Lanigan & Lanigan, P.L.
831 W. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, Florida 32789
407-740-7379
Contact Us
Real Estate
Central Florida rental property owners must understand the Florida real estate law on evictions when you have a tenant who breaks the lease or damages property. Owning a rental property can be pleasant when renters pay on time, care for the property and renew the lease. This is easier said than done. Many times the property value diminishes because of damage caused by a renter or because of the unthinkable activities that take place in the home.Renters may try to bring in additional housemates, break expensive appliances, repaint or decorate in horrendous colors, put dings in doors, scratches in the walls, and leave behind filthy bathrooms. The Florida Real Estate Law on Evictions Many renters pay late, don’t pay their utility bills, damage property, and get behind in rental payments. In fact, you can expect any or all of those things to occur at some point. But these items should be covered in the amount of the security deposit held. These are manageable problems and each landlord has a deposit that covers these cursory issues. But what does a landlord do when the renter brings in pets that tear out carpet, rip holes in the walls, doors or floors. What does a landlord do when the rent is late again or the rent hasn’t been paid for two months? What is the liability when someone is seriously injured on the property but the renters haven’t maintained renters insurance? What if there’s a shooting or drugs sold or found on the property? Eric Lanigan and Roddy Lanigan are Orlando and Central Florida real estate attorneys with 35 years and four years of...
Real Estate
The passage of a new bill added the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to the list of available mortgage refinance programs. The program is designed to help give relief to homeowners so that some mortgages can be refinanced but with several hinderances. The new plan requires homeowners to be current on payment and the bill refers only to loans sold to Fannie or Freddie by May 31, 2009. The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, was started in 2009 and let homeowners refinance mortgages at lower rates and qualified borrowers to bypass the usual requirement of having at least 20 percent equity in their home. To spark interest in HARP the program will lower fees, eliminate the current 125% loan-to-value ceiling, waive lender warranties and eliminate the need for property appraisals.Few people have signed up because upside down borrowers — those who owe more than their homes are worth — couldn’t qualify under the program. About 22 percent of homeowners–11 million–are upside down. As of September 1, fewer than 900,000 homeowners, and only 72,000 upside down homeowners refinanced through HARP. The program was hoped to have helped 4 to 5 million homeowners. Those who’d lost the most value in homes weren’t eligible. Participation was limited to those whose home values were no more than 25 percent below what they owed lenders. That excluded roughly 10 percent of borrowers. In some areas of the country, borrowers have lost nearly 50 percent of their home’s value. Another problem: Homeowners must pay thousands in closing costs and appraisal fees to refinance. Typically, that adds up to 1 percent of the loan’s value — $2,000...
