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BIG CHANGES IN STORE FOR MOST HOMEBUYERS

The next time you take out a loan to purchase residential property there will be a new process and a new set of forms that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now requiring to be used.  They have taken over the task of overseeing the residential mortgage industry from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act.  The net effect is that while they may be easier to understand the new normal for a financed transaction may well, for now, be as much as 45 days from contract to close.

A set of forms that have been call the “Know Before You Owe” will be replacing some of the documents that we have become familiar with in the lending and closing process, including the Good Faith Estimate and the Truth-In-Lending documents that you would have received from your lender as well as the HUD-1 Settlement Statement you normally received the day before closing.  The new forms are known as the TRID forms, short for TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure and are used by both the lender for disclosures when you apply for a loan as well as at closing.  The common format of the forms is intended to make comparisons what you were told to what you are being asked to pay much easier since both documents will be presented in a common format.

While the new formats will be longer and more involved than any one of the old forms you should find it easier to read and understand.  The new disclosure reorganizes all of the information into logical sections.

The new Loan Estimate form must be provided to the prospective borrower by the lender with three days of applying for a loan and the Closing Disclosure at least three days prior to closing so as to allow for proper comparison.  In the event that the Closing Disclosure is delivered late or must be reworked due to a change, the three day window begins again and as a result it is possible that the closing would be delayed.

While these changes appear to provide much better information to the borrower there will a time of learning on all sides.  If you have any questions relating to the new forms do not hesitate to ask for assistance from parties involved in the process.
 

 
RENTALS (WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE A LANDLORD)

Generally, commercial rentals are subject to sales tax so if you rent commercial property or rent to a business then the law requires you to collect and pay the sales tax. If you did not charge the sales tax, you are still responsible to pay it.
When you rent residential property things can get complicated. Here again there is a general rule, that helps simplify. If you have a long-term rental then it is exempt from sales tax and you are exempt from collecting and paying the tax. If all your rentals are long-term residential properties then you don’t even have to register with the DOR or file a return.
However, when is a residential rental long term?
If you rent to a tenant for six months or less it is short term or a transient rental, six months and one day it is long term. The DOR will look at your lease to make this determination. But what if you don’t have a lease, and rent on a Month to Month basis? In this case, tax is due on the first six months of the rental, then for the rest of the time that tenant lives in that house it is tax-free. It does not matter if you and the tenant expect this to continue for more than six months. If you don’t have a lease, it is subject to sales tax!
What if you have a lease for six months and one day and your tenant skips out after three months? Then you are OK, you had a long-term lease; no sales tax is due.
That is not all. If you have a short-term rental and owe sales tax to the State of Florida then you also owe Tourist Development Tax to the county.
 In Hillsborough County, the Tourist Development Tax is 5% on leases 6 months or less.  In Pasco County, the Tourist Development Tax is 2% on leases 6 months or less.
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                DONNA K          FLORIDA'S HOMETOWN REALTOR
DONNA KEMPINSKI
BROKER ASSOCIATE
OVER $140 MILLION SOLD
OVER 28 YRS OF REAL ESTATE
KNOWLEDGE & DEDICATION
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UPDATES AND MORE.
 TESTIMONIAL FROM CLIENT (also on Angie's List)
"What did the provider do?"

"She sold my lake lot within 2 months of the date I signed the contract with her.  Previously I had it listed for more than 3 years with another realtor with no positive results."

The detailed "results" were?

"I listed with Donna several years ago.  Then, I was persuaded by my daughter to sign with a former relative who was a realtor.   I asked Donna to allow me to cancel with her, about a week later.   She had already put in the time and effort of doing a write-up on the property preparing for the on-Iine listing & taking pictures.  But she graciously agreed to allow me to cancel without charging me, which she could have done.
When the property failed to sell after more than 3 years, I canceled the contract with the other realtor (fined with a fee) and called Donna & listed with her.  She called me weekly to give me updates on the activity that had taken place.  In less than 2 months she had 2 interested parties which resulted in an offer and sale.  She had numerous contacts & leads she worked to market the property.  She negotiated a good price for me.  During the offer & acceptance period, Donna quickly responded to any calls & e-mails I made.  She put in extra effort to explain all details about the offer, my choices, closing costs, etc.  She made sure I had a comfort level with all documents I would be seeing at close.  I had no surprises and all went very smoothly.  She showed concern about the location of the closing since it was about 40 minutes away for me.  She offered to meet with me at a closer location & then, meet with the buyers at a separate time at the other location.  I told her it was no problem for me to drive there.  But her priority on convenience for me was an indication of the service I received from Donna.
She always told it like it was.  By that I mean, I had views of the current market for land, etc.  She showed me sales, values, market activity.  She did not try to tell me what she thought I wanted to hear.  She would tell me what was happening, as she saw it.
I got more feedback from Donna in the few months from listing the property to close of the sale, than the entire 3 years I had it listed with the previous realtor."

Barbara