R&R Realty - Jupiter Real Estate

Find Jupiter-Palm Beach Gardens-Juno Beach-Singer Island-Jupiter Island property.

130 Palm Avenue 4 Jupiter, FL 33477

by

130 Palm Avenue Unit 4 Jupiter, FL 33477 in the Sea Palms HOA development which just approved the long awaited new roofs at a special assessment of 20.5k per unit. #Sea palms

Welcome to paradise! Walk to the beach from this fabulous 2-story townhome in sought-after Sea Palms. This remodeled home features 2 spacious bedrooms plus a den/office and 3-1/2 baths. The upstairs bedrooms share a balcony. Some extras include new A/C, upgraded appliances, crown molding, plantation doors, tile floors, as well as French doors on the ground floor which overlook a lovely tropical garden offering your own sanctuary of privacy and tranquility.

130 Palm Ave

Palm Beach County Flood Insurance for Real Estate – 2018

by

OK, the new Flood Maps are out and effective and I had the ‘opportunity’ recently to learn much more than I ever thought I would want to about flood insurance.  First, for those of us in Palm Beach County, start here (https://maps.co.palm-beach.fl.us/cwgis/?app=floodzones) to determine what flood zone you MIGHT be in.  Flood insurance is based on your building, specifically the lowest floor elevation of the living space, NOT your land.  The problem is that most computer programs, like the one used by the County, can only ‘see’ where a flood zone contour crosses your property line.  If the building is within the aqua colored dotted area or the aqua colored line around this area crosses through your building then at first look your ARE in the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) – Zones: A, AE, AH, AO.

If the contour passes close to your building or you think the map is wrong or your lender/insurer refuses to apply the logic outlined in the FEMA Flood Insurance Manual (FIM) on classifying the building (NOT THE LAND) you can apply to FEMA for a Letter of Map Change and ask for a Letter of Map Amendment.  FEMA will tell you what the official determination is.  The process is easy and it’s free if your house was built pre FIRM.

CLICK HERE for my post on how to determine if your house is pre or post FIRM

IF you are in a SFHA, or the line goes through your building or touches it or basically IF YOU ARE GETTING ANYTHING OTHER THAN A ‘PREFERRED RATE’ FLOOD POLICY then you should hire a Land Surveyor to prepare an Elevation Certificate and it all has to do with something called Freeboard.  Freeboard is the distance between the Base Flood Elevation and your finished floor elevation.  In pre FIRM construction all that matters to get the best rates is for the Lowest Adjacent Grade to the building to be higher than the Base Flood Elevation or BFE.  In my area the BFE is shown on the maps as say ‘BFE 6′, which is to say that the Base Flood Elevation has been determined to be 6’ above the 1988 datum or baseline.  I am in Zone X but the zone AE (BFE 6) goes in front of my house.  Let’s look at this and the difference in insurance costs for a Zone X and a Zone AE.  Remember Zone AE is in the SFHA.

FOR POST-FIRM CONSTRUCTION

If you have an elevation certificate (weather your house was pre or post FIRM construction) then you should be able to use the ‘Post FIRM’ Zone AE insurance rates found in the FIM which account for freeboard and are significantly lower.  For comparison.  A pre FIRM (pre 1974) building in Zone B,C,X,AR and A99 pays $344 for a preferred risk policy as a flat rate for 250k of building coverage.  A pre FIRM building in Zone AE, where the AE zone contour goes through your house, is $2,304.  BUT, if you have an elevation certificate and the finished floor inside your house is just 1′ above the 6′ elevation (BFE) then you pay $769 for 250k of coverage.  If your interior floor is 2′ above the 6′ Base Flood Elevation defining this AE Zone then you pay $453 for 250k of building coverage.  I paid $250 for an elevation certificate from Legacy Surveying ([email protected]) in Tequesta.

