Around Florida

"Calling all Richard Branson types with millions of dollars burning a hole in their pocket... Have we got a deal for you!" Little Bokeelia Island, a 104-acre island in Pine Island Sound, northwest of Naples in southwest Florida, is currently on the market. Originally developed by Charles Burgess (an American chemist and engineer who manufactured batteries through the Burgess Battery Company, now known as Duracell), the island, accessible only by floatplane or boat, is home to an updated Spani... Read Full Post

Once again, Florida ranked in the Top 5 for best states for taxes on business according to the 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index report from The Tax Foundation. The index focuses on how a tax system enhances or harms a state's businesses by looking at dozens of state tax provisions to create the ranking – a single, easy-to-use score that measures each state's tax climate against every other state. While some states moved up and others down, Florida has remained very steady for eight yea... Read Full Post

We found this interactive map online that was published by the NY Times that is a nice tool for looking at the county-by-county population change data from the 2010 Census. It includes 12 map options, some of which pertain to real estate. For example, you can look at the number of occupied and vacant housing units and the changes in vacant housing units over the time period. In looking at the data for the state of Florida, you can see that many counties saw increases of over 40% between 2000 ... Read Full Post

The following changes to the Florida Uniform Power of Attorney Act took effect yesterday (October 1, 2011). Considering how the power of attorney is often used in real estate transactions, we thought you might find the following information useful. A synopsis of the changes to the Florida Uniform Power of Attorney Act: The changes to the act only applies to powers created by individuals and does not impact powers issued by corporate or other types of entities. It applies to both durable and n... Read Full Post

According to Portfolio.com, eight out of the Top 10 retirement destinations in the country are in Florida and three out of the Top 5 are in Southwest Florida. While the warm weather areas dominating the results are no surprise, some of the reports other destinations are quite interesting considering their location. Here are the Top 10 areas: Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Prescott, AZ Lake Havasu, AZ Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, FL Naples, FL Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL Homosassa, FL Ocala, FL Punta Gorda,FL Por... Read Full Post

According to estimates forecasted by Moody's Economy.com, Florida is likely to see greater job growth than any other state in the country in 2011. If they are right, it would be some welcome relief to an area that has been hard hit by the economic downturn. A review of their estimates shows the following projections: An overall 3% job growth rate. New construction to see a 26.7% increase in jobs. Natural resources and mining up 4.6%. Leisure and hospitality up 3.4% and educational and health ... Read Full Post

Florida state insurance regulators announced they have approved premium rate increases for homeowners insured through Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. According to the announcement, the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) said it will allow premiums to rise an average of 10.4% and go into effect as early as January, 2011. The OIR also approved rate hikes of 11% for residential wind-only condominium association insurance and 11.3% for residential condominium association insurance with... Read Full Post

Under pressure from state Realtor associations, BP Oil Spill Fund claims administrator Kenneth Feinberg has agreed to make monies available to specifically pay real estate professionals for loss of income or sales due to the Gulf oil spill. In Florida alone, Realtor organizations were able to get an agreement for $16 million from the negotiation process. As with everything involving a claims process there are extensive eligibility and documentation requirements and of course a maximum amount ... Read Full Post

Amendment 3, approved by Florida lawmakers in 2009, has been removed from the November ballot by a ruling from Tallahassee Circuit Judge John Cooper. According to the judge's ruling, "the amendment's ballot title and summary don't mention the effective date, which could lead voters to incorrectly assume they were eligible for additional homestead exemption benefits, which are in fact limited to some buyers of homes purchased after January 1, 2010." The case was brought by The Florida AFL-CIO ... Read Full Post

After months of hearings, threats of policy cancellations and plans to exit the market, State Farm Insurance and the Florida Insurance Regulators have come to terms on the company continuing to offer homeowners insurance within the state. The announcement brings welcome relief to some policyholders and anxiety over having to find a new insurer for others. The agreement allows State Farm to drop 125,000 policies beginning in August of next year and to immediately begin raising its insurance ra... Read Full Post