In March of 2023 the Florida Association of Realtors will release an update to the standard Condominium Rider to the base contract which will include the reports as now required by FS 718.

Which is the same as the old version but with this added…

First, this is general information. If you really want to know for certain then call the Palm Beach county planning & zoning department with your parcel ID. Use this link to get the zoning and FLU information for your property. Tired of dealing with Realtors who don’t know details like this. Call me 561.626.8550

ALL of Palm Beach Country Estates is an ‘Exurban’ Tier, outside of the Urban Services or ‘U/S Tier’, AND gernally speaking lots with a house on them are zoned AR. That’s an Agricultural Residential zoning district (which FYI includes it in the use restrictions generally noted as being for a ‘residentially zoned’ districts). The Future Land Use is Rural Residential with one house per 2.5 acres or RR 2.5 and PBCE does NOT have a “Neighborhood Plan” like Jupiter Farms does. Note that a “conforming lot” in the AR zoning district is 300′ x 300′ or a little over 2 acres. Thus, if you are on a typical PBCE lot of 1.15 Acre lot then you are on an “existing non-conforming” lot. The information below asumes you are on a NON conforming lot.

But first, what is a “conforming lot” in the AR district? In short, 300’X300’…

As per an email from the PBC P&Z department on a lot in PBCE…

• The subject property is a non-conforming lot located in the Agricultural Residential (AR) Zoning District.
• Please refer to Article 5 for Accessory Structure setback.
• Please refer to Article 1 for Building Coverage.

So let’s look at an example. A lot that it 210′ wide X 240′ deep. This is 1.15 Acres and smaller than 300’x300′ and thus an ‘existing non conforming’ lot. Let’s assume it has a descent sized 4,000 sf house on it. This is the total size of the building(s) (ALL BUILDINGS) but would not include a pool or a screen enclosure UNLESS it has a solid roof. But if you have other structures on the lot, like a barn, with a solid roof then theese WOULD BE included in the lot coverage.

Let’s look at basic lot coverage. Looking at the links above, Table 1.F.2, we see that lot coverage must be less than 20%, so 0.2*210*240 = 10,080 sf. Hmm, that’s alot. In this example we could have an accessory builging that’s 10,080 – 4000 = 6,080 SF. HUGE!

ALL building heights are governed by Chapter 3 of the ULDC and that limits height to 35′ to the mean roof height in Article 3.

Let’s look at the set backs. Again, looking at the links above we see it is 15′ from the rear and side yard property lines for existing non conforming but ALSO at least 5′ from any easements. Generally these structures must be behind the front and side street yard set backs BUT there is a method spelled out to locate these CLOSER to those roadways. It’s possible.

How much width of the lot do we have to work with? Note that PBCE is outside of the U/S Tier so the maximum % of lot width does NOT apply. In this example, we have 210′-2*15′ = 180′. Assuming the house is not “in the way”, on this lot, a 60’x100′ accessory building would be OK with room to spare but what could it be used for? A HUGE barn or personal (non commercial) hobby shop, car storage BUT NOT an accessory dwelling unit (“Accessory Quarters”) which I assume is what most folks reading this are probably looking for. And that’s a bit more complex. BUT THEY ARE ALLOWED

Table 4.B.1.D shows us that for a Single Family “Primary Use” one MAY have “by right”, Permitted or P, the following: Accessory Quarters, an Estate Kitchen, or a Guest Cottage as defined in that chapter as:

Accessory Quarters

a.   Definition

A complete, separate living facility equipped with a kitchen and provisions for sanitation and sleeping, located on the same lot as the owner-occupied principal dwelling.

b.   Building Area

The use shall be subject to the following:

1)   On less than one acre: a maximum of 800 square feet.

2)   On one acre or more: a maximum of 1,000 square feet.

3)   The floor area calculation shall include only the living area of the Accessory Quarters under a solid roof.

