I inherited a Florida property: what happens now
What Florida's Probate Code says happens after you inherit a property: why title needs a court, formal and summary administration, homestead, and the statutes' time limits.
Guides
Guides to investing in Orlando
Practical articles on infrastructure, costs, financing and Central Florida areas — written for the international investor, with every figure sourced.
Owner died abroad: ancillary probate in Florida
How Florida handles the property of an owner who lived and died abroad: ancillary administration under chapter 734, authenticated foreign documents, apostille, translation, and the LLC case.
Divorce and the marital home in Florida
How Florida's equitable distribution statute treats the marital home, the three options for the house, who must sign a sale, and how Florida's license law defines a broker's role.
TRIM notice: how your county values your home and how to appeal
What Florida's TRIM notice shows, when it is mailed, how the Value Adjustment Board petition works and its 25-day deadline, with the offices for Osceola, Orange, Polk and Lake counties.
Kissimmee vacation home cost calculator: HOA, tax, insurance and management
A calculator for the yearly and monthly cost of a Kissimmee vacation home. It supplies five total millage rates, Osceola County's for 2026 (code 300, where it opens, Kissimmee and St. Cloud) and Polk County's for 2025 (Davenport and code 90); the HOA fee, insurance and management figures are yours, and a worked example follows.
DSCR and foreign national loans for vacation rentals: what the published rules say
What a DSCR loan is, where it stands against Regulation Z, Fannie Mae and FHA, and what four dated lender documents publish for foreign nationals and short-term rentals. Examples only: it varies by lender.
Home insurance in Central Florida: do you need it, and what it covers
Whether Florida law or a lender requires home insurance, what a standard policy covers, why flood is a separate policy, the windstorm and hurricane-deductible rules, and Citizens' flood requirement, each with its source.
Up-and-coming Polk County cities: what three editions of the Radar show
The 67 agenda items in the Radar's three Polk County editions, counted by government and by type and listed one by one, with the Census Bureau's and BEBR's population figures for the same cities. No price predictions.
Polk vs Osceola vs Lake: where growth is heading
Three counties side by side: population by the Census Bureau and BEBR, BEBR's projections to 2050, the homes authorized in 2025, and the 114 agenda items in the Radar's editions, by county and by type. No price forecasts.
Moving I-4 Forward: what changes, exit by exit
FDOT's own map of Moving I-4 Forward and, exit by exit from U.S. 27 to S.R. 536 and beyond, what each FDOT project page says changes, what is open today, and the dates and costs FDOT does not print.
What is a CDD in Florida, and how to find homes without one
What a community development district is under chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes, what it can charge and how that reaches the tax bill, the disclosure § 190.048 requires, and how to check one address, with four districts' own figures.
Development radar — Polk County, September 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of September's agendas in Polk County, Haines City and Dundee: FLUM and Land Development Code amendments, hearings to be set and site plans — each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Polk County, August 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of the agendas in Polk County, Lake Wales, Haines City and Dundee: Comprehensive Plan amendments, a 193±-acre industrial annexation and subdivision plats — each item linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Osceola County, September 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of what's moving through the agendas in Osceola County: development code amendments in Kissimmee and a rezoning, PUD amendments and a variance in St. Cloud, each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Osceola County, August 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of the August agendas in Osceola County — Kissimmee and St. Cloud: public hearings, rezonings and PUD amendments, each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Orange County, September 2026
First issue for Orange County: Winter Garden annexation and land-use ordinances and county commission public hearings, each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Orange County, August 2026
First issue for Orange County: land-use amendments and planned-development changes decided by the Board of County Commissioners, plus Winter Garden filings, each linked to its official source.
Development radar — Lake County, September 2026
Clermont took the Louisa Grande and Hammock Pointe/Reserve ordinances to its council, and Lake County listed a road inspection contract for Hartwood Marsh; each item linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Lake County, August 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of the August agendas in Lake County: conditional uses, Louisa Grande and a CDD in Clermont, plus the county's data center moratorium, each item linked to its official agenda.
