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Florida Communities Trust

Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts Florida Forever Grant Program

Appraisal Requirements and Acquisition Process

Appraisal Requirements Summarized

• The project site must be appraised by a Florida Communities Trust approved appraiser and the appraisal(s) will need to be reviewed by a Florida Communities Trust contracted review appraiser. Florida Communities Trust has adopted for use the approved appraiser list from the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands, Bureau of Appraisal.
• Only appraisals completed for Florida Communities Trust may be submitted. Appraisals completed for property owners/sellers are not eligible for submission.
• If a parcel or ownership is valued at or above $500,000, two appraisals are required. If the value is below $500,000, only one appraisal is required. For multiple-owner projects, this threshold applies to each ownership, not to the project as a whole.
• All appraisals, contracts and negotiations must remain confidential until a contract is executed by the owner(s) and recipient and conditionally accepted by Florida Communities Trust. At the time a project is selected for funding and the recipient enters into a grant contract, any person who will have access to the appraisals or contracts must sign the confidentiality agreement that will be sent to the recipient.
• Appraisals sent to Florida Communities Trust for review must conform to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice as defined in Chapter 475, Part II, Florida Statutes, as well as Florida Communities Trust appraisal instructions and procedures, which may be downloaded from this site. The reports must be self-contained appraisal reports as described under Standards Rule 2-2(a) of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

Acquisition Process Summarized

Florida Communities Trust has selected individuals to provide appraisal review services. Once projects are selected for funding, the Acquisition Section works with the grant recipient to acquire sites. The following is a summary of the joint acquisition process with the Florida Communities Trust as the lead agent.

1. Florida Communities Trust obtains a title search for each parcel, if needed, for appraisal/acquisition purposes.
2. Florida Communities Trust obtains bids for appraisal(s) at the same time of ordering title work.
   • If an ownership's value is less than $500,000, one appraisal is required.
   • If an ownership's value is estimated to be $500,000 or greater, two appraisals are required.
3. Appraiser(s) prepares appraisal report(s) according to Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and Florida Communities Trust requirements.
   • Florida Communities Trust receives three sets of completed appraisal report(s)
   • Appraisal report(s) is sent to contract review appraiser for review
   • Upon approval, appraisal review memo certifying value(s) and establishing Maximum Approved Purchase Price is sent to Florida Communities Trust
4. Appraisal review memo is sent to Recipient and Florida Communities Trust acquisition staff with copy of appraisal(s).
5. Florida Communities Trust acquisition staff contacts the Recipient to coordinate priority parcels, if applicable, and offer(s) to seller(s):
   • Option Contract for Purchase is prepared and sent to seller with a copy to Recipient
   • Ongoing negotiations or receive Option Contract signed by seller
6. Recipient approval of Contract.
7. Management Plan is prepared by Recipient and submitted to Florida Communities Trust for approval during the negotiation/contracting phase.
8. Upon receiving signed contract, the project enters the closing phase.
9. Closing documents are ordered by seller or Recipient, depending upon contract requirements:
   • Survey, Title Commitment and Environmental Site Assessment are received by Florida Communities Trust and Recipient
   • Documents are reviewed by Recipient and Florida Communities Trust staff to determine if adjustments in purchase price are necessary
   • Recipient reviews, approves and signs the Working Waterfront Covenants and Reconciliation Statement
10. Closing Warrant is ordered.
11. Upon receipt of warrant, closing occurs with selected closing agent.

Management Plan

Once the appraisals are reviewed and approved, Florida Communities Trust will begin negotiations with the property owners. The applicant will be responsible for developing a management plan that must be approved prior to a closing. A management plan is required for all project sites acquired under the Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts Program. The management plan lays out the short and long range management objectives, site development plans, and long term monitoring of the project site. The management plan must set forth the following:

• How the site will be managed to further the purpose of the project
• Description of planned improvements to the Project Site
• Costs and funding sources
• The management entity and its funding source

Florida Communities Trust provides a Management Plan Checklist (coming soon) that covers all the necessary topics that need to be included in the management plan. Please include a copy of the checklist when submitting the management plan. The Trust provides technical assistance in developing management plans for project sites. Management plans must be submitted and approved by staff before funds are delivered for a project site.

Annual Stewardship Reports

The annual stewardship report provides a mechanism for both the Florida Communities Trust program and the grant recipient to monitor implementation of the management plan. The Stewardship Report should be approximately three to five pages in length, with appropriate attachments. For your assistance a Stewardship Report outline will be coming soon. The report outline may contain issues not applicable to your site while other issues may need to be addressed in the stewardship report but are not listed on the report form.