4)   Additional floor area under a solid roof that is utilized as a porch, patio, porte-coch

What is a 4 point inspection of a house? This is an easy one. A 4 point inspection MAY be done at the same time as a general home inspection but it does not have to be. This is an inspection of four major systems of a house and it is generally required by your insurance uderwriting for any house that is older than 40 years. The inpector will be looking at: 1) the Roof. 2) The Electrical system. 3) The HVAC (air conditioner) 4) The Plumbing.

Citizens is a public entity so we know whay their 4 point form has on it…

Citizens 4 point Form

Other carriers will have their own form but in general they will look at:

• Roof –  Type of Roof Covering (shingles, tile, rolled). The age and condition of the roof. Are there missing shingles or leaks?
• Electrical System –  The type of the wiring in the home (copper, aluminium, knob and tube). The brand of the electrical panel. The condition of the homes electrical system
• Heating and Cooling – Is there central heat and air in the home? The age and condition of the system. Are there signs of leaking?
• Plumbing System –    Type of supply and drain lines found in the home (copper, CPVC, galvanized, lead, polybutelene, etc. Is there evidence of current leaks?  The age of the hot water heater.

Lots of folks in Real Estate will tell you about the importance of checking, tracking and perhaps cleaning up your credit rating but equally as important, IMO, is checking your insurance rating. Insurance is VERY expensive these days and I take great care in ensuring I get the lowest rate possible. Ever wonder why 2 people living right next to each other could pay very different amount for property insurance. Yes, there may be wind mitigation factors in use, or flood mitigation factors in use BUT most folks do not know that insurance companies have volumes of data on you that they use to determine IF they want to insure you and if so at what rate?

I just got my annual notice like this one in the mail and last year I did this. I requested a copy (FREE) of my insurance rating data from Lexis Nexis. You may mail them this form here…

LexisNexis Risk Solutions Consumer Center
P.O. Box 105108
Atlanta, GA 30348-5108

OR, request on on line here…

https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/consumer

A few years ago, the last time the flood maps were updated, I fought to have my house (the insured structure) removed from the AE flood zone. I did this with a Letter of Map Revision. The ‘test’ for this is if the “lowest adjacent grade” (the elevation of the dirt at the corners of you house) is high than the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) shown on the adopted FIRM then you qualify. Mine is and so I went back to qualifying for a “Preferred Risk” policy.

Now, with Risk Rating 2.0 being implemented my first renewal led to a premium of $687. I looked at the math and I could not see where the Community Rating System (CRS) discount was applied so I reached out to my insurance agent who looked into it and sent me this response: “In addition, I was advised that community 120217 has a 25% credit and that the total $687 premium is with that community credit, however, when I asked 25% of what amount I was told that the NFIP does not provide their rating information currently and that they can only  verify the discount for the community number.” Sounded like hocus pocus, trust me it’s in there BS to me but I moved on.

I was at a meeting the other day at the county and an insurance agent sent me: “Explaining the CRS discount in Risk Rating 2.0“. This has a great graphic in it to explain how the CRS applies to policy premiums under the new system. This table assumes a CRS Class 5 rating of the Community and thus a 25% discount applied. Basically, for most folks take the Annual Increase Cap amount shown on your policy renewal and multiply by 1.18.

This is a list of CRS rating for communities for April 2022.

Palm Beach County Properties enjoy a CRS of 5 (25% discount).

Village of North Palm Beach Properties enjoy a CRS of 5 (25% discount).

Juno Beach Properties enjoy a CRS of 5 (25% discount).

Jupiter Properties enjoy a CRS of 5 (25% discount).

Palm Beach Gardens Properties have a CRS of 10 (0% discount). YUP! No Discount.

Now, with Risk Rating 2.0, each policy is indivually rated and the mere fact that a property is in (or not in) a flood zone does NOT affect the premium.

In Dec of 2022 the FHA Announced the 2023 loan limits. So what does that translate into for Palm Beach and Martin County?

FHA Loans for Single Family in Palm Beach County is $557,750.

FHA Loans for Single Family Home in Martin County is $500,250.

But most folks will use a “conforming” Fannie/Freddie loan. And this loan limit is the same for Palm Beach and Martin County and is now set at $726,200.