Senate Bill sb0478c3

    Florida Senate - 2004              CS for CS for CS for SB 478

    By the Committees on Finance and Taxation; Comprehensive
    Planning; Regulated Industries; and Senator Margolis




    314-2251-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the sale of residential

  3         property; creating s. 689.261, F.S.; requiring

  4         a seller to give notice to the prospective

  5         purchaser of residential property concerning ad

  6         valorem taxes on the property; specifying the

  7         form of notice; providing an effective date.

  8  

  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         Section 1.  Section 689.261, Florida Statutes, is

12  created to read:

13         689.261  Sale of residential property; disclosure of ad

14  valorem taxes to prospective purchaser.--

15         (1)  A prospective purchaser of residential property

16  must be presented a disclosure summary at or before execution

17  of the contract for sale. Unless a substantially similar

18  disclosure summary is included in the contract for sale, a

19  separate disclosure summary must be attached to the contract

20  for sale. The disclosure summary, whether separate or included

21  in the contract, must be in a form substantially similar to

22  the following:

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24                           PROPERTY TAX

25                        DISCLOSURE SUMMARY

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27  BUYER SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE SELLER'S CURRENT PROPERTY TAXES

28  AS THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAXES THAT THE BUYER MAY BE

29  OBLIGATED TO PAY IN THE YEAR SUBSEQUENT TO PURCHASE. A CHANGE

30  OF OWNERSHIP OR PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS TRIGGERS REASSESSMENTS

31  OF THE PROPERTY THAT COULD RESULT IN HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES. IF

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004              CS for CS for CS for SB 478
    314-2251-04




 1  YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING VALUATION, CONTACT THE

 2  COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER'S OFFICE FOR INFORMATION.

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 4         (2)  Unless included in the contract, the disclosure

 5  summary must be provided by the seller. If the disclosure

 6  summary is not included in the contract for sale, the contract

 7  for sale must refer to and incorporate by reference the

 8  disclosure summary and all contracts for sale must include, in

 9  prominent language, a statement that the potential purchaser

10  should not execute the contract until he or she has read the

11  disclosure summary required by this section.

12         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2004.

13  

14          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15                           CS/CS/SB 478

16                                 

17  This committee substitute rewords the disclosure summary that
    must be provided to prospective buyers of residential property
18  so that it is shorter and easier to read.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.