Notes from Tony Fitzgerald's desk on how Florida mortgages actually work — the escrow resets, the homestead deadlines, and the details nobody mentions at the closing table. Written for Sarasota, Bradenton, and the Gulf Coast.
Found your next home before selling this one? A contingent offer, a bridge loan, a HELOC opened before you list, qualifying with both payments, or a rent-back. Each one trades a different risk. Here is the plain-English version.
Buying a winter place in Florida? A second home is one you use yourself. An investment property is one you rent out. Lenders qualify and price them differently, and the occupancy you declare is a legal statement. Here is how to tell.
A seller credit pays your costs. It is not cash back and it cannot cover your down payment. Here is what it can actually pay for, why there is a cap that depends on your loan, and the two ways buyers routinely waste one.
A closing statement is four different things stacked in one column: lender charges, third party services, government items set by Florida statute, and prepaids that are your own money collected early. Here is how to tell them apart.
Tony Fitzgerald · NMLS #1284924 · 1st Response Mortgage · powered by Mpire Financial Group LLC · NMLS #2108504 · Florida License #MLD2467 · Mortgage Broker · Sarasota, FL · (941) 941-5150