Starting October 1, 2024, there is a new flood disclosure requirement in Florida. Florida Statute 689.302 requires a seller to complete and provide a flood disclosure to a buyer of residential real property. This disclosure must be done at or before the time of a contract being executed.

This is a popular question we have been receiving over the past few weeks. This article will help clarify this and is a good refresher on brokerage relationships.

FREC adopted a rule to implement a portion of Senate Bill 264 entitled Interests of Foreign Countries.

In the ever-evolving landscape of real estate marketing, transparency and authenticity are paramount. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plays a crucial role in ensuring fair business practices and consumer protection. For the real estate industry, the FTC's Endorsement Guidelines hold significant importance, particularly in navigating the use of endorsements, testimonials, and reviews.

Several updates have occurred related to Senate Bill 264. A summary of those updates is below.

FREC has released information on their upcoming foreign buyer affidavit workshop. The workshop is for creating an affidavit related to Senate Bill 264, the bill that impacts buyers associated with a foreign country of concern (China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela & Syria) and sellers who knowingly sell property to such buyers.

A U.S. District Court Judge dismissed REX’s antitrust claims against NAR and Zillow with prejudice on Wednesday after finding that REX didn’t adequately make its case that both entities conspired to steer buyers away from non-NAR-connected listings on Zillow’s website. 

There have been numerous recent law changes and updates affecting the real estate industry. This article summarizes some of the top key changes to help keep you informed.

The new Interests of Foreign Countries law (SB 264) goes into effect July 1.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 264, Interests of Foreign Countries, effective July 1, 2023. The law, in part, limits and regulates the sale, purchase and ownership of certain properties in Florida by foreign principals, persons and entities described in Part III of Chapter 692, Florida Statutes.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) was enacted in 1968 to protect individuals from housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. However, there are certain exemptions under the law. One such exemption is “housing for older persons.”

We are excited to share that our BeachesMLS disclosure form for tidally influenced areas is now available. It can be found within Form Simplicity and TransactionDesk on your Realtor® Dash.

The condominium and cooperative riders will be updated on March 20 due to changes in law. The revisions are limited and address new documents buyers of certain condominiums and cooperatives are entitled to receive from sellers.

We have been notified of fraudulent commission advance applicants who are targeting brokerages in Florida. As there has been an increase in these scams locally, we are sharing this information with all members.

As a result of the Surfside condominium building collapse, the Florida Senate recently passed Bill 4D to protect condominium residents and ensure structural integrity of their homes. The bill requires mandatory milestone structural inspections and structural integrity reserve studies.

There has been a recent wave of lawsuits filed against Realtors® by “testers,” which are groups that call Realtors® just to see if the Realtor® will violate a provision of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), even though the tester has no relationship with the Realtor® and is not interested in buying or renting the listed property. Courts have found that these testers have standing to sue as they have suffered injury.

Federal efforts have decreased the number of phone scams, but criminals focus now on text scams. The 1B spam texts sent in July 2021 increased to 12B this June.

The Department of Justice published guidance today on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Describe the property, not the potential buyer or tenant. “Ideal for empty nesters” or “perfect for students” raises red flags; “easy walk to train” does not.

This April, Realtors® celebrate the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act with special events that symbolize their recommitment to expanding equal access to housing.