ORLANDO, Fla. – A rule containing buyer affidavits went into effect today, Jan. 17, 2024. It was created by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) with the help of industry partners. It relates to SB 264, which, in part, regulates the sale, purchase and ownership of certain Florida properties to foreign principals, persons and entities, and went into effect on July 1, 2023.

Buyers are to sign the applicable affidavit (one form is for buyers who are natural persons, and one form is for buyers that are entities) “at the time of purchase,” which the rule specifies is at closing. There is no responsibility for a real estate licensee to provide the affidavit to the buyer. Instead, real estate licensees should advise the parties in the transaction to seek the advice of counsel when they are seeking answers to their legal questions as they relate to this law.

SB 264, the rule and requirements, along with the affidavit, can be found on the Florida Administrative Code and Register website.

Related resources and earlier stories:

• Foreign Buyer Registration Rules Effective Jan. 4
• Deadlines Loom for Some Fla. Foreign Landowners
• Overview of SB 264 with flowcharts showing the impact on certain buyers and sellers
• Florida Realtors Memorandum: Foreign RE Purchases
• Dept. of Agriculture Publishes Proposed Foreign-Buyer Rule
• FREC Publishes Proposed Affidavit Rule
• Rule-Making Begins on Foreign Buyer Law

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