Closing A Florida Home
July 27, 2008
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First bit of info is knowing about occupancy. If you are Canadian you can stay in your Florida home for up to and 1 day less than 6 months without incurring a need for permission from the U.S. authorities and without both tax and health care ramifications in Canada. One day more than 6 months and you could lose your OHIP benefit if it was discovered you were out of the country. Pretty easy to do when you know that your comings and goings are recorded at the border.
To purchase a
If the lawyer determines you get what you are meant to get then there will be a closing where your money is exchanged for the title and you will get the keys to your property.
So who is making the “Guarantee”? In
If the title is clear then the lawyer will issue you an insurance policy. There is a clause in this policy that insures the insurance company will pay you the price you paid for the property in the rare occurrence that despite their research the seller did not own the property and that if he did and there was a lien that wasn’t found then the insurance company will pay off the lien. It’s a good system that works well.
If you have heard that property insurance and property taxes in
If the property insurance costs seem high it is quite simple buy something that was built after 1992 and that is not right on or next to the beach. Property insurance is much more reasonable for these properties as the building codes changed in 1992 and were much improved plus beach front is of course more subject to winds and hurricanes.
Properties built after 1992 perform much better in high winds and this is why they cost less to insure.
Currently as of today’s date property taxes are running about $1600.00 per year for every $100,000 of property value. Taxes are market value assessed yearly. So your taxes will be based initially on your purchase price. However depending on how you take title if you rent the property then it can be arranged so that your expenses including interest are deducted from your income on the property. That lower net figure will not be taxed by
So it may be time to grab your beach towel and sun block and check out living part of the year under the
Popularity: 38% [?]
A Place In The Florida Sun
July 23, 2008
You’ve probably been hearing all about the serious mess in the
If you have ever considered escaping Canadian winters and I am sure we all have especially after this past winter with it’s 5 months of snow; this may be your time to consider buying a
Given a 10 year time frame from now to say 2018 this will most likely be your best price opportunity ever. If you can see yourself doing business on the patio in shorts and a polo shirt with a cool drink in your hand greeting your business associates or family and friends then it’s time to learn about Florida real estate.
What stops most people from making a move is not knowing about the buying and closing process and the tax implications. Buying, getting a mortgage, Income Tax, Death Tax, and Property Tax.
So here on these next few pages you will find most of the info you need to get started with real estate in
Always remember to get proper Legal Advise from lawyers who deal in cross border real estate and planning. Also a knowledgable tax advisor is appropriate. Do not construe the information here as legal or tax advise. Also Florida Laws and Revenue
We have simply put this together from workshops and information sessions we have attended with a view to simplifying the process for you and removing some of the fear of the unknown.
With Canadian real estate at an all time high it is hard for investors to make numbers work on properties here. So if you are an investor this may be a great opportunity for you to build up your portfolio as well.
Popularity: 37% [?]
Mortgage Shopping For Your Florida Home
July 20, 2008
It’s a great time to buy a second home in
I recently had the opportunity to attend a
With the loonie about par with the American dollar, interst rates low and a huge inventory of even brand new homes available & ofttimes sitting vacant there has not been a better time to buy in the last 10-15 years.
So first off you don’t have to pay for the property cash. You can get a mortgage on your home in the sun without a
They have a team of financial professionals specially trained to assist you with
Banking & Mortgage laws and regulations & terms are quite different in the
While we can get a mortgage in 2-3 days here in
Being pre-qualified is a much stronger position to be in than having to buy conditional. Canadians are use to this and have no idea how much more challenging this is in the
Also in the
When you mortgage in the
With
You will need make sure your will or trust covers your
Popularity: 41% [?]
Tax Planning For Your Florida Home
July 17, 2008
When planning your
Probate
When a property is owned by the deceased alone, the property will be subject to
Probate is costly, time consuming and freezes your estate. Probate can cost up to 3 percent of the market value of the property at time of death. And can take between six to 12 months.
How to Avoid Probate
To avoid probate you will need the deed to be in the name of a Cross Border Revocable Living Trust (CBRLT).. This works if you are in the process of buying or if you have already purchased the property.
There are two main steps and here they are.
1/CBRLT. This will be drafted with specific clauses for Canadian residents. The client is the grantor and trusteed. /she has full power and authority to lease, mortgage or sell the property.
2/ A deed transferring the ownership from the client’s name to his new CBRLT is prepared and recorded.
What This Does
1/ Property is exempt form Florida Probate.
2/ Beneficiary whether surviving spouse, children or others, is designated as such in the trust with as many scenarios or provisos as are appropriate in any well thought out estate plan.
3/ Creditors cannot seize the beneficiaries interst in the
4/ If the beneficiary divorces, the exspouse will have no right to shre in the benficiary’s inheritance.
5/ If the property owner becomes mentally incapacitated, he is replaced by the successor trustee named in the trust . This will avoid
6/ No annual filing requirements to the
7/No deemed disposition upon transfer of title to the trust
8/ No annual accountant or attorney services required.
9/
Minimizing
Popularity: 42% [?]
What Can You Accomplish In Five Years?
July 15, 2008
Thought For The Week
We greatly overestimate what we can accomplish in one year. But we greatly underestimate what we can accomplish in five years. * Peter Ferdinand Drucker
After many years of living I have disovered that life is often best lived with moments of looking backwards.
The challenge with looking backwards is that as humans we tend to look at what went wrong instead of what we have accomplished.
Particularily when we are young we tend to set goals that are mammoth and often difficult to achieve particlarly on the short time lines that we expected. This often causes us to lose site of our Bigger Picture and let go of our dreams.
