May 2018

Florida is known for its sandy beaches, oranges, and sunny weather. It is also known for its plentiful salt water fishing opportunities. It is important to realize that when you are fishing in Florida’s waters that you are governed by Florida laws for up to three nautical miles of the Atlantic Ocean, and up to nine nautical miles on the Gulf of Mexico. Once you extend past those distances, federal law rules you. If you need to know the current laws, it is recommended that you check with the Florida Fish & Wildlife. That is the best way to stay up to date with fishing laws.

The first thing that you will need to do so that you may enjoy Florida salt-water fishing, is obtain a saltwater fishing license. You can purchase a saltwater fishing license at your local county tax collector’s office, or through fishing tackle and bait shops. Licenses are sold to Florida residents, and you will need to show proof of residency. You may also purchase saltwater fishing licenses online or by telephone. Non-residents may also purchase licenses. These are typically sold in either three-day or seven day license formats, although they may also purchase a yearly non-resident license.

Residents may also choose to purchase a lifetime license. These are a great way for those who know that they will continually be fishing to make sure that they have all of their bases covered. You’ll actually discover that if you purchase lifetime saltwater fishing licenses for your children, that you will save money. However, children under the age of 16 do not need a license.

You also don’t need a license if you are a Florida resident and are saltwater fishing for fun. This includes fishing from a pier, bridge, dock, or on land. There are many other situations in where you may fish without a license. Again, the best way to determine the laws that are applicable for your particular situation is to contact the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.

“Florida is where the sun shines”- you must have heard this several times. Moderate/warm climate, famous beaches and entertainment venues really make Florida real estate very attractive. So that means Florida real estate or buying a house in Florida is really good for someone who wants to escape the vagaries of weather elsewhere in America and also add to his/her enjoyment through the Miami beach and Orlando theme parks.

However, Florida real estate is also attractive for real estate investors i.e. people who would like to treat Florida real estate as an investment avenue for making profits. With the property prices rising as much as 25%, Florida real estate makes investment sense too. That is one reason why Florida real estate is so sought after. If you wanted to look for a really good deal in Florida real estate, you should start with looking for places that are still in their development phase i.e. places where the real estate prices are not so high but are expected to go up in the years to come. This is generally a good option for people who are looking to pick up Florida real estate as an investment option. This is also good for people who are looking for Florida real estate or a house in Florida to live in by themselves but don’t mind a bit of inconvenience that is generally associated with a newly developed (rather developing) area. As far as looking for Florida real estate listings is concerned, you first need to decide on what location in Florida is suitable for you. Again, this will depend on your reason behind going for Florida real estate.

If you are going for Florida real estate purely for investment purposes (i.e. you don’t actually want to live in there), then you should really be looking for places where the prices are significantly low but are rising or expected to rise in near future. One indication for expected price rise is the influx of a lot of businesses in the area. Industry/business generally propels development in the area and hence causes the real estate prices to go up (and that would be true for Florida real estate too). Of course, distress sales, public auctions, bank foreclosures are like evergreen opportunities that are available in any place at any time and you should always explore them. If you are going for Florida real estate for personal use, then you would be looking at a number of different factors which would basically be related to your convenience and quality of life.
So Florida is where the sun shines and that is also making Florida real estate shine.

As a business owner, you might be looking for the best opportunities that will allow your business to grow and be nurtured in a secure environment. This can be accomplished by incorporating your business. Incorporation is the formation of a business or non-profit organization into a corporation. There are many benefits for you and your business in doing this. And if you are a business owner in the state of Florida, the benefits of incorporating there can be even greater.

The benefits of incorporating your business in general are pretty appealing. For example, you personal assets are protected against creditors’ claims and lawsuits when you incorporate your business. In a corporation, stockholders and other officers are only legally responsible for the amount of money that they invested. In addition, corporations can own personal assets like homes or vehicles. These assets are protected in the event that one is personally embroiled in court proceedings or bankruptcy.

When you incorporate your business, it is easy to transfer any portion of ownership to other parties in the corporation. Also, various types of retirement plans and funds are set up with greater ease for a corporation. And, corporations are taxed at a lower rate than individuals. Other benefits of incorporating your business include the fact that stock can be sold in order to raise funds for the corporation (less personal funds out of your pocket!), a corporation can continue for an indefinite period even if deaths of any prominent members occur, and since corporations attain their own credit rating unique to the individual who started the business, the credit history of the corporation is not tied directly to the chief officer.

