What Should I Know Before Buying a Home in a Community with an HOA?
Video Summary
What should I know before buying a home in a community with an HOA? Well, if you’re using a realtor, you need to ask them to provide you with a copy of all the restrictive covenants and review those to make sure that you understand them or have a lawyer maybe review them for you. You then need to determine what the monthly assessments are so that you know how much you’d be obligated to be paying each month. You need to ask for a budget for the assessment to see if they have line items for reserves and the budget meets with the present statute. Also ask for the minutes of the last meeting, which may indicate whether or not there is a proposed assessment that the board of directors is considering. So all of these are necessary. You may also inquire as to whether or not there are two or more homeowners’ associations and that there may be a master association that requires payment of a due and a regular homeowners assessment, a homeowner association that assesses your property. If you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Real Estate, Videos
What Happens If the Person I Chose as Trustee Can’t Serve or Dies?
Video Summary
What happens if the person I choose as trustee can’t serve or dies? Your trust document should name a successor to the named trustee. If the trust document does not name a successor trustee or all the successor trustees are deceased or not qualified to serve, then the beneficiaries will need to petition the court for the appointment of a successor trustee. If you have any questions concerning this, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Trusts, Videos
How Do I Remove a Deceased Co Owner’s Name from the Property Title?
Video Summary
How do I remove a deceased owner’s name from the property title? If the property is held as joint tenants with right of survivorship with the deceased owner, then you need to record a death certificate in the public records where the deeds are recorded. Also, if the property is held as husband and wife, that also creates a right of survivorship, and you need to record a death certificate for the deceased owner and that will vest title or show title is now vested in the surviving joint tenant or tenants. If the property is not held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as husband and wife, then the deceased co-owner’s name will have to … The title will have to be probated and go through probate proceedings. I might add that you will not receive a new deed just because a deceased owner dies, so you don’t sign a new deed to take their name off the title. That is done by operational law by recording the death certificate in the public records. If you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Real Estate, Videos
What Are My Legal Rights If My Neighbor’s Actions (Like Noise, Fences, Disputes, Encroachments) Are Affecting My Property?
Video Summary
What are my legal rights if my neighbor’s actions like noise fence disputes, encroachments are affecting my property? Well, let’s start with noise. If there is a problem with your neighbor having noise or affecting your peace and tranquility for actions which they take on their property, then you have to file an action for a nuisance and ask the court to enter an injunction against them to enjoin them from that activity. It’s usually costly and to get that done, unfortunately, and then you have to have a lot of facts to back it up. And then once you get the injunction, having the injunction enforced is more problematic, and then also expensive as far as encroachments on your property such as fences, things such as that. Well then you file what they call an adjustment action wherein you’re asking the court to direct the people to remove the encroachment from your property. And so that’s a separate cause of action as far as requiring them to remove their encroachments on your property. So, if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Real Estate, Videos
What Estate Planning Steps Should I Take If I Own Multiple Properties or Out-Of-State Property?
Video Summary
What estate planning steps should I take if I own multiple properties or out of state property? Well, assuming the purpose of your estate planning is to try and avoid probate, you can set up a Trust and convey the property to your Trustee, and then it will be controlled by the provisions of your trust. Another way that we’ve done it, if you just have Florida property and you want the property go to certain beneficiaries outright, you can execute what they call a Lady Bird Deed, which is an enhanced Life Estate Deed, or you convey the property to the beneficiary, but reserve all the rights of ownership during your lifetime so that you can sell it and don’t need the joiner of the person who you conveyed it to. So those are some of the ways or the way you can do that if you convey the property to the Trustee of your Trust for out-of-state property. Well, your Trust should control the sale of that, so there is certain provisions you’d like. I suggest you put in deeds, particularly if you transfer it into a trust, particularly as far as your homestead is concerned, so that you can continue to get homestead exemption and also certain powers that you put in there so that you don’t have to disclose or publish it portions of your Trust which authorize you as Trustee to sell the property. So, if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos

