Gulf Coast Associates' Blog: Around Florida

According to a recent study by bizjournals.com, Florida is a great place for small business. The report listed the top ten markets and Florida held four of those top five spots.

Top Florida metropolitan areas for small business growth:

• Orlando
• Sarasota-Bradenton
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale
• Jacksonville

The study used a 12-part formula for looking at 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The four Florida markets all shared similar qualities; rapid growth in population, employment and the number of small businesses. The lone exception to Florida's dominance was in Las Vegas, which came in ranked at number four.

While the report noted that new construction has been scaled back throughout the state, other new business…

A Florida study conducted by the National and Florida Associations of Realtors showed that home sales to international buyers dropped by 65% from 2005 to 2006. The report indicates there were four major reasons for the decline:

• The excessive increase in property insurance.
• The equally substantial rise in real estate taxes.
• More stringent border security laws that make it tougher for anyone who wishes to spend an entire season in Florida very difficult.
• The increase in mortgage interest rates during the height of the winter season.

In 2006, nealy two thirds of Florida's 12,900 active Realtors® conducted no real estate transactions involving a foreign buyer. Of those who did have a transaction with a foreign buyer, 34% were from…

Well, the Florida Legislature passed a very contentious property tax cutting amendment yesterday (6/14) - with many tax payers up in arms over its effect. The second portion of the bill - which does not require voter approval - is to require local governments to reduce and cap taxes with allowances for new construction and growth in personal income. In order for a local government to override the caps it would take a super majority council vote or a local citizen referendum.

Essentially, all local governments will need to trim their budgets from 3% to 9%. Many local officials feel they would have no choice but to cut local services to their population including fire and rescue personnel. And, perhaps more importantly, the proposed tax law changes could…

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill today giving more relief to Florida homeowner's burdened by high home insurance costs. The new law extends the freeze on rates for the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corporation through the end of 2008 and prohibits national property insurance companies from setting up any new Florida-only subsidiaries.

While the new law is welcome relief for some, it still doesn't address the issue of the national insurers who set up Florida-only subsidiaries previously and who continue to seek higher rates by claiming they are losing money in Florida while making huge profits throughout the rest of the country. Until the legislators in Tallahassee reverse this mistake, many Florida homeowners will continue to suffer…

The governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, set up a Board known as the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to search for answers to provide real estate tax relief for Floridians. Real Estate Tax Reform is a true issue for both new, and current, residents of the state. Every registered voter in our State should pay close attention to this measure and the relief it will afford us for moving "up or down" from an existing residence, as should new residents purchasing homes in our state.

For the past few months we've been working with the Honorable Ken Wilkinson, the Lee County Property Appraiser, regarding legislative action to permit homesteaded owners to take up to $400,000 of their current homesteaded tax value with them when they purchase "upwards" and 50%…

With Hurricane season officially underway, we thought it would be good reminder for those home buyers getting close to closing on their recent Florida purchases to remember two very important homeowner and flood insurance facts:

• If you're going to need flood insurance on your home and haven't gotten it in place yet, you're going to have to wait 30 days for the policy to go into effect. Once the season starts, you are locked out of coverage for a month from the time you apply. The lone exclusion to the 30 day rule, is if you are getting a mortgage and the lender requires flood coverage to close on the loan.
• If you wait till the last minute to get your homeowner's or flood policies and a named storm pops up, you may have to delay your closing…