What's New

At SCOTT N. GELFAND, P.A., new to our real estate practice are two methods of protecting homeowners from the unfortunate downturn in the real estate market.

Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (“ILSFDA”)
In the current real estate market, many home buyers are awaiting long-overdue completion of new homes by developers or are in the unfortunate position of having lost substantial value in their new homes. The ILSFDA can remedy both of these homeowner dilemmas.

The ILSFDA is a Federal statute that governs the construction of many new homes. The ILSFDA requires developers to follow strict guidelines in the form contracts they enter into with new home buyers. Where contracts fail to adhere to these guidelines, Florida courts have afforded substantial relief to new home buyers -- from rescinding the purchase to even the opportunity to return the home to the builder months after having taken possession. For more information about how we may be able to utilize the ILSFDA to your advantage, feel free to contact us.

Property Appraiser Valuation Petitions
An obvious outgrowth of the economic downturn in the real estate market is that our homes are no longer valued as highly as they have been over the last few years. While home sellers inevitably must suffer the consequence of this marketplace reduction, there is an associated benefit. Real estate taxes are tied to a home's assessed value, and where a home's value decreases, so too should the real estate taxes to be paid on that home. Nevertheless, county property appraisers have been slow to react to the current market trends, and most homes are not seeing the associated tax reduction. There is a legal mechanism to address this, however. Every homeowner has the right to file a Petition to contest the assessed value of their home. At SCOTT N. GELFAND, P.A., we provide complete homeowner representation services in property appraiser valuation cases to obtain a fair market value assessment of your home and the coextensive property tax reduction. For more information about our property appraiser valuation practice, feel free to contact us.