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Closing A Florida Home

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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 Florida property you will need to write an offer and give your deposit money, called earnest money when you cross the border to an escrow agent (usually a lawyer)or a realtor.  They have a legal obligation to hold your deposit until one of 2 things can happen 1/ the seller hands him or her a deed conveying title and a “GUARANTEE” that they in fact do own the property. 2/ The deal falls through, in which case your deposit money comes back to you.

 

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 Florida as here in Canada now there are Title Insurance Companies. So your lawyer would supply you with a policy issued by a big well –known insurance companies that have been in business for decades and that are highly solvent. They do research to make sure the seller owns the property and to make sure there are no others claims or liens against the property.

 

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 Florida are higher than elsewhere then you are correct. They are higher than states that have income tax and death tax.  However, there are ways to reduce some of these costs plus the savings on the purchase cost at the moment should substantially offset these costs, plus of course the lack of other taxes and the generally lower tax brackets that exist in Florida.

 

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 Florida (the state) only by the U.S. Federal government at rates much lower than in Canada.

 

So it may be time to grab your beach towel and sun block and check out living part of the year under the Florida Sun.

Popularity: 38% [?]

A Place In The Florida Sun

You’ve probably been hearing all about the serious mess in the U.S. real estate market due to the sub prime mortgage debacle.  Thousands and thousands of people are losing their homes. There are new home subdivisions sitting vacant completely built and ready to go.

 

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 Florida getaway.

 

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 Florida. 

 

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 Canada can change their minds whenever it suits them so you should make sure you get current advise at the time of your real estate purchase, not relying on this. 

 

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

It’s a great time to buy a second home in Florida with the market so soft, particularly for Canadians . A lot ot the concern with doing this results from not understanding how to finance a property and how to take title and manage taxes.

 

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Florida seminar and glean some more info on this which I will share with you here.  Please don’t construe this as legal advise.  You will need to talk to a lawyer and or accountant who deals with cross border issues to determine what to do in your situation.  This is meant to alleviate some fears and concerns about the process only.

 

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 u.s. social security number or a U.S. credit history.

 

RBC Centura Bank which is a fully owned subsidiary of RBC Royal Bank with over 45 branches in Florida has developed a banking & home –lending program for Canadians which is called RBC ACCESS USA. It has a number of financial solution & takes into account your Canadian Credit History.

 

They have a team of financial professionals specially trained to assist you with U.S. banking and home lending requirements.

 

Banking & Mortgage laws and regulations & terms are quite different in the U.S. and RBC’s team knows the difference between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to banking & getting a mortgage.

  

While we can get a mortgage in 2-3 days here in Canada and sometimes in only 24 hrs. in the U.S.  it can take up to one month.  So if you are looking to buy state side in the near future you can pre-qualify the same as you would here .  This can save you time and help you to bargain for a better price in the current buyer’s market.

 

 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 U.S. and just how much power and leverage this can give you.

 

U.S. mortgages generally give the mortgagee (that’s you and me) the option to pre-pay at any time without penalty… Another big difference and great advantage as you can knock it down every time the exchange rates are favourable and you have some extra cash.

 

Also in the U.S. you don’t have to renegotiate your rate every  3 years or 5 years. You can get a fixed rate for 30 years.  All the more reason to buy now while the rates are historically low.

 

When you mortgage in the U.S. the  bank will give you a “good faith” estimate which will itemize all the charges involved in the transaction.  This way you will know all the cash you need available.

 

With RBC Ventura you can finance up to 80% on a second home loan providing that you qualify.

 

You will need  make sure your will or trust covers your U.S. asset and to seek proper cross border advise in that regard.   More on that coming up.

  

Popularity: 41% [?]

Tax Planning For Your Florida Home

When planning your Florida purchase you want to also plan for the eventuality of a personal disaster, death; or necessary disposition of your home.

 

Probate

 

When a property is owned by the deceased alone, the property will be subject to Florida probate. This is a legal process which allows for a property to be transferred to an owner\s beneficiary. 

 

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 Florida property or the proceeds if it is sold.

