Hi everyone this is Claudia Splinter with Trajan Commercial Real Estate. Super excited to give you some information that may benefit you at the time of the sale of your commercial
property.
Today we want to talk about a new bill that is assisting us to close more deals in an effective
way and is helping our clients in saving money. With The Trajan CRE team you can rest assured
that we are always looking to keep up with trends and legislation to better assist our clients.
So as you know Closings are sometimes held up by expired or open permits, and, in some cases
could cause the deal to fall apart but… starting on October 1st, 2019 the Florida Legislation
approved a new bill. The House Bill 447 which allows the local governments to close a permit
six years after its issuance as long as no apparent safety issue exists. It also prevents local
governments from penalizing property owners for an open permit that was applied for by a
previous owner.
This allows buyers and sellers to resolve open and expired permit issues much faster and
minimize delays to closing.
Additionally, the bill also allows local governments to send written notice to an owner, as well
as the contractor listed on their permit, when a building permit is about to expire. This
mechanism will hopefully provide a reminder to contractors and property owners who may
have simply forgotten to schedule an inspection or file the necessary paperwork, to get a
permit closed out. The bill also aims to prevent local governments from penalizing property
owners for open permits or expired permits applied for and then neglected by a previous
owner. These are great news! This will hopefully incentivize property owners to clean up any
permit issues on their property without fear of fines or penalties for the delays, thereby
benefiting sellers that may have inherited an open or expired permit at the time of closing.
Ultimately, a buyer should always insist on a permit search during the due diligence period, and
ensure that any open and expired permits are closed out prior to the transfer of ownership. A
seller can rely on this updated legislation to help facilitate the process without fear of
unwarranted fines or penalties.
If you have any questions about how open permits, expired permits, or the new legislation
could impact your closing, I will suggest you contact your local real estate attorney.
If you don’t have one feel free to call, text or contact us through social media and I can refer
you to the best attorneys in town.
This is all for today … as always it will be our pleasure to assist anyone looking to sale their
commercial property. Your Trajan team always going above and beyond for our clients.
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