the items listed above AND proof of permanent residency, asylum/parolee status (or other “PRUCOL” status); OR proof you are the parent of a US-born (US Citizen) minor child who resides with you.

If you or your married spouse have a Homestead Exemption in any other county, state or country (or an equivalent permanent residency-based exemption or tax credit, such as New York’s “S.T.A.R.” exemption) on another property you also currently own, you will NOT be eligible for a homestead in both counties until after you surrender the exemption in that other jurisdiction. Read filing in two counties for additional information on the detriments of filing in two counties.

The State-approved application form requests certain information for all owners living on the premises and filing:

Current employers of all owners
Addresses listed on last I.R.S. income tax returns.
Date of each owner’s permanent Florida residence.
Date of occupancy for each property owner.
Social Security numbers of all owners filing.
Social Security number of any married spouse of the applicant, even if the spouse is not named in the deed and is not filing).

Note: The amount of the Florida homestead exemption protection granted to an owner residing on a particular property is to be applied against the amount of that person’s interest in the property. This provision is limited in that the proportional amount of the homestead exemption allowed any person shall not exceed the proportionate assessed valuation based on the interest owned by the person. For example, assuming a property valued at $40,000, with the residing owner’s interest in the property being $20,000, then $20,000 of the homestead exemption is all that can be applied to that property. If there are multiple owners, all as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the owner living at property filing receives the full exemption.

Click on the County that your real estate is located in to file online.
Broward County
Miami-Dade County
Palm Beach County

AVOID A FAIL IN YOUR SALE

Posted on 01/13/201701/13/2017 by khaniauerbach

2017-01-04-23-45-38 — Photo by Khila L. Khani, iTakeGr8Pics.com

Most discussions about real estate transactions concentrate on the needs of the Buyer. However, Sellers have needs, too! Lately, the residential real estate industry has experienced a slight increase in transactions falling apart. The majority of transactions failing to close seem to be limited to homes that are of lower value and/or older homes. There are steps that Sellers can take to avoid a transaction from “blowing up”. Here are a few tips to assist on ensuring the transaction makes it to the closing date:

1. AVOID THE UNQUALIFIED BUYER: While most Florida real estate contracts provide a “loan contingency,” the failure of the Buyer to qualify for a loan AFTER the contract is signed can be very frustrating for the Seller. To avoid this frustration, we recommend that the Seller request a Pre-Qualification letter and in some instances, proof of funds, to give them additional assurances that the Buyer is capable of getting the funds to close.

2. GET AN PRE-CONTRACT APPRAISAL: As the Seller, sometimes it is difficult to accept a price that is recommended by a Realtor. Often times, Sellers believe their property is worth more than it really is, and therefore they set the sales price higher than the market value. Pricing your property too high can sometimes prevent qualified Buyers from looking at your property. Also, once the property is under Contract, the Buyer’s lender will order an appraisal and you, the Seller could be surprised by the result. Surprises are fun when they are related to a party, but not when you are trying to sell your home. We highly recommend that you obtain what’s called a “Pencil Appraisal” to give you an idea of what your property is worth, before you put the property on the market.

3. CONDUCT A PRE-CONTRACT INSPECTION: Most real estate contracts provide the Buyer with an opportunity to inspect the property immediately after signing. This opportunity to inspect is limited to a certain period of time, usually 10-15 days after the contract is executed. When a Buyer inspects the property, their inspection might reveal defects, damages and issues to which the Seller had no knowledge. However, a Pre-Contract inspection from a licensed inspector will help you avoid surprises that might be revealed by the Buyer’s inspector. The Pre-Contract inspection will permit you discover and make necessary repairs before they are brought to your attention by the Buyer’s inspector. This will lessen the probability of a deal falling apart due to the condition of the house.

At Khani & Auerbach, we are doing our very best to remain at the forefront of the real estate market. We will continue to educate ourselves, our clients and real estate professionals. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us!

The Importance of Hiring a Real Estate Attorney

Posted on 02/19/201605/28/2019 by khaniauerbach

I like to call this, “Story Time with Khani & Auerbach”. Yesterday, I received a phone call from a lovely lady regarding a Time Share transfer. The transfer to our caller was conducted back in 2007, but she had some concerns about her ownership interest and wanted to know where she stood. She wanted to ensure that she was in fact the owner and had an ownership interest that she thought she purchased. After doing very light research in the public records, I uncovered two transfers that gave me pause.

The first transfer was conducted in 2001, a Quit-Claim Deed. This Quit-Claim Deed, at first blush, looked really official, as it had been prepared by an attorney. But, as a real estate attorney practicing for 20 years in this field, I never quite trust that any document is prepared accurately, regardless if it’s prepared by an attorney or not. As luck would have it, the document was poorly drafted and the intentions of the transferor/grantor are really unclear. I would do the next best thing and reach out to the attorney that prepared the document. What do you think I would find next? The phone number provided on the Deed was disconnected and after some further inquiry, I found that the attorney was suspended several years ago, had never reapplied to the Bar and was no longer licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. So, the first brick wall in my research was erected. What now?

I wanted to look at the second transfer made in 2007 to my client and found that the preparation of this document was even worse than the one made in 2001. This document looked like someone found a form at Office Depot and just filled in whatever they felt might look right. Well, nothing was right about it and it was ALL WRONG. The second brick wall in my research had now been erected. Now, you might say to yourself, “But, the County recorded this document, so it must be accurate.” Let me be clear when I say, the County will record ANYTHING you put in front of them as long you pay the required fees. They are an administrative agency and they do NOT practice real estate law and do not know anything about the history of the subject property. Furthermore, they have no obligation to know these things. All they do is record documents and collect taxes and fees.