Because Florida acquires so much of its revenue annually from tourism, there is great reason to believe that bringing your business to or starting your business in the state of Florida will not only help add to the great business and industry there, but will help your business to thrive, no matter what service you provide or products you sell. There are even greater benefits for your business if you consider incorporating in Florida over other states.

For starters, there is no personal income tax in Florida. By incorporating your business in Florida and opting for “S” status, you are not required to file a state income tax return after the first year. This will help you reap huge benefits in the long run. Also, the state of Florida has no minimum asset requirement for incorporating a business. That means that you don’t have to plunk down a lot of cash out of your pocket. This is especially beneficial if you are a small, young business and do not have a lot of personal assets to put into the business.

Another benefit of incorporating in Florida is that you don’t have to have more than 1 person involved in your company. Some states require that a different person be seated for each corporate position. Florida does not have that prerequisite. Shareholders and other officers in your corporation (if there are any) can also remain anonymous, because the Florida Secretary of State office does not insist on a list of people that are involved in your business, or any of their personal information, such as phone numbers or addresses.

The state of Florida makes it very easy to be an incorporated business owner there. It business-friendly tax laws and lenient requirements make it seem almost too good to be true for business owners. By considering incorporating your business in the state of Florida, you can feel secure knowing that you and your business will be shielded from burdensome legal issues, and that you and your business colleagues will enjoy success in one of the most popular states in the United States.

One of the best areas to scuba dive within North America is in the Florida Keys, a long string of islands just south of Miami. For any scuba diver traveling to southern Florida, even a quick day trip to the Florida Keys is worthwhile. There’s great scuba diving all along the Keys from the first community of Key Largo, through to the middle at Marathon and all the way to the end where Key West is located. One can get to Key Largo in about 45 minutes from Miami and the protected Pennekamp marine park in the surrounding waters offers much more marine life to see than the waters off Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Key Largo in particular is a scuba diver’s town with numerous dive operators and some retailers who carry diving equipment and gear.

One of the great things about scuba diving in the Florida Keys is the variety of dive sites for every level of diver. Many of the nicest coral reefs loaded with fish are located in beginner level dive sites like Molasses Reef and French Reef. With depths of 30 to 50 feet, these are perfect dive sites for newly certified scuba divers as well as those who wish to do night dives. There’s even some good wreck diving in shallow dive sites like the Benwood wreck where the resident marine life will not disappoint any diver. For more advanced divers, there are some spectacular deep dives featuring large wrecks like the Duane, a former coast guard ship sitting upright. The most recent ship that was sunk for scuba diving is the Spiegel Grove which again is for advanced divers.

Many scuba divers from North America and other parts of the world come to the Florida Keys for their open water certification dives as well as more advanced training. Accommodations are plentiful right in the communities along the Keys and range from simple motels all the way up to high end resorts. Many have special packages just for scuba divers where there’s an arrangement with one of the local dive operators. There’s also relatively inexpensive accommodations in Florida City which is the closest community back in the Florida mainland about 20 minutes from Key Largo. After the day of diving, there are lots of restaurants serving fresh seafood for even the hungriest of divers.

Another attractive feature of Florida Keys diving is the cost. Especially for the quality of the dive sights, the cost of diving here is lower than in many of the Caribbean destinations like the Bahamas and Cayman Islands. For those who are not ready to try scuba diving, there are some decent sites to snorkel in the Keys including one of the best in the U.S. at Looe Key. The marine life that can be seen here has convinced quite a few snorkellers to finally pursue scuba diving certifications. The Florida Keys has enough other activities to do besides scuba diving to keep non-divers busy. There’s interesting shopping, water sports, beaches (near the western part) and even two places to interact with dolphins. Of course, there’s also the funky scene at Key West.

The one aspect about scuba diving in the Florida Keys that some divers may not like is that the dives are not guided by divemasters from the various scuba operators. Divers who are used to following a local divemaster like the diving in destinations like Cozumel, will just have to team up in buddy groups here in the Keys. Despite this drawback, the Florida Keys still offers great tropical scuba diving without leaving the USA.

