Brevard County Real Estate with Zillow and New Florida Condo Rules

 

ABOVE VIDEO: Space Coast Daily Real Estate TV: Host and local Realtor Bobby Freeman talks about new condo laws, tours a Cocoa Beach condo in 3D and discusses more ‘Fake News?’ regarding zillow.com

Zillow and its Zestimate®

According to zillow.com, the Zestimate® home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. In my opinion, it’s basically a computer program that calculates ‘comparable’ sales to tell you how much a particular property is worth.

Is Zillow correct all of the time, sometimes or not at all? You’ll have to see for yourself so here’s an example. Go to zillow.com and search for my new listing at 408 Buchanan Ave Cape Canaveral, FL 32920.

I found 3 pages on Zillow with 3 different types of information. The first says my listing is ‘BUILDING’ and there are 34 units in this community. This is incorrect. The property was built in 2002 and there are 7 properties in the Artesia Town Home community.

The second search page showed my previous listing that I sold 2 years ago for $410,000. However the Zestimate® says the property is worth $585,731. So if you are a buyer hooked on Zillow’s information, make an offer for $560,000 on 408 Buchanan Ave. I’ll do my best to get my seller to accept that price.

The third search page does advertise my current listing with the updated pictures and upgrades. My seller added over $40,000 in very nice upgrades and the listing price is $550,000. The Zestimate® now says it’s worth $550,403?

So as you can see there are 3 different sets of information for the same property on Zillow. If you want accurate updated information especially in regards to a home’s value, give McCoy-Freeman Group RE/MAX Elite a call at 321-720-6654

In fact if you search around on Zillow’s site you may notice this:

We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow’s information by doing other research such as:

Getting a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
Visiting the house (whenever possible)

Condo law changes went into effect July 1

There were several changes made to Chapter 718, the Florida Statute governing condominiums, and all went into effect on July 1, 2017.
While not exhaustive, below is a list of July 1 changes that you may come across in real estate deals:

718.111(12)(c)(1) – A unit renter has a right to inspect and copy the association’s bylaws and rules.

718.111(12)(c)(3)(g)(1) – by July 1, 2018, an association with 150 or more units (which does not manage timeshare units) must post digital copies of the required documents on its website.

718.116(8) – The association must issue an estoppel certificate within 10 business days of receipt of a written or electronic request for said certificate.

718.116(8)(a) – Any condominium estoppel certificate must contain specific assessment information, such as the regular periodic assessment and frequency; an itemized list of all assessments, special assessments and other moneys scheduled to become due; if there is a capital contribution fee, resale fee or other fee due and what the amount is; if there is a right of first refusal provided to the association or the members; and contact information for all insurance maintained by the association, amongst other things.

718.116(8)(b) – The estoppel certificate (sent via hand delivery or electronically) has a 30-day effective period (35-days if sent by regular mail).

718.116(8)(d) – If a requested estoppel certificate is not delivered within 10 business days, a fee may not be charged for the preparation and delivery of that estoppel letter.

718.116(8)(f) – The association may charge a reasonable fee for preparation and delivery of an estoppel certificate that may not exceed $250.00; if the certificate is requested on an expedited basis and delivered within 3 business days after the request, however, the association may charge an additional $150.00; an additional fee of up to $150.00 may also be charged for an estoppel certificate on a unit if a delinquent amount is owed.

The Florida Legislature also added other new condominium association rules this year. If a unit owner is denied docs and fraud can be proved, for example, it could be a felony; and board director terms are now limited to eight years with a few exceptions.

For complete info on July 1 condo law changes, refer to the bill, HB 1237, which Gov. Scott signed on June 26.

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