 

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 Florida guardianship procedures.

 

6/ No annual filing requirements to the IRS or Canadian tax authorities.

 

7/No deemed disposition upon transfer of title to the trust

 

8/ No annual accountant or attorney services required.

 

9/ U.S. estate tax payable upon death of first spouse deferred by Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) in the CBRLT

 

Minimizing U.S. Estate Taxes

     

Popularity: 42% [?]

Send Brendan To Oxford

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% [?]

Buy Florida Bargains

You’ve probably been hearing all about the serious mess in the U.S. real estate market due to the sub prime mortgage debacle.  Thousands and thousands of people are losing their homes. There are new home subdivisions sitting vacant completely built and ready to go.
 
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 Florida getaway.
 
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  ( for the blog) if you are interested in investing in Florida Real Estate. Here’s a great source of articles and info on getting involved with Florida Real Estate.

http://www.torontoshome.com/buyfloridarealestate.html

Here on these next few pages you will find most of the info you need to get started with real estate in Florida. 
 
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 Canada can change their minds whenever it suits them so you should make sure you get current advise at the time of your real estate purchase, not relying on this. 
 
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: 82% [?]

Site Build Spring $100.00 Off Special. The Best Web Business Builder You Can Buy

Over the last few years a friend kept raving to me about her little web business.  She had built it using a system called Site Sell.  Eventually I purchased one of their “ web systems”.  Yes it is a system not just a web site.  I used it to build a main or back end website for all our other niche sites.  Sort of like a big hub that they all ultimately feed into.  
It is always amazing to me how many compliments I get on that site from people telling me how they love the site.  It’s amazing because I did it myself and I don’t build web sites.  The site is www.torontoshome.com  and it just contains our backend offers for prospective clients to sign up for.  Nothing fancy, just very simple stuff.  But the forms are beautifully designed as the software contains a form builder. The autresponders are built right into the system. 

What is amazing to me is how Ken Evoy  can keep the price of Site Sell at only $299.00

Site Build It comes with the best web and keyword research tools on the web. Except you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars extra for them.  They are included in the package. You can go in and research your niche, search for your keywords, find profitability and then start to build your site.  You get the website building software and template and all of Ken’s many Guides on building web businesses.   

Also before I forget to mention it the price includes your domain name for one year and your web hosting.

  The instruction manual on how to build your site right from the researching your niche phase is extremely thorough and in simple laypersons terms containing Ken’s very friendly style with little humorous graphics to lighten your day. 

At last count there were about 6 manuals available with the package but by now I am sure Ken has added more.  Ken is so warm you feel like he is your friend there teaching you the ropes. 

  There are numerous forums for asking questions and  Site Sell people are very helpful.  You get the feeling they all want you to succeed.  Site Build It is particularily great for work at home Moms trying to build a small business.  The best part is that you can try it for 30 days with a money back guarantee and right now Ken is having a spring special with $100.00 off which is just a fantastic deal. 

Now this is not a quicky effort I just want to warn you.  Building a viable web business takes time and work.  So you need an hour a night to work on this or one day per week that you can devote to it.  I don’t want to fool you here.

  But there is reason that Sitsell is one of the highest ranked sites in the world and why tens of thousands of people use this package to learn to build web businesses.  Once you walk through the steps of building a web business with this package you will understand what a web business is and can transfer this to any other web business and ultimately that is the greatest value that I personally have received from the Sitesell package. 

Hurry to get it before the $100.00 off Spring Easter special is gone.

  Good luck with it if you give it a go.   

Popularity: 74% [?]

Make Money Online

Four years ago I noticed that about 70% of all business in my field were moving to the internet.  Today it’s up to 94%.  I decided if that’s where it’s at then it’s where I needed to be.  Back then there weren’t too many quality courses avialable to get you started. There was a lot of flakey stuff. One of the best was put out by the Internet Marketing Centre.  They are still going strong today and keep on updating their offering.  This month they have a $2.95 special on and I thought I would let you know about it.  Here’s the link    internet marketing course

Popularity: 68% [?]

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