21st Century Homesteading—Owning (and Keeping) Your Own Home
Mark L. Rosen, Esquire
In all respects, owning your own home is a sound financial decision. Between building equity and taking advantage of mortgage interest tax deductions, there is probably no better purchase you can make as part of your overall financial strategy.
One of the best things about being a Florida homeowner is Florida’s Homestead Exemption, which is written into the state’s constitution. Under this protection, unsecured judgment creditors cannot seize your primary residence, provided the home is less than one-half an acre within a municipality or less than 160 acres outside of a municipality, regardless of your home’s fair market value. The exemption has been around for a long time and may not work perfectly for modern times. But that shouldn’t be the cause of too much concern as many, if not most, of us live in cities, in condos, and in one-third-acre communities that do not exceed the half-acre rule.
It is important to note, however, that the exemption itself has exemptions. It does not provide protection from a mortgage holder (e.g., a bank) who has used the property as security for a loan. Nor does it provide protection from federal, state, and local governments to collect unpaid property and other taxes. Finally, it cannot provide protection against mechanics’ liens recorded on the property for improvements that increase the property’s worth (e.g., electrical work, roof repairs, etc.). In each of these three cases, foreclosure on the property is possible.