Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Re: Protecting my homestead

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Re: Protecting my homestead

DISCLAIMER: Do not rely on this as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship attaches nor can any reasonable expectation of privacy be expected by virtue of this communication. Seek advice of local, qualified counsel.

That being said, I will have to attach a caveat to the advice rendered by the previous attorney.

While homestead is protected under the Florida Constitution, first you must qualify for homestead. It must be your primary home of residence here in Florida. And while you can make application quite late in the day for legal purposes, you are allowed only a small window each year to make application for homestead tax relief with your local taxing authority.

Assuming it is your primary Florida residence, and you qualify for homestead protection, you are STILL vulnerable to liens or judgments with respect to such matters as failure to pay your local property tax, failure to repay your mortgage lender and failure to pay anyone who has worked on your home or provided materials towards its improvement (such as contractor's liens and materialmen's liens).

A word of caution: a contractor's / materialmen's unpaid bill can be quite small compared to the total value of your home, but if left unpaid, and you lose in the legal wrangling over the bill, your home can be foreclosed upon and sold in satisfaction of the debt and the remainder returned to you (usually, less court costs, marshall's costs and attorney's fees).

So proceed with caution.