Florida Security Deposit Rules for Rental Owners
The §83.49 text from the owner's side: the three lawful ways to hold the money, the 30-day disclosure and its fewer-than-five-units carve-out, and the two move-out clocks.
Long-Term vs Vacation Rental in Kissimmee: What Changes for the Owner
An annual lease of an Osceola County house sits inside Part II of chapter 83, which applies to the rental of a dwelling unit; a vacation rental is a classification of public lodging establishment under chapter 509. What separates them, and the order in which zoning, license and tax are verified.
Nonresident Owner Florida Rental Tax: US Federal Basics for Foreign Owners
What the IRS publishes about renting out a Florida property as a nonresident owner: the 30% default where the income is not effectively connected, the IRC 871(d) election, Form W-8 ECI, Form 1040-NR and what the IRS says about filing more than 16 months late. Federal material only, and general information rather than tax advice.
Kissimmee property management: what Florida law requires, and what to ask before you sign
Licensing, deposit deadlines, notice periods, entry rules, the annual-versus-vacation-rental split, and US tax basics for foreign owners — a Kissimmee property management guide with every deadline quoted to the current statute, plus the questions to ask a prospective manager.
Development radar — Lake County, July 2026
First issue for Lake County: county development-code amendments and Clermont land-use filings, each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Polk County, July 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of what's moving through the agendas in Polk County, Lake Wales and Haines City: FLUM amendments, rezonings and hearings — each linked to its official agenda.
Development radar — Osceola County, July 2026
Our monthly, verified digest of what's moving through the agendas in Osceola County — Kissimmee, St. Cloud and the county: rezonings, FLUM changes and hearings, each linked to its official agenda.
Dundee, Florida: small-town living on the doorstep of Polk's busiest growth corridor
Written from local knowledge: how the US 27 retail-and-rooftops boom marching south through Davenport and Haines City reaches lakeside Dundee — and the FDOT study corridor now in its path. Dated and sourced.
Florida property tax explained for out-of-state and international buyers
How Florida property tax works for buyers who live out of state or abroad — millage and assessed value, why a second home gets no homestead exemption, and when the TRIM notice and tax bill arrive.
Hurricane season as a property owner: preparation, insurance, and what management handles
Central Florida is inland, but hurricane-season exposure is real, not zero — a property owner's guide to season dates, preparation, wind-versus-flood insurance, and what a management company handles.
Lake Nona's Medical City: the employment anchor behind the area's growth
What Lake Nona's Medical City is, which institutions anchor it, and why a concentration of large employers matters for annual-rental demand — framed conservatively as a driver, not a promise.
Buying new construction in Orlando: how the process actually works
Why new construction appeals to out-of-state and international buyers, and how the process differs from a resale — from who works for whom at the model home to design centers, inspections, warranties, and closing.
Orlando's tourism record: what 76.7 million visitors means for investors
Orlando set a record 76.7 million-visitor year in 2025 — but the growth was entirely domestic; here is what the tourism record does, and does not, tell property investors.
Power of attorney, remote notarization, and buying a Florida home without boarding a plane
You can legally close on a Florida property from abroad: how power of attorney and remote online notarization work, and where the real friction points are.
From closing to first guest: what setting up a vacation rental really involves
A closing-to-first-guest walkthrough of what it takes to set up an Orlando vacation rental — furnishing, the DBPR license, county tourist-tax registration, photography and the listing itself.
The infrastructure projects reshaping Central Florida real estate (2026)
A connectivity-focused map of the roads, expressways and rail lines reshaping the Orlando metro in 2026 — what's being built, where, and at what documented stage, without any claim about property values.
Kissimmee vs Davenport for short-term rental investment
A factual, side-by-side comparison of Kissimmee (Osceola County) and Davenport (northeast Polk / Four Corners) for short-term rental buyers — county lines, Tourist Development Tax, price bands, and zoning posture.
The true cost of owning an Orlando vacation rental
Gross bookings are not net income. Here is an honest, line-by-line look at what it really costs an overseas owner to run a short-term rental in the Orlando metro.