Right now I am in a huge process of change in my life again. Letting go of the big home and all the posessions and moving into much smaller space in order to free myself up to do what really counts and a bit of travelling to boot.
So in going through bits of 4 generations of stuff in this house I am looking backwards again.
Looking backwards here are some things that I have uncovered about my life.
In five years I was able to marry, buy a home and have a child or create a family.
In five years I was able to invest in a few properties, maintain and manage them and ultimately become a millionaire.
In five years I was able to build a sustainable business at least 80% based on repeat and referral customers.
In five years unfortunately, family members die and depart us and force us to face more change & challenges.
In five years marriages can come to an end and families can be split apart.
In five years health can change radically both for the worse and for the better. I could go on…..but you get the idea.
So what is important about all this? That life is a process and not an event.
That we have to stay the course for the long term.
That both good and bad will happen but in the end with reasonable management most things come out okay.
That we need to set big pictures and big goals but realize that things will shift along the way and we must make changes with the shifts.
That it won’t always be rosy and there will be some tears. And yet we survive and mostly thrive in the end.
Most important is that effort is often cummulative.
That one year builds on the next one.
That efforts pile up one on top of each other and before you know it something of substance has been created.
That substance may be financial, family a business success and ideally a little of all three.
Hope this Helps.
Aeriol
Popularity: 45% [?]
Five Great Cell Phone Tips
July 14, 2008
I bet you didn’t know you could do
Most of These With Your Cell Phone.
I sure didn’t.
Cellular phones seem to be one of the most used technology items over the past few years. It is very rare you know a person who doesn’t have a cell phone or hasn’t had one in the past,
Here are 5 great things you can do with your cell phone.
1/ One of the first things I discovered really interesting that could be done on my phone is when I was travelling over in Europe I didn’t know what their Emergency Number was. I discovered that if you type in 112 on your phone you would be given a worldwide Emergency Service.
This works perfect even when you are out of your networks coverage area. It will find a network that is working in the local zone and allow the call to be connected.
Now your probably thinking, what if my phone is locked and I am in such a panic I can’t even function to get it to unlock?
Don’t worry; this function will even work when your keypad locked. I’d say test this out, but you could be making a false emergency call so just remember this for your next vacation it may come in quite handy.
2/If you are really forgetful this will be useful.
Do you have a vehicle that has one of those fancy remote keyless entry options? Did you leave your keys in the vehicle and can’t get in?
Do you have an extra set with someone else? Well you are about to be amazed. Now you can stay with your vehicle while unlocking it.
Call the person who has your extra set of remote keyless entry keys, tell them to put the extra set to the phone pointing the signal to the microphone, turn your cellular phone towards your vehicle, press the unlock button, BAM!
Your vehicle is now unlocked.
Trust me this actually does work. I am one of those people that forget my keys in my vehicle all the time so this comes in quite handy. It doesn’t even matter how far away the other person is.
Now save yourself time trying to get someone to bring you your extra keys when they can just unlock your vehicle from home.
3/Don’t you hate it when you are in a middle of a conversation and your cell phone’s battery is getting real low?
This third useful thing will come in very handy especially if you need your phone for a short period of time till you can get it to a charger.
There is hidden battery power in your phone. Now you probably never even thought this was possible, but it is!
Simply type in the following into your cell phone “*3370#”, now your phone will then restart and when you turn it back on you’ll see that your cell phone’s battery has increased by approximately 50%.
This comes in real handy when you need a little extra charge to get you through a little longer till you get your cell phone onto its charger finally.
4/Are you always worried about having your cell phone stolen, but are not entirely sure where to get your serial number from for your phone.
I’ll explain to you how you can get your cell phone’s serial number. Keep this number in a safe place just in case your phone is ever actually stolen.
To get your serial number type in the following code into your phone ” *#06# “, once you type the code in a 15 digit number will display on your cell phone’s screen and you will now have your serial number.
Give your cellular phone service provider this code and they can block all access to it making the phone completely useless even if there is a swap out of the SIM card.
5 /Are you one of those people who always tend to be in desperate need of a phone number, but never have a phone book near you?
You probably tend to use the service 411 and always get charged, correct? Well stop!
No longer pay for your 411 calls that seem to be costing you $1.00+ per use.
Instead dial this number into your phone: (800) FREE-411 or (800) 373-3411. Works in the U.S. only.
You may still be charged your regular cellular phone minute charges, but that is much better then spending your regular cellular phone minute charges plus the $1.00 or more to get a phone number.
There you go Try these five interesting features out and see if they make your cell phone use more efficient.
Popularity: 48% [?]
Send Brendan To Oxford
July 2, 2008
Found this one today in our local National Newspaper. A Young man by the name of Brendan is trying to get to Oxford. He has been accepted but doesn’t have the $90,000. required. So he is using the internet to gather the money. He is asking 30,000 people to each donate $3.00 so he can go to Oxford. You can find Brendan at www.3bucksforbrendan.com
A new and novel way to use the net. I still remember the One red paperclick trade http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/ where a fellow Canadian named Kyle made about a dozen trades starting with one red paperclip and traded his way up to a house. Now he is online trading the house.
So I sent Brendan my 3 bucks today and I wish him well… hope he gets to Oxford. If not he is having things set up so the money goes into a trust and will go to charity. He has 60 days to achieve his goal. So if you want to have a little smile on your face for helping a kid get an education Pay Pal him your 3bucks.
Popularity: 54% [?]
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