A Time is of the Essence Clause in a contract means that the time periods are important in the contract. Any contract that has a Time is of the Essence Clause, a judge or court is going to enforce the time periods strictly whereas if that clause is absent, if someone misses a deadline or a closing by a few days, a court may say that that’s de minimis or not a big deal.

In Florida when you transfer real estate there’s typically a documentary stamp tax on the deed. Since we don’t have an income tax in the state of Florida the state’s got to make their money somewhere. So in Florida the transfer tax is 70 cents per hundred dollars of consideration paid.

A variance is something that you apply for when on your property you may have a building or some other situation that doesn’t comply with the zoning laws. Essentially, the variance review board will meet and decide whether or not you can continue to have the structure on your property. It may not have the proper setbacks from the front or side yards. It may have been built previous to the zoning rules. But a variance allows you to continue using that property in the manner you have been using it, even though it may go against current zoning.

Easement is when a third party, not the property owner itself, has a right to use the property for a specific purpose. For instance, say a utility company may have an easement to be able to repair sewer lines or power lines that are on your property. A person may have an easement to use your property to access another property. There’s different types of easements and different rights that go with the different types of easements, so it’s important to consult an experienced real estate attorney if you have questions about an easement on your property.

A 1031 exchange is a provision in the federal tax code that permits a seller of investment property to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into another investment property, deferring the capital gains tax to a later date. It’s a great way to save money as an investor and it’s important to employ the services of an experienced real estate attorney when you’re considering doing a 1031 exchange, as there are many rules and IRS regulations that must be complied with.

A balloon mortgage is a type of mortgage that after a certain period of time comes due before you would typically pay it off. For instance, you may get a loan that’s amortized every 30 years but has a five-year balloon. After the five years, the entire amount remaining on the loan is due and payable to the mortgagee.

When you purchase real estate with financing, you sign a note and a mortgage. A note is what obligates you to repay the debt. A mortgage is what puts the property up as collateral for that debt. A foreclosure is when the lender is seeking to sell the collateral because the borrower is not making their monthly payments. It is important to consult with an experienced real estate attorney if you’re served with a foreclosure because you could lose the property.

A letter of intent is something that takes place between a buyer and seller prior to writing a contract. It essentially has the buyer and seller agree on the big-ticket items before the attorneys get together to actually write the contract. It’s very common in commercial real estate to start with a letter of intent before you actually move on to the purchase contract.

A quitclaim deed is a type of deed in Florida that provides no warranties. The person signing the quitclaim deed is essentially giving you what they have if they have anything. If they have nothing, you receive nothing. If they have the entire title to the house, you receive the entire title to the house. This deed is often used to cure title defects, for instance, and also in situations where in a divorce one spouse is giving up their interest to the other spouse.

Contingencies are parts of a contract. Lawyers often refer to them as conditions proceeding, which are things that must occur for the closing to move forward. For instance, the buyer may have an inspection contingency and may have a certain number of days to inspect the property or they don’t like the inspection results and may be able to back out of the contract. Another common contingency is the financing contingency where the buyer has a certain amount of time to obtain financing or they don’t have to follow through and close on the deal. It’s important to consult with an experienced attorney that can tell you, as the seller or the buyer, what contingencies are necessary or which contingencies may not be in your favor that you want to negotiate out of the contract.