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Jackie Colson-Miller

Jackie Colson-Miller, CIPS
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Homeward Real Estate
3401 Henderson Blvd
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'Florida Real Estate Law'

        

Tampa Real Estate News…New Condominium Disclosure in Florida

Filed under: Buying a House in Tampa, Clearwater Beach Real Estate, Disclosure, Florida Condominiums, Florida Contract, Florida Real Estate Law, MLS Search, MacDill AFB, Moving to Tampa, Tampa Real Estate, Waterfront Homes in Tampa

The Tampa Real Estate Market, along with most of the coastal areas in Florida are filled with condominiums.  As of January 1, 2009, a new Condominum Disclosure must be provided to the buyers of a “resale”, or “non-developer” condominum in Florida. 

This form, called the Condominium Governance Form, details the rights and responsibilities of the condominium board, voting rights for unit owners, meeting notices and other details concerning ownership of a condominium unit within a specific building. 

If you are a condominium owner in Tampa, or are considering the purchase of a condo in Tampa, you should review the form and understand the requirements of the disclosure to a potential buyer.  If your property is for sale, you should gather the latest copy of the Condominum Documents for your association, along with any addendums, meeting notices, or information about special assessments.  If you do not have a current copy, you should order one from your association, since you will need to provide the new Condominium Governance Form, along with the all of the information required by the form, to a potential buyer!

If you have any questions about the new form, or are interested in buying, or selling a home in the Tampa Real Estate Market, contact me today!

I can help with your move to any Tampa neighborhood, including: South Tampa, MacDill AFB, Davis Islands, Beach Park, Sunset Park, Hyde Park, Culbreath Isles, Palma Ceia, Westchase, Waterchase, Odessa, Cheval, Avila, Brandon, Riverview, FishHawk, New Tampa, Tampa Palms, Hunters Green, Arbor Greene, Apollo Beach, South Shore, MiraBay, Golf Communities, Clearwater Beach, Waterfront Homes, Luxury Homes in Tampa, Condos in Tampa and International Real Estate….send me an email!

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Posted by Jackie Colson-Miller   |   1 Comment »   |   01.05.2009

What Tampa Neighborhoods are Safe? Tampa Real Estate News

Filed under: "Where to Find", Best Places in Tampa, Channelside Tampa, Davis Islands Real Estate, First-Time Homebuyers, Florida Real Estate Law, Golf course communities in Tampa, Hyde Park Real Estate, Luxury Homes in Tampa, MLS Search, MacDill AFB, Tampa Neighborhoods, Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Real Estate Market

When families are searching for homes in Tampa, many of them ask about safety . They often ask for a home in a gated community. While Tampa is a very large city, there is very little serious crime in most residential neighborhoods. It really is a great city to live in!

This week, I received an email from a client, which included a new site, that I will share with my readers. Felonspy searches for convicted criminals within the radius of a particular address.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement provides information on the location of sexual predators on its website. You can search by name, or see if any offenders live in a Tampa neighborhood where you are considering buying a home. It is one more piece of disclosure that real estate agents should offer to their clients.
I believe in going above and beyond what the law requires real estate agents to disclose. If I have knowledge of any site, or resource, that helps families make better home-buying decisions, I am happy to share it! If you need help buying a home in the Tampa Real Estate Market, I am happy to assist you!

I can help with your move to any Tampa neighborhood, including: South Tampa, Harbour Island, Davis Islands, Beach Park, Sunset Park, Hyde Park, Channelside, Culbreath Isles, Palma Ceia, Westchase, Waterchase, Odessa, Cheval, Avila, Brandon, Riverview, FishHawk, New Tampa, Tampa Palms, Hunters Green, Arbor Greene, Apollo Beach, South Shore, MiraBay, Golf Communities, Waterfront Homes, Luxury Homes in Tampa, Condos in Tampa and International Real Estatecontact me!

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Posted by Jackie Colson-Miller   |   3 Comments »   |   05.16.2008

Haunted Houses…What Should An Agent Disclose?

Filed under: Buyers, Disclosure, Florida Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Law, Real Estate News

In Florida, Realtors are required to disclose anything that materially affects the property . When I list a home in Tampa, I ask Sellers to complete, and sign, a very thorough questionnaire about everything from survey and drainage issues, plumbing, electrical, roof, zoningeverything material to the property. Realtors are not required to ask about things like burglaries, crime in the neighborhood, or sexual predators in the neighborhood. That information is available through various websites and local law enforcement agencies.

What about disclosing a death on the property? A Murder? A Suicide? Or, a lingering spirit? Does it make a difference if it is an evil spirit, or a friendly ghost? How many people would knowingly buy, or rent, a haunted house?

I lived in a haunted house when I was a senior in college. Needless to say, my landlord did not disclose that to me, or my roommates, Hauntedhousethough it was well-documented by the previous tenants, who couldnt wait to tease us about the ghost, not long after we moved in! Footsteps on the stairs, doors that opened by themselvesplenty of things that went bump in the night! I think even the police knew the house was haunted, because after three visits to find the burglar , they stopped responding! One day, our furnace broke down, and the repairman asked me, How are you getting along with Mrs. Walsh? Give me the story, I insisted. As it turns out, the landlords mother had died in the house and vowed that she would never leave! Shes still here , I said.

From then on, we got along just fine with Mrs. Walsh. We talked to her, told her to stop scaring us from time to time, and one day, she scared off a real burglar and prevented a break-in. While its nice to reminisce about the experience, the real issue is about disclosure!

Sometimes what is required by law , and what is the right thing to do , are two separate issues. When in doubt, always do the right thing, for the buyer, or the tenant. Disclose the haunted house issueand be nice to the ghost!

Searching for a house in Tampa? Would you live in a Haunted House???

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Posted by Jackie Colson-Miller   |   8 Comments »   |   10.31.2007

WHAT IS AN EASEMENT AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT MY PROPERTY RIGHTS?

Filed under: Florida Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Law

WHAT IS AN EASEMENT? Virtually every property in an urban area is subject to one or more easements. An easement is the legal right of a public or private entity to use part of a real property owner’s land.

The property that is burdened by an easement is called a “servient tenement” because the easement serves another parcel. The property that benefits from the easement is called the adjoining dominant tenement.”

There is always a servient tenement. However, there is not always an adjoining dominant tenement, such as for a public utility easement.

Easement examples include a driveway, path or garden area of a neighbor’s property. Public easements include utility easements for water, sewer, storm drain, electric lines, phone lines, gas pipes and cable TV lines.

Most easements are obtained with permission of the original property owner, usually at the time a subdivision is developed. The utility easements are often granted free by the developer in return for the city or private utility bringing public services to the property. But some easements are hostile, without the specific permission of the property owner. To illustrate, suppose I drive over part of your property to reach my garage because that route is shorter and easier than using my steep driveway to reach the public street. Even if you tell me to stop driving over your land, but I continue to do so for the number of years required by state law, eventually I can obtain a permanent prescriptive easement for that purpose.

To be valid, an easement must be recorded against the title of the property that is subject to the easement, such as a shared driveway between two houses.

A very rare easement is an easement by necessity. Most states have laws allowing creation of an easement by necessity to reach a landlocked parcel, which has no driveway or other access to a public road.

The legal theory is all land should have road access, and when the landlocked parcel was created the owner at that time forgot to include access. A quiet title lawsuit is usually required to create an easement by necessity over an adjoining parcel that has public road access and, at some time in the past, had common ownership with the landlocked parcel.

THREE BASIC TYPES OF EASEMENTS. Virtually every real estate parcel is burdened by some type of easement. To be valid, the easement must either be recorded in the public records affecting a specific parcel, or it must be capable of being perfected into a valid easement.

1. EASEMENTS APPURTENANT BENEFIT AN ADJOINING PARCEL. Where there is a dominant tenement that benefits from an easement, such as for a driveway, that is an easement appurtenant. Most easements appurtenant were created when a subdivision was developed, or when two adjoining lots were subdivided.

An easement appurtenant is usually recorded against both parcels, describing the details of that easement. To be valid, an easement appurtenant must be recorded against the servient tenement title. It is usually also recorded against the dominant tenement title. When a parcel is landlocked without public road access, it is up to the owner of that parcel to prove entitlement to an easement by necessity. If the court approves such an easement, it becomes an easement appurtenant with dominant and servient tenements.

2. EASEMENTS IN GROSS AFFECT MOST PROPERTIES. Virtually every property with electricity, phone, TV cable, public water, sewer, and storm drain utility service is subject to one or more easements in gross. Most such easements are recorded in the public records against each property title affected.

An easement in gross has a servient tenement, but no dominant tenement. Sometimes such easements were not properly recorded. If the easement in gross is obvious, such as for overhead power lines, it is hard for the property owner to deny awareness. But underground easements in gross, such as for water, sewer and gas pipes, might not be obvious. To avoid unexpected surprises, property buyers should insist on receiving an owner’s title insurance policy at the time of purchase. If an underground easement in gross is later discovered, but it was not disclosed in the owner’s title insurance policy, the title insurer may be liable to the property owner for damages.

For example, suppose you decide to build a swimming pool in your backyard. As the contractor is digging, he discovers a previously undisclosed city sewer through the middle of your backyard. If the city’s sewer easement was properly recorded, but the title insurer failed to discover and disclose it, the title insurer is liable to the property owner for either the cost of moving the sewer pipe or the diminished value of the property.

3. PRESCRIPTIVE EASEMENTS REQUIRE HOSTILITY. When someone uses part of your property without your permission, and without a prior recorded easement, he or she might become entitled to permanent use of that easement.

The legal requirements to acquire a prescriptive easement over someone’s land requires (a) open, (b) notorious (obvious), (c) hostile (without permission), and (d) continuous use of part of another’s property without permission for the number of years required by state law.

Payment of property taxes is not required, as it is to obtain title by adverse possession. California has the shortest prescriptive easement period, only five years. But Texas requires 30 years to acquire a prescriptive easement. Other states have varying time tests. Because prescriptive easements can be shared, the hostile use need not be exclusive. Use can be shared with the legal owner and/or other hostile prescriptive easement claimants.After meeting the time and use requirements, a prescriptive easement acquirer can perfect the easement by bringing a quiet title lawsuit against the property’s legal owner. An experienced real estate attorney is usually needed to prove the prescriptive easement requirements.

SUMMARY: Virtually every property is burdened by or benefits from an easement. Property owners should understand the legal consequences of those easements and where they are located. Unless properly recorded, an easement might not be valid except when it is obvious by long continuous use, such as overhead power lines. For full easement details, please consult a local real estate attorney

If you liked this article, you might like this one about “encroachments”… Inman News, June 29, 2007

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Posted by Jackie Colson-Miller   |   4 Comments »   |   07.06.2007