NOTE FOR PRE-FIRM CONSTRUCTIONhttps://MAIL TO: [email protected]

If you in a pre firm constructed house then you may use the method outlined above OR you may apply for a Letter of Map Amendment with FEMA.  You will need an Elevation Certificate  F-053_EC_May2017_RE_rev an Elevation Form MT-1 Form 2 – Elevation Information Form to do this.  If you are in a pre FIRM constructed house then basically you don’t need much freeboard to get the preferred risk policy rates.  All that is required is that the Lowest Adjacent Grade to your structure be higher than the Base Flood Elevation.  So in my neighborhood most houses are pre FIRM and the Base Flood Elevation is 6′ measured from the 1988 datum and all the houses are the standard slab on grade.  So if the Lowest Adjacent Grade to the house is greater than 6′ then you should apply for a Letter of Map Amendment from FEMA.  This sounds like a big deal but really it’s not.  Here’s a little trick I found.  In my rush for fame and glory I applied through the on line system at the FEMA web site.  They came back and said I needed an Elevation Certificate.  NO reasoning with the bureaucrats on this so I got one. BUT IF I HAD USED THERE PAPER FORM THERE IS PLACE ON IT WHERE A SURVEYOR CAN CERTIFY THE LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE IS ABOVE THE BASE FLOOD ELEVATION.  That’s it. No more documentation should be required.

I APPLIED FOR A LETTER OF MAP REVISION AND I GOT ONE.  CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT.

An Elevation Certificate is well worth it.

Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). An area having special flood, mudflow or flood-related erosion hazards and shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, AH, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/AH, AR/AO, AR/A1-A30, V1-V30, VE or V. For the purpose of determining Community Rating System (CRS) premium discounts, all AR and A99 zones are treated as non-SFHAs.

Shaded Zone X is a moderate risk areas within the 0.2-percent-annual-chance floodplain, areas of 1-percent-annual-chance flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 1-percent-annual-chance flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile, and areas protected from the 1-percent-annual-chance flood by a levee. No BFEs or base flood depths are shown within these zones. (Zone X (shaded) is used on new and revised maps in place of Zone B.)

Why we live near the water…

December 2015 Palm Beach County Housing Sales

by

The Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB) just released the market statistics and sales data for both Palm Beach County and the local markets including Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens.

Palm Beach County saw a 10.9% increase in the median sales price of single family homes which put it up to 305k and over the 300k mark again.  The volume of Closed sales was up year over year by 6% and most surprisingly the median days on the market is now just 38, down from 56 for the same time last year.  Town houses and condos had a 10.7% increase in the median sales price to 155k.

In Jupiter-PBG-Dec-2015-Market-Report the median sales price was up 9.8% but closed sales are down 7.8%.  This is indicative of there being just 687 homes for sale in all of Jupiter, down from 838 (-18%) from the same period last year.  Jupiter finished out the year with a median sales price up 10.2% from last year and 9.1% more closed sales.  The average time to market a property is now down to just 59.

In Palm Beach Gardens the median sales price was up 12.9% but closed sales are down 5.7%.  Again, there are now  just 707 homes for sale in all of PBG, down from 860 (-17.8%) from the same period last year.  Palm Beach Gardens finished out the year with a median sales price up a more modest 3.7% from last year and an 8% increase in closed sales.

 

 

December 2015 Palm Beach Housing Sales
December 2015 Palm Beach Housing Sales

FIRPTA Changes in 2016

by

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015” which included amongst other items, changes in the Foreign Investors in Real Property tax Act or FIRPTA.  These changes in FIRPTA are effective from 16 February 2016 and onward.  Thus the act affects property that Close on or after this date.  The Act increases the FIRPTA withholding rate from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Note that the Buyer is technically the withholding agent.  For more information on FIRPTA you should contact an attorney or an accounting firm specializing in transactions.

The current version of the FAR BAR as is which has the OLD 10% requirement…

V. FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN REAL PROPERTY TAX ACT (“FIRPTA”): If a seller of U.S. real property is a “foreign person” as defined by FIRPTA, Section 1445 of the Internal Revenue Code requires the buyer of the real property to withhold 10% of the amount realized by the seller on the transfer and remit the withheld amount to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) unless an exemption to the required withholding applies or the seller has obtained
a Withholding Certificate from the IRS authorizing a reduced amount of withholding. Due to the complexity and potential risks of FIRPTA, Buyer and Seller should seek legal and tax advice regarding compliance, particularly if an “exemption” is claimed on the sale of residential property for $300,000 or less.

(i) No withholding is required under Section 1445 if the Seller is not a “foreign person,” provided Buyer accepts proof of same from Seller, which may include Buyer’s receipt of certification of non-foreign status from Seller, signed under penalties of perjury, stating that Seller is not a foreign person and containing Seller’s name, U.S. taxpayer identification number and home address (or office address, in the case of an entity), as provided for in
26 CFR 1.1445-2(b). Otherwise, Buyer shall withhold 10% of the amount realized by Seller on the transfer and timely remit said funds to the IRS.

