Description of Florida Real Estate Forms

1. Florida Contract For Sale and Purchase: If you are selling jointly fill in the name of both husband and wife and leave the Buyer's name blank. "Lot" and "block" are part of the legal description of the property and can usually be found on the deed. Fill in all information that will not change plus the asking price at the top of paragraph 2. Paragraphs 2 and 4 can't be filled out without a potential buyer who has agreed to the asking price and is prepared to say how much cash he or she can offer as a down payment and what kind of mortgage loan he or she will try to get.

2. Florida Seller's Real Property Disclosure Statement: The purpose of this document is to allow the Seller to tell the Buyer what he or she knows about hazards and faults with the property. It does NOT require research. "Don't know" or "Unknown" are perfectly acceptable answers to most questions.

3. Florida Lead Based Paint Addendum: If the home was built in 1978 or later, indicate that and attach the basically blank form to the Contract For Sale And Purchase. If the home was built prior to 1978, answer the questions and print several copies for attachment to Residential Sales Contract.

4. Florida Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement: Like the Seller's Real Property Disclosure, this document is designed to help the Seller tell the Buyer about situations and facts that may negatively affect the value of the property. Here, the Seller should contact local authorities and find out if the property is in one or more of the designated hazard areas.

5. Florida Mold and Mold-Forming Condition Disclosure: Originally, only Louisiana and Mississippi required Sellers to tell Buyers what they knew about mold infestation, but as the mold problem spreads, more states now require Sellers to fill out this form.

6. Florida Seller's Affidavit of Non foreign Status: The Internal Revenue Service requires Buyers to withhold taxes from the purchase price of homes sold by foreign persons. Seller fills in Social Security number and home address and signs to certify that Seller is a tax-paying American.

7. Florida Homeowner's Association Disclosure: Most homes built after 1980 are in sub-divisions where owners are required to join Homeowner's Associations and pay dues to maintain common property. Fill out this form if your Buyer will be required to join a Homeowner's Association.

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8. Buyer Purchasing "AS IS" : This amendment allows the Seller to avoid having to make any repairs to the property even if the Buyer's inspection reveals defects. The property is sold in its current condition as of the date this single page document is signed.

9. Counter Offer: This is a mostly blank form that allows the Seller to specify the Offer to which he or she is responding, and write in changes that make that offer acceptable (as an alternative, the Seller may simply cross out unacceptable terms and return the original offer to the Buyer). A Buyer may use a Counter Offer to respond to the Seller.

10. Escrow Agreement: When selling a home with the help of a real estate broker, the broker usually holds the Buyer’s earnest money deposit.  The Escrow Agreement provides a place for the Seller and Buyer to name a third party to hold earnest money and other deposits. It also specifies the conditions under which the deposit are returned to the Buyer or transferred to the Seller.

11. Florida Amendment To Contract For Sales And Purchase (Fl_GeneralAmend.rtf): This is essentially a blank form to provide space for the Seller and Buyer to specify terms not included in the Contract For Sale And Purchase. In most cases, the new terms can be copied from our Special Stipulations form, or 'cut' and 'pasted" into the blank space on the Amendment.

12. Florida Special Stipulations (Fl_SpecialStips.rtf): This is a plain text document with 24 clauses (paragraphs) that describe situations Sellers and Buyers often want to include in the Sales Contract. For instance, a Buyer may want to make the contract subject to approval of a father-in-law who is financing the purchase. These stipulations are in plain text format so they may easily be 'cut' and 'pasted' into the Special Clauses section following paragraph 17 in the Contract For Sale And Purchase. They can also be pasted into the blank space of an Amendment to Contract For Sale And Purchase.