New Yorkers are buying homes in Florida (particularly in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach) at a record pace, either as a second home or permanently relocating to the sunshine state. This brief overview is intended to give readers from New York an idea of what to expect when embarking on the process of shopping for a home in So. Florida.

Although home prices have skyrocketed in the last 5 years, relative to NY prices, you can still buy a lot more house for your dollar in Florida. Homes in South Florida are currently selling pretty quickly with the average time on the market being about 30 days. If you are working with a real estate agent here and are serious about buying something, be prepared to make a trip down here on short notice. If you leave it until your next trip in a couple of months, chances are the home will no longer be available. Homes here typically sell anywhere from full asking price to $10k or $20k below asking price. Often times, homebuyers from other areas make offers of 10% below the asking price, only to loose a few homes before understanding that sellers here consider this insulting and typically won’t even respond with a counter offer. With 1,000 people per day making Florida their permanent residence, the demand for housing continues to increase while there is limited supply. For this reason it is anticipated that prices will remain strong for the foreseeable future.

Real Estate taxes are calculated using a millage rate which is applied to the assessed value of the property. Although the millage rate varies from one area to another, as a rule of thumb, your annual Real Estate taxes will be 2% of the value of your home. Property is re assessed every time it changes hands, so when you buy a home, you should expect it to be assessed at or about your purchase price, therefore your annual taxes will be about 2% of what you paid for your home. There are several tax exemptions available to Florida residents, the most significant one being the Homestead Exemption which is available to all permanent Florida residents. This exemption lowers your assessed value by $25k and shields your property from creditors, but more importantly homestead properties are protected by the Save Our Homes tax cap which limits the amount your taxes can increase by 3% annually. Since property values have been increasing about 25% annually, it is extremely important to file for homestead exemption as soon as you close on your new home. At the same time, since many current homeowners are paying a fraction of what they would if their homes were not protected, when looking at homes, you should pay no attention to what the current owner’s taxes are, instead you should calculate your new tax based on your purchase price. If you are discouraged by the high real estate taxes in Florida, don’t despair, there is good news yet – Florida has no income tax. When living in NY, you pay Federal, State and possibly City taxes on the money you earn. In Florida, while you still pay Federal income tax, there is no state income tax at all.

Most single family homes in Boca Raton are built in planned communities and are governed by homeowners associations. Townhouses or condominiums are similar but are governed by condo associations. In either case, the governing body will be responsible for maintenance of common areas and will impose rules on homeowners regarding the upkeep of the homes. Homeowners are required to pay monthly assessments to the association to cover the common costs of the community, which vary depending on what the association is responsible for. If you purchase a home in Country Club, membership in the club may be mandatory. Country Club membership typically entails an up front equity contribution to the club ranging from $20k to $100k and yearly membership dues ranging from $2k to $15k.
Your mortgage company will require that you maintain an insurance policy on your home equal to at least the amount of the mortgage or the replacement value of the home whichever is less. They will require that you have hurricane coverage and if you live in a flood zone, then flood insurance as well. Flood zones are determined by an elevation survey and while you may not be required to carry flood insurance, the incremental cost above your standard policy is minimal and it is worth having it anyway. There are several factors that will affect the cost of your homeowners insurance most of which are a function of the age of your home. Homes that are more than 20 years old are significantly more expensive to insure. Homes that where built after the new hurricane code was put into effect in 1998 are significantly less costly to insure due to the changes in how the homes are built including the requirement for storm shutters.

If you are relocating and seeking permanent employment in Florida, keep in mind that due to cost of living differences between NY and So. Florida, you need not earn the same dollar amount that you are currently earning in NY. As a rule of thumb, your FL salary should be approximately 80% of your NY salary. In other words, if you are earning $100k per year in NY, you need to earn $80k here in order to lead a similar lifestyle.

Home shopping can be an exhausting experience, especially when doing it long distance. With more than 16,000 Realtors in Palm Beach County, it is important that you select the right Realtor to work with. Make sure you are working with someone who is a full time Realtor, not a part timer who has a license and tries to make a deal here and there. A Realtor who is Internet savvy will make the process a lot easier by communicating with you via email, sending you listings, pictures and even virtual tours. It is also important to understand that unlike New York where Attorneys handle the contract, here in Florida contracts are prepared and executed by the Realtor, so a competent and professional Realtor can make all the difference.