Nocatee residents - deed restrictions (sales, real estate, 2013)

[dch123]

We are under contract for a home (resale) in Willowcove. We asked our realtor for a copy of the deed restrictions, but he was told that they are on the nocatee website. I can't find them. Can anyone direct me to where I can find them? Thanks!

[williamwebb1986]

Originally Posted by dch123

We are under contract for a home (resale) in Willowcove. We asked our realtor for a copy of the deed restrictions, but he was told that they are on the nocatee website. I can't find them. Can anyone direct me to where I can find them? Thanks!

Your realtor works for you, doesn't he? Tell him you want a printed hard copy of the deed restrictions NOW.

[Leaving4Ca]

Originally Posted by williamwebb1986

Your realtor works for you, doesn't he? Tell him you want a printed hard copy of the deed restrictions NOW.

YES !!!!!! AT the very least your Realtor *should* be able to email the link to you.

[Robyn55]

A realtor in Florida is in general a seller's agent - not a buyer's agent - unless the buyer has a specific agreement otherwise with the realtor. That's true even if you have someone you think of "your" realtor - you know - the person who takes you around and shows you houses listed by other realtors.

Some legal and practical observations. A homeowners' association isn't under an obligation to give documents like this to prospective purchasers. But it is obligated to give them to current owners. It is also obligated to file and record the documents with the clerk of the county court. A seller is required to have the buyer execute the form mentioned in this statute:

Chapter 720 Section 401 - 2013 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

Sometimes sales contracts have clauses requiring the seller to turn over these documents to the buyer within X days of Y. Don't know what the contract here says. I recommend putting this type of clause in any sales contract for a place in a HOA.

Neither of the realtors gets a commission unless the contract goes to closing. Most sellers don't want to see their contracts fall through. I am surprised that neither broker here will lift a finger to help the OP - at least in terms of getting him/her a link to the documents that are recorded with SJC. I was able to find some Nocatee HOA documents on line - but not those at Willowcove (they may be there - they just didn't come up in a quick search). If the realtors are clueless - they should contact the seller to get the stuff (he may have it in a box somewhere and/or is legally entitled to get it from the HOA).

At a minimum - this stuff will show up in a title insurance search (and be an exclusion in the title insurance). Who's doing the title insurance here - and who's getting the commission for doing it? Commissions on title insurance aren't insignificant - so the title agent may be able/willing to help.

FWIW - I'll put in an ad for lawyers here. Many lawyers are title insurance agents. And they will often throw in some freebies - stuff like this - in return for doing the title insurance and the closing. If I had to guess here - one or both of the realtors here will not only be getting a substantial commission on the sale - they'll also be in on the action in terms of title insurance. Regardless of who's paying for it (the seller or buyer - there's no hard and set rule/law WRT who pays title insurance in Florida - it tends to vary county to county as a matter of local custom).

IOW - someone involved in this transaction ought to get off his/her butt and help the OP. Worst comes to worst - the OP can go to the SJC Clerk of Court website - and search for the documents himself.

BTW - I am assuming the OP is talking about a HOA - not a condo association. The laws WRT condos are different. Robyn

[Peter the Brit]

A realtor in Florida is in general a seller's agent - not a buyer's agent - unless the buyer has a specific agreement otherwise with the realtor. That's true even if you have some you think is "your" realtor - you know - the person who takes you around and shows you houses listed by other realtors.

THE ABOVE IS UTTER RUBBISH look up transaction brokers

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Peter the Brit

A realtor in Florida is in general a seller's agent - not a buyer's agent - unless the buyer has a specific agreement otherwise with the realtor. That's true even if you have some you think is "your" realtor - you know - the person who takes you around and shows you houses listed by other realtors.

THE ABOVE IS UTTER RUBBISH look up transaction brokers

Are there lots of transaction brokers here yet? Are they working in Nocatee?

I know exactly what a transaction broker is. It's a broker who doesn't owe a duty - fiduciary or otherwise - to any party in a transaction. Just someone who kind of stands in the middle of a transaction - is supposed to be "helpful" - and collects a % of the sale proceeds when money changes hands.

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

As a lawyer - this concept is totally foreign to me. Perhaps some sellers want to pay 2-4-6% of a sales price to a "helpful" person who - by statute - isn't working for them. I wouldn't care to. I'd rather go FSBO. And - regardless of what kind of broker you have - it's good to hire a lawyer - who will always be working for *you*.*

Let me ask you a question. Assuming both brokers here are transaction brokers - and not regular brokers - which - if either of them (the listing broker or the broker who drove the buyer around to see various places) - or perhaps both of them - should get the HOA documents the OP wants? I think getting the HOA docs for the OP would be very helpful as far as he is concerned. Is that part of a transaction brokers' job? Robyn

P.S. I hadn't realized there is now a presumption of a a transaction brokerage relationship in Florida until I read the statute. What a rip-off for people involved in buying and selling real estate.

*The only possible exception here is when a lawyer represents both you and a title company. Normally not an issue - but conflicts can come into play when you're dealing with things like property lines that are defined by wetlands jurisdictional lines as dealt with in title insurance policies.

[em922]

Does the seller not have to order a disclosure package from the HOA here? When we just sold our house in VA, we had to pay the HOA several hundred dollars to get all of the info and transfer to the buyer. When we bought the house, this was not done for us, but the HOA was managed by some residents, and they did not seem to know what they were doing. We were later told that it was the seller's responsibility.

[JBtwinz]

As everyone has said............regardless of where you get them from or from whoever you get them from they could be the most important part of your closing. HOA's in Florida have a tremendous amount of clout and their rules and restrictions have caused many heartaches among home owners. I would want to know if they have been going up every year and see their yearly statement with incoming and outgoing expenses and how much of a reserve they have.

My buddy lives in a development gone under...............lots of empty lots sprinkled throughout the development................no notices given about parking on these lots next to everyone's homes. The realtor (managing the HOA) had a towing company perform a sweep late at night last weekend and they towed about 12 vehicles. $76 a month and they could not even send a flyer out giving everyone a heads up! He sends his check in every year and receives no other communication other than the bill!

Remember a home purchase gets you into a club you can't ever get out of

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by em922

Does the seller not have to order a disclosure package from the HOA here? When we just sold our house in VA, we had to pay the HOA several hundred dollars to get all of the info and transfer to the buyer. When we bought the house, this was not done for us, but the HOA was managed by some residents, and they did not seem to know what they were doing. We were later told that it was the seller's responsibility.

Best I can figure out from a quick reading of the Florida statutes - there is no statutory obligation for a HOA seller other than a developer to deliver these documents to a seller. Although such a clause might be a (recommended IMO) part of the sales contract. Condo statutes are different. An owner is entitled to these things from a HOA. And there are all kinds of laws about how the owner is entitled to get these things these days (including laws about snapping up to a certain number of pictures of pages with a cell phone or similar - posting them on websites - etc.).

When it comes to my HOA - everything is posted on the HOA website. But you need to be an owner (with a log in) to view all the HOA documents. Robyn

[em922]

Yes, it is in the contracts. I believe with the buyers having so many days to back out of the deal if they don't like the restrictions.