The Veritas Real Estate Group, Inc.

Governor Crist has been rather busy this quarter signing laws which affect homeowners, borrowers and mortgage brokers.

Property Taxes

The first half of the property tax bill became law on June 21, 2007. It's not much to cheer about at this point; the average homeowner will save about $180 on their primary residence property tax and $200 on their second homes and investment properties.  The second part of the savings plan is to be voted on by Florida residents on Jan 29, 2008.  At this time the voters can decide to keep the homesteading status quo or to allow homesteaded homeowners to be able to accept a large decrease of approximately 44% in their primary residence property tax and lose the 3% cap on yearly increases in assessed value that they currently have; with this law they will be able to convert to the large decrease at any time, however once they choose it they can't go back and they will have permanently lost their 3% increase protection. You can view the actual law at:

http://www.bcpa.net/Forms/07TaxReform-H1B-Final.pdf      and

http://www.bcpa.net/Forms/07TaxReform-H1B-Summary.pdf  and

http://www.bcpa.net/Forms/07TaxReform-S4B-Final.pdf

Lending Laws

Changes to Florida Statute 494 were signed by the Governor on June 19, 2007 and go into effect October 1, 2007.  Mortgage brokers and lenders must give borrowers detailed disclosures for loans, including Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMS), the mortgage broker must disclose if and how much money they are receiving from the lender, Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) must be signed and dated by the borrower, if a loan's terms change the borrower must be notified no later than three days before closing, the Office of Financial Regulation has the power to enforce RESPA and TIL compliance and mortgage brokers must be high school graduates or equivalent.  For the full text of the law read http://election.dos.state.fl.us/laws/07laws/ch_2007-182.pdf  Governor Crist has also signed into law that individuals convicted of mortgage fraud may serve up to fifteen years in prison.

Inspectors

On June 28, 2007 Governor Crist signed a bill which requires the licensing of all home inspectors, mold assessors and remediators working in Florida. The law goes into effect July 1, 2010 in order to give the State time to develop the specific course and testing requirements. To read SB 2234, go to http://www.flsenate.gov. On the left side, select 2007 session and search using the bill number.