All Forum Posts by: Marelyn Valdes

How did a bowed wall pass inspection by the local building department?  I personally wouldn't close on a house with obvious bowing - it would make it harder to sell in the future even if you don't have any problems with the water lines.

@Joyce Jackson  

83.51 Landlord’s obligation to maintain premises.—


(4) The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other person on the premises with the tenant’s consent.

I use Suzanne Wigginton at Homerun Realty and she gets back to me within a few hours normally, or by the next day if she's slammed. I have bought and sold and she's advised me on comps and whether she thinks a seller's asking is a good deal for me or not. She does expect buyers to have POF or a preapproval letter. If you need a local title company, I have worked with First International Title (Angie or Willie) - they are fast and thorough and don't run up the fees on closings.

I had a similar situation in Tampa years ago where the housing inspector came out and found my tenants had a horrible roach infestation, food all over the place, broken plumbing and a couple of broken windows.  They were not Section 8 and they had a new baby just a couple of months old.  The inspector threatened me with having the house declared uninhabitable for the roaches.  I thanked him and said I would have never been able to get a judge to evict them at Christmas when their rent was current.  He was shocked....I said if they were that nasty, treating the roaches would be temporary as they would just come back.  Somehow some agencies and volunteers came out and cleaned and treated the roaches - I repaired the plumbing (plumber changed his clothes in the yard afterward the roaches were so bad) and window.  They stayed another month and moved.  Yes, I had to treat the roaches again, but it's a lot easier in an empty house.

You need to check with your clerk of court's office, but in Marion County (Ocala), our clerk is allowing filing all the paperwork and going through with everything up to the writ of possession.  The moratorium is on issuing the writ of possession, but if you have all the rest of the eviction done (notice, filing eviction, notices to tenant, filing for judgement), as soon as the moratorium is lifted you can get the writ of possession and evict the tenant.

"9. Excepting "final action" at the conclusion of certain residential
foreclosure and eviction proceedings as referenced in Governor's
Executive Order 20-180 amending and extending Governor's Executive
Order 20-94, Clerks of Courts of the Fifth Judicial Circuit may issue
Summons, Clerk's Defaults, Writs, and other court related process and
begin scheduling judicial sales. For purposes of uniformity within the
Fifth Circuit, ''final action" shall be construed to mean entry by the Courts
of an order authorizing issuance of a writ of possession by the Clerk of
Court and subsequent issuance of such a writ by the Clerk with respect to 
a foreclosure or eviction referenced in Governor's Executive Order 20-
180. All other action not expressly prohibited by Governor's Executive
Order 20-180 or this order may proceed as provided by the Florida Rules
of Civil Procedure, Florida Statutes, and substantive Florida law."

Just because he had the vents cleaned after you moved doesn't mean it isn't normal wear and tear - does he have proof of having the vents cleaned prior to you moving in?  If not, then he would have no way to prove they weren't already dirty.  You have to use the statutory form to keep any of the security deposit and most leases also allow court costs and attorney fees for the winner in a lawsuit over the tenancy.  I would speak to a local real estate attorney about your rights.  It may be worth paying for a letter denying the charges, stating the required form wasn't used (and was it mailed certified return receipt, which is also required), and asking for the return of the deposit and the cost of the attorney writing the letter before you file a small claims case.

She should ask the attorney handling the probate about selling the property.  If there are any proceeds, they would most likely end up in a trust for the minor child.  Perhaps the attorney could inquire if the mortgage holder will negotiate on the past due amount since Florida is currently not allowing writ of possessions and and foreclosure procedure could take a long time and additional legal fees.

https://lieserskaff.com/how-florida-landlords-should-handle-a-deceased-tenants-personal-property/#:~:text=In%20this%20instance%2C%20Florida%20law,in%20writing%20of%20a%20probate

Hubzu and Tranzon Driggers both allow access before you bid.  Tranzon usually has a set date for walk-throughs and Hubzu gives your agent the lockbox code.  I have bought from both - be sure to check the buyer's premium and closing costs and factor that into your bid.  I recently noticed Hubzu requires a hold on your credit card (the one I saw was $1,000) before you bid and you get it back if you don't win.