So, now I am reviewing two poorly prepared documents/transfers and have the honor of telling the caller that not only are the transfers poorly prepared, but she may not even have ownership. The next question on your mind may be, “How could any of this been prevented?” Simply, by hiring a Real Estate attorney. A Real Estate attorney has the knowledge and experience to do the job accurately in the first place, avoiding the exact same situation we are presented with in this case.

Now, the first deed prepared in 2001 was, in fact, drafted by an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, but what I don’t know is how this attorney was found and whether he focused his practice on real estate or not. In addition to hiring an attorney, knowing whether an attorney focuses on real estate is even more important than just hiring any attorney. In this case, I just couldn’t determine this attorney’s area of practice and had to assume he just didn’t know what he was doing. As for the second deed prepared in 2007, well, that was just two parties trying to save a buck. Look where we are now. Unraveling these terrible transfers and correcting these poorly drafted deeds will take more effort, more time and certainly cost more money than all the parties could have ever imagined. All of this could have been prevented just by hiring a real estate attorney in the first place.

About the Writer
Khila Khani is a partner with Khani & Auerbach. Her practice focus has been in Real Estate law for 20 years.

The information and materials in this column are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Nothing in this column is intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney, especially an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. Should you wish to discuss any potential matters with her or her partner, you can contact them here.

Florida Homestead Exemption Filing Deadline is March 1, 2016

Posted on 01/29/201601/29/2016 by khaniauerbach

Homestead Exemption Filing Deadline is March 1, 2016

All legal Florida residents are eligible for a Homestead Exemption on their homes, condominiums, co-op apartments, and certain mobile home lots if they qualify. The Florida Constitution provides this tax-saving exemption on the first and third $25,000 of the assessed value of an owner/occupied residence. While a complicated formula is used to explain this — as the additional $25,000 only applies to the non-schools portion of your tax bill — the bottom line is that the basic homestead exemption can save a Florida homeowner in 2015 anywhere from $641.73 to $1,077.67 (depending upon your city’s millage rate) in annual tax savings for all homes with a value of $75,000 or higher.

In some Florida Counties, you may be able to file for Homestead ONLINE. Check with your county’s property appraiser office for more information about how to file.

The timely filing period for Homestead Exemption for 2016 is March 3, 2015 through March 1, 2016. The absolute deadline to LATE FILE for any 2016 exemption — if you miss the March 1 timely filing deadline — is September 19, 2016. State law (Sec. 196.011(8), Fla. Stat.) does not allow late filing for exemptions after this date, regardless of any good cause reason for missing the late filing deadline.

What You Need When Filing for Homestead

1. Proof of Ownership: In general, the recorded Deed or Co-op Proprietary Lease must be held in the name(s) of the individuals applying for Homestead. In most counties, you may not need to bring a copy of the deed or co-op lease if the document has already been recorded in the Official Records. If the PROPERTY IS HELD IN A TRUST, THE COUNTY MAY ALSO REQUIRE EITHER A NOTARIZED CERTIFICATE OF TRUST OR A COMPLETE COPY OF THE TRUST AGREEMENT. Note: Most taxpayers prefer to use the simple Certificate of Trust form, instead of submitting the entire trust for our review, as it better protects the privacy of your estate planning and other financial matters.

2. Proof of Permanent Florida Residence — preferably dated prior to January 1 of the tax year for which you are filing — is established in the form of:

A. FOR ALL APPLICANTS: Florida’s Driver’s License (or — for non-drivers only — a Florida I.D. Card) is REQUIRED. Note: You must surrender to DMV any out-of-state regular driver’s license. You MUST also have either of the following:
1. Florida Voter’s Registration; or
2. Recorded Declaration of Domicile.

B. FOR NON-US CITIZENS, you MUST have the items listed above AND proof of permanent residency, asylum/parolee status (or other “PRUCOL” status); OR proof you are the parent of a US-born (US Citizen) minor child who resides with you.

3. If you or your married spouse have a Homestead Exemption in any other county, state or country (or an equivalent permanent residency-based exemption or tax credit, such as New York’s “S.T.A.R.” exemption) on another property you also currently own, you will NOT be eligible for a homestead in any Florida county until after you surrender the exemption in that other jurisdiction. (Note: If you know of someone with a Homestead Exemption in a Florida county who also maintains an exemption on another property elsewhere, please report this information to our Fraud Investigations Section at 954.357.6900.)

The State-approved application form requests certain information for all owners living on the premises and filing:
• Current employers of all owners
• Addresses listed on last I.R.S. income tax returns.
• Date of each owner’s permanent Florida residence.
• Date of occupancy for each property owner.
• Social Security numbers of all owners filing.
• Social Security number of any married spouse of the applicant, even if the spouse is not named in the deed and is not filing).

Note: The amount of the homestead exemption protection granted to an owner residing on a particular property is to be applied against the amount of that person’s interest in the property. This provision is limited in that the proportional amount of the homestead exemption allowed any person shall not exceed the proportionate assessed valuation based on the interest owned by the person. For example, assuming a property valued at $40,000, with the residing owner’s interest in the property being $20,000, then $20,000 of the homestead exemption is all that can be applied to that property. If there are multiple owners, all as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the owner living at property filing receives the full exemption.