Trust This.
By Joseph E. Seagle, Esq.
👋 Happy Friday! Today is National 🐷 Barbecue Day. Those of us in the South know that it’s not the same as National Cookout Day, because “Barbecue” is a noun, and not a verb.
❗️Situation Awareness: I’ll be speaking tomorrow at CFRI’s Wholesaling Academy about wholesaling contracts and assignments versus double-closings.
1 big thing: Florida’s New Noncompete Law Rewrites the Rules for Employers
📌 What’s happening: Florida’s legislature has passed House Bill 1219, known as the “CHOICE Act,” radically reshaping how employers in the state can use noncompete and garden leave agreements with high-earning employees.
⚖️ Why it matters for business owners: If your business uses noncompete clauses to protect trade secrets or client lists, especially for executives or contractors, you’ll need to overhaul your agreements by July 1, 2025. Otherwise, you risk having them deemed unenforceable.
The law introduces two contract types:
Covered Garden Leave Agreements – These allow you to require employees to give up to four years’ notice before leaving, during which they continue to get paid, even if they stop working.
Covered Noncompete Agreements – These bar employees from joining a competitor for up to four years after termination, within a defined geography and job scope.
💡 Important definitions: Only “covered employees” — those earning more than twice the average wage in their county — are subject to these agreements. This excludes most hourly workers but includes execs, high-skill professionals, and some contractors.
Advance notice: Employers must give the agreement to prospective hires at least 7 days before the job offer expires.
Fair compensation: Employees must be paid the same base salary and benefits during any notice or noncompete period — unless they commit gross misconduct.
Legal teeth: If a breach is alleged, courts must issue preliminary injunctions to stop employees from working elsewhere — unless the employee proves otherwise by clear and convincing evidence.
💼 For employers, this means:
✅ You can still protect trade secrets and client relationships — but only with precise, legally defined contracts.
✅ You’ll need airtight documentation of salary, access to confidential data, and job duties.
✅ Legal battles could become more aggressive — courts must enforce these agreements strictly and presume the employer’s case is valid.
📉 The bottom line: HB 1219 gives Florida employers powerful tools — but only if they play by the new rulebook. Sloppy or outdated agreements won’t cut it. If you haven’t updated your employment contracts recently, now’s the time to consult counsel.
📅 Effective date: July 1, 2025. Start reviewing your templates now.
2. 🏗️ Trump DOL Freezes Biden’s Tougher Independent Contractor Rule
📍The Big Picture: The Trump administration’s Department of Labor has hit pause on enforcing the Biden-era rule that sharply restricted the classification of independent contractors. That rule, finalized in 2024, made it more difficult for businesses to label workers as independent contractors instead of employees — a move that had serious implications for the real estate, construction, and gig sectors.
💼 Why It Matters to You: Real estate professionals — from agents and brokers to investors and general contractors — often are or rely on independent contractors for flexible, scalable labor. The paused rule threatened to disrupt that model by introducing stricter criteria under an expanded “economic reality” test. The criteria examined how integral a worker is to the business, their control over their work, and the permanency of the relationship.
Workers classified as employees are entitled to benefits offered by the employer, and payroll tax deductions must be made and paid. Meanwhile, independent contractors don’t receive benefits, and no taxes are withheld from their payments under their independent contractor agreements.
Real estate agents and brokers acting as or using freelance agents or transaction coordinators faced risks of misclassification penalties.
Construction and development firms stood to lose operational agility by being forced to take on subcontractors as W-2 employees.
Title agents, mortgage brokers, and private lenders may have needed to reassess vendor relationships by reviewing independent contractor agreements.
Yes, but the rollback brings temporary relief: the Department of Labor says it is reassessing the 2024 rule, hinting that a new version may be coming. In the meantime, companies must use the earlier, more business-friendly Trump-era standard (Fact Sheet 13), though state-level rules still apply.
🛠️ What They’re Saying: Kristen Swearingen of Associated Builders and Contractors called the Biden rule “unworkable,” while the Independent Women’s Forum applauded the pause as a win for flexible work arrangements, especially for women with caregiving duties.
⚠️ The Bottom Line: For now, real estate entrepreneurs get breathing room — but not immunity. The rule still applies to private litigation, and state laws may be stricter. Review your contractor relationships now. Expect more changes ahead.
This week, we get back to back to basics in our Trust This: Tips and Tactics video series.
Listen in or watch on your favorite streaming platform.
3. Catch up fast
New homes are getting smaller, but not small enough to help affordability. Cotality
Where “starter” homes cost at least $1 million. Axios
The homes that Americans are buying are the oldest average age ever. Redfin
The Fed is unlikely to cut rates in the foreseeable future in light of April’s cooling inflation report. Redfin
U.S. median asking rent dropped last month to its lowest level in 14 months. Redfin
According to Zillow, price cuts hit a record as homes flood back into the market. Bigger Pockets
Zillow’s CEO sounds alarm on concerning housing market trend. The Street
Mapped: The income needed to buy a home in each U.S. state. Visual Capitalist
The rich flocked to Florida, and then the property taxes and insurance caught them by surprise. Fortune
HELOC balances increase by 27% over the past three years. Wolf Street
4. Closing Thought: Retirement Isn’t an Identity Crisis—Unless You Let It Be
Caught (on camera) this wild turkey running down Colonial Drive by the office one evening last week. I think he’s trying to get a head start on escaping from Thanksgiving.
Many high-achieving real estate pros and entrepreneurs stumble when stepping back from the grind. The sudden loss of structure, status, and daily wins creates a vacuum that feels eerily like losing your purpose. But the real loss isn’t purpose—it’s ego.
A career is a vocation, not an identity. Yet, for decades, many of us have tethered our self-worth to deals closed, assets managed, and success admired. Retirement—or even semi-retirement—can strip away those external validations. The problem isn’t the absence of work. It’s the discomfort of not being needed.
What’s really happening: A recent BiggerPockets article gets to the heart of it: your ego builds an identity around productivity and influence. When the emails slow and the phone stops ringing, it feels like fading into irrelevance. But that feeling is ego’s panic —not your soul’s truth.
Reframe success. Instead of chasing the next deal, mentor someone chasing their first. That’s legacy.
Create, don’t accumulate. Write, teach, or build something that gives back —without needing a closing date.
Detach with grace. Your purpose isn’t tied to your portfolio. It’s in how you show up for others, even after you’ve “retired.”
The bottom line: Your business may be in your past, but your purpose isn’t. Ego says, “Without your title, you’re nothing.” Wisdom says, “Without your title, you’re free.”
Your next chapter isn’t about slowing down. It’s about showing up—differently.
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