Page 5 - Martin Downs Bulletin - August '20

Martin Downs, Page 5

REal EstatE

Treasure Coast Real Estate could dip below 3 percent them a home and as a closing gift, among other things, I
Report later this year.” gave them a 16-roll package of toilet paper.
Another interesting concept is that the most buyers are
A 30-year fixed rate
mortgage averaged 3.07 local, as few people are traveling to Florida. However out
Despite The Pandemic And Social Unrest, The percent for the week ending of state people are still buying some homes. I sold one of
Real Estate Market Is Booming July 2. A 15-year fixed-rate my listings to a New York couple. They viewed my 3-D
By Jim Weix mortgage averaged 2.56 self-guided walk through and bought the home without
Although many segments of the economy are suffering, percent. physically seeing it.
the real estate market reminds me of the boom times in During the beginning of The other good news, at least for sellers, is that prices
the early to mid-2000s. I sold four homes in one week second quarter of this year are holding steady and even slightly increasing. Buyers
after Florida’s Stay At Home order was lifted and each real estate sales plummeted also seem to have accepted the fact that if they want a
week after that has also been busy. as much as 45 percent as a home, they may have to settle for a home that needs some
To add fuel to the hot real estate market, mortgage result of the pandemic and Stay At Home order. Rather work, if it otherwise meets their needs.
rates have dropped to the lowest ever recorded by Freddie than hurt the real estate market, this seemed to just This is important to those sellers that want to put their
Mac since it began keeping record in 1971. According to increase pent-up buyer demand. home on the market, but are unable to financially afford
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist: “Mortgage On the downside, the inventory of existing homes is to make needed repairs. They can simply list it for sale
rates continue to slowly drift downward, with a distinct extremely low. One buyer joked to me that trying to find and expect to sell without the repairs.
possibility that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage a home was as bad as trying to find toilet paper. I did find Jim Weix is a broker associate with The Keyes
Company. Jim has 24 years of experience selling real
estate full time. If you have questions or want the services
of an experienced expert, you can reach Jim at (772)
341-2941 or jimweix@jimweix.com.
lEgal talk

Asset Protection – Taking
Advantage Of The ‘Free’

Options Florida Provides

By Ryan Abernethy
We’re often asked how
best to protect assets from
the reach of future potential
judgment creditors.
The best way is to
terminate all contact with
the outside world (potential
creditors): no business
dealings, no borrowing
or credit transactions and
of course – no driving or
ownership of any vehicle.
Unfortunately, that’s not possible. While there are
advanced “wealth preservation” strategies that may be
designed and implemented to increase protection from
“litigation risk” (measures that we frequently utilize to
provide additional protection for our clients), Florida law
provides several “free” asset protection opportunities.
One of the most powerful of these is the ownership of
assets as a “tenancy by the entireties” (TBE).
In Florida, married couples jointly owning real estate or
other assets may do so in a legal form of ownership known
as tenancy by the entireties’ ownership.
If you’re a Florida resident, so long as assets are jointly
owned between spouses, a judgment creditor of one spouse
can’t attach or otherwise gain ownership of assets owned by
the married couple as tenants by the entireties, so long as the
assets remain in that form of ownership.
This form of protection is not perfect. For example, it wouldn’t
protect against a judgment entered against both spouses. It’s only
available while assets remain in this form of ownership.

Legal Talk on page 6

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