Page 12 - Palm City Bulletin - July '19

Page 12, Palm City Spotlight

estate gooD works

planning Palm Cove Women’s Club accepted their generous donation of $6,500.
The Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation Inc. is a
Derby Day Party A Winner! nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization devoted to the rescue,
rehabilitation, re-education and adoption of abused,
New Law Provides Some Help The Palm Cove Women’s Club celebrated the Kentucky slaughter-bound, abandoned and neglected horses. You can
For Open Building Permits Derby with a dinner party at their clubhouse and chose the visit their website at www.eraf.org.
Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation
(ERAF) as their charity. Earlier in the
By Tony Lavargna, year, members visited ERAF in Palm
Esq. City to see firsthand the rescued horses
On July 1 a new and the amazing results of all the
law took effect in care, training and rehabilitation ERAF
Florida which will provides for their horses.
substantially help Ninety-one people attended the club
sellers and buyers of event and enjoyed playing horseracing
real property close games, bourbon tasting, dinner and
out open or expired drinks. Carol Greeson, the president
building permits. This of the club, said the club members
law is the result of the thought it was great to donate to a
Florida legislature local charity and ERAF was a natural Board members Stephan Ambrosch, Marilynn Vannucci and ERAF Board
recognizing that homeowners and buyers were for Derby Day. Three board members, President Denise LeClair-Robbins with her horse Rio, accept a donation of
experiencing significant problems resolving expired Stephan Ambrosch, Marilynn Vannucci $6,500 from Palm Cove Women’s Club members Carol Greeson, Sharon Liddell,
permits. and Denise LeClair-Robbins cheerfully Teri Weiss, Kim Makled, Shirley Cage and Susan Haggan.
Even with the new law, buyers and sellers
need to be keenly aware of the status of building
permits on a home to be bought or sold. Under the Diane Lott Sells Real Estate
commonly used residential contracts for sale and
purchase, the seller has the obligation to disclose Sell for 4%
improvements made to the property without required FREE Consultation & Market Analysis
permits or made pursuant to permits which have not
been properly closed and then deliver to buyer all Call today: 954-294-5060
plans and documentation relating to the work and
improvements subject to the unpermitted, expired
or open permits. Diane Lott, Broker/Owner
Many realtors add a provision in the contracts that Paradise Found Realty, Inc.
the seller has the additional obligation to close out 1111 Martin Downs Blvd, Suite A
open or expired building permits. In some contracts, Palm City
the seller’s cost to close out these permits is subject
to a monetary cap, known as the “Permit Limit.”
Often permits expire because required inspections Visit us on:
had not been performed even though the work was www.ParadiseFoundRealtyFl.com
completed. Some sellers have dealt with 20-year-old
expired permits which they didn’t even know about.
Local building departments may close a building permit
six years after the permit was issued if the department Hurricane SeaSon iS coming ...
determines there are no apparent safety hazards.
Buyers should make sure they know the status of
permits for the property, either checking personally ... are your windowS ready?
or having their inspector check for them. Buyers
who close on a home with open or expired permits
inherit the cost and burden of closing out the permit
as required by law. The new law streamlines this
process by allowing the work to be approved under
the rules of the building code when the permit was
issued. This change is a big help to property owners
as they won’t have to upgrade the work to conform
with present day code requirements.
Title insurance does not cover permitting issues
so open or expired permits that are discovered by the
buyer after closing can cost the buyer thousands of
dollars to resolve. The new law helps these buyers
as now the local governments cannot penalize a
purchaser of property solely because a previous
owner failed to close out a building permit. The
purchaser would still have to correct the work but
will not be subject to fines and penalties.
Even though the new law helps the process of
closing out open or expired permits, both the seller
and buyer need to perform their own due diligence
to know the status of permits on a property they are
buying or selling.
This column is an overview of the subject matter
and is not intended as legal advice. Anthony
Lavargna is an attorney practicing law in Stuart. He
is a graduate of Florida State University College of
Law, the University of Central Florida and Martin get a Quote for new windows & doors Today!
County High School.
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