(ii) .If Seller has received a Withholding Certificate from the IRS which provides for reduced or eliminated withholding in this transaction and provides same to Buyer by Closing, then Buyer shall withhold the reduced sum, if any required, and timely remit said funds to the IRS.

(iii) If prior to Closing Seller has submitted a completed application to the IRS for a Withholding Certificate and has provided to Buyer the notice required by 26 CFR 1.1445-1(c) (2)(i)(B) but no Withholding Certificate has been received as of Closing, Buyer shall, at Closing, withhold 10% of the amount realized by Seller on the transfer and, at Buyer’s option, either (a) timely remit the withheld funds to the IRS or (b) place the funds in escrow, at
Seller’s expense, with an escrow agent selected by Buyer and pursuant to terms negotiated by the parties, to be subsequently disbursed in accordance with the Withholding Certificate issued by the IRS or remitted directly to the IRS if the Seller’s application is rejected or upon terms set forth in the escrow agreement.

(iv) In the event the net proceeds due Seller are not sufficient to meet the withholding requirement(s) in this transaction, Seller shall deliver to Buyer, at Closing, the additional COLLECTED funds necessary to satisfy the applicable requirement and thereafter Buyer shall timely remit said funds to the IRS or escrow the funds for disbursement in accordance with the final determination of the IRS, as applicable.

(v) Upon remitting funds to the IRS pursuant to this STANDARD, Buyer shall provide Seller copies of IRS Forms 8288 and 8288-A, as filed.

Villas on the Green in Jupiter Unit 202

by

Tom Howard in our office has a great listing in Villas on the Green in Jupiter.  Click on the address below to see the full listing details for this property

717 S US Highway One, Unit 202 Jupiter FL

This unit is now the least expensive unit in the complex and priced 30k below the next unit of the same size.  These are well laid out floor plans. The unit is on the first floor for easy access.  One can step out the back onto a grass area or continue down through a gate into Carlin Park and onto Jupiter Beach. The Unit has all laminate floors, a new AC and Water Heater.  The kitchen and baths could use a face lift but that’s why it’s 30k less than the next listing. There is a stacked washer dryer in the unit as well.

September 2015 Housing in Palm Beach County up by double digits

by

September 2015 Housing in Palm Beach County up by double digits.  I was just looking over the press release from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and sales numbers are way up yet again.  The number of single family homes sold in Palm Beach County was up by 12.8% and the median sales price is up 5.9%.  Even better numbers for Condos and Town Houses which saw a 16.2% rise is the number of units sold and a 15.5% gain in the median sales price when compared to last year.

Inventory is extremely low still and this continues to drive prices up.  Let’s look at total units for sale Jupiter Florida:

  • September 2012 – 1187
  • September 2013 – 860
  • September 2014 – 915
  • September 2015 – 641

Thus, the inventory in Jupiter went down by 46% from 2012 to 2015.  AND, during this same time the median sales price went from 232,000 to 321,000.  A 38% increase in the median sales price.  Jupiter has about 30,000 housing units so about 2% of the market is now for sale.  This is extremely low

Palm Beach County Market Update

RSS Florida Association Realtors

From Our Blog

Are pets allowed in Old Port Cove?

Are pets allowed in Old Port Cove?
Are pets allowed in Old Port Cove?

By

We are talking about pets and NOT service animals nor emotional support animals. I recently looked into this for our new listing in the Marina Tower. In Marina Tower one pet (cat or dog) under 25 lbs is allowed. The Admiralty Building allows one cat or dog under 20 lbs. The Quay NORTH building does not allow pets. The Quay SOUTH building allows one cat […]

Why Would Someone From the United Kingdom Want to Buy Property in Florida?

Why Would Someone From the United Kingdom Want to Buy Property in Florida?
Why Would Someone From the United Kingdom Want to Buy Property in Florida?

By

Having grown up in England and currently living in Palm Beach County, Florida, I would have to answer this question with a question, why wouldn’t someone from the UK want to buy property in Florida? The most obvious reason to purchase property in Florida is the weather. Florida is called ‘The Sunshine State’ for a reason, the weather is warm and wonderful, bright blue skies […]

Does Alton have a dog park?

Does Alton have a dog park?
Does Alton have a dog park?

By

I had occasion to look into this question as I just listed the home at 13133 Alton Rd in the Alton Developement in Palm Beach Gardens. Yes, Alton does have a dog park but it is NOT located outside the main club house 13255 Alton Rd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. The dog park is located down by the Hood Rd entrance at 5173 Beckman […]

More Posts from this Category

test