Remember the 2007 real estate crash? Who doesn’t, right?
Leading up to the crash my law firm was involved in 30 new
closings a month. Most of them involved
beachfront investment property in Florida’s panhandle.
After the crash many of our clients were left scrambling.
The sellers scrambled to close their deals.
The buyers scrambled to get out of their deals.
In January, 2008, one of my clients approached me with an
interesting question.
He had purchased beachfront investment property in
Pensacola, Florida. The deal closed a
year before the crash.
His property was valued at over $1 million before the
crash. Now it was worth $300,000.
His question: Can I reverse a real estate transaction a year
after the closing? This question was on the minds of many Florida investors in
the winter of 2008. As with most legal issues, the answer was: It depends.
Florida real property laws can be difficult to navigate. As in most states, Florida statutes and case
law create certain “presumptions” about the transfer of real property.
1. Florida law presumes a "fee simple" property transfer
1. Florida law presumes a "fee simple" property transfer
