Things To Do In SW Florida

Among the many changes wrought by the SECURE 2.0 Act, passed by Congress at the end of 2022, is the option to roll over a limited amount of unused funds in 529 college savings accounts to individual Roth accounts.

This provision went into effect this year, and the option is available twice in 2024. However, to do two rollovers, the first one — corresponding to the 2023 tax year — has to be completed by April 15.

Rollovers of this type are allowed when the student identified as the beneficiary of the 529 account receives a scholarship. There is a yearly limit. For 2023, the limit is $6,500 ($7,500 if the donor is 50 or older). For 2024, the annual limit is $7,000 ($8,000 for donors 50 or older).

If the beneficiary meets the qualifying conditions, the 529 to Roth rollover can be done for both 2023 and 2024 as long as the first rollover is completed by April 15, 2024.

A distribution made after Dec. 31, 2023, and by April 15, 2024, designated for 2023, would be reported as a Roth contribution for 2023. read more

It isn’t often you’d hear someone say that paying almost $10 million for a home is a great deal.

One of just 11 Winter Park homes in the Isle of Sicily on Lake Maitland just sold for $9.7 million, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

“This home has water on both sides, so you have water in the front of the house and the back of the house since it’s out on a point,” said John Pinel, who was listing the home with Mick Night, both with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. “You go across a little bridge to get there.”

The 9,522-square-foot home was on the market for 327 days and was listed at just under $11 million.

“When you get around $10 million in Winter Park, there are buyers, but not a ton of buyers. We never did move the price the entire time,” Pinel said.

The home was built in 2014 and has five bedrooms and five full bathrooms along with a four-car garage with room for a lift, home automation, and other popular features buyers look for.

“It’s a challenge to find homes on the Chain of Lakes that are currently updated or newer construction so there’s always a demand for that,” Pinel said. “Most of the homes and properties that are selling on the Chain of Lakes are older or need renovating. They don’t have all the bells and whistles that multimillion dollar buyers want, so they have to go in and spend the time and energy to get that.” read more

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond on Monday in his New York civil fraud case, halting collection of the more than $454 million he owes and preventing the state from seizing his assets to satisfy the debt while he appeals, according to a court filing.

A New York appellate court had given the former president 10 days to put up the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to slash the amount needed to stop the clock on enforcement.

The bond Trump is posting with the court now is essentially a placeholder, meant to guarantee payment if the judgment is upheld. If that happens, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the whole sum, which grows with daily interest.

If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay the state anything and will get back the money he has put up now.

“As promised, President Trump has posted bond. He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict,” said one of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba. read more

Commuters who rely on Florida’s plethora of toll roads are about to save some money.

The state is renewing a discount program that was in place last year, and expired at the beginning of 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday it’s being renewed for another year, effective immediately.

The program applies across the state, the governor said at a news conference in Miami, but “South Florida and Central Florida have the most, of course, and I think more people will save in those two regions than others.”

Frequent commuters on Florida’s Turnpike, the Sawgrass Expressway, and the Interstate 95 and Interstate 595 express lanes would benefit.

Anyone who has 35 toll transactions a month automatically gets a credit on their monthly toll statements. That threshold makes the program apply to people who commute to work almost every day, not those who regularly split their time between working from home and traveling to work.

“You don’t have to do anything. And you’ll see it on your May bill to show up if you reach that threshold where you, we know you’re commuting, you’re gonna get a 50% reduction,” DeSantis said. read more

Without discussion, Orlando City Council gave final approval Monday to annexing a 6,300-acre piece of Tavistock’s Sunbridge development, brushing aside objections from Orange County and setting up a second giant addition as early as next month.

Before the vote, Jon Weiss, deputy Orange County administrator, reaffirmed county concerns which he outlined in great detail last week in a four-page letter to city officials that included maps and the legal basis for the objections.

He pointed out county staff had spent more than a decade working with the Suburban Land Reserve, the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, owner of the land that Tavistock plans to develop.

“This project could have been a great opportunity to work together to ensure the best for existing and future residents of both Orange County and the city of Orlando,” Weiss said in brief comments to city council before its vote.

After the council’s unanimous decision, Weiss said county commissioners could still challenge the annexation by following a “governmental conflict-resolution procedure” established in state law in part to settle annexation disagreements, though he stopped short of saying the county will do that. read more