Posted by Todd/OH on 7/10/07 11:26am
Msg #199190

Florida prop

I have a signing for a property in FL. Is FL a spousal state? Must the spouse (if there is one) sign?

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 7/10/07 11:35am
Msg #199191

Usually, yes. But check with the title company as the spouse does not sign in all circumstances.

Reply by Becca_FL on 7/10/07 11:38am
Msg #199192

Florida is a Homestead state. If the property is the homestead property and the borrower is married, the spouse must sign the mtg., TIL & RTC - at least. Check with the TC for clarification on what the spouse needs to sign, if anything at all. I've had some lenders require the spouse to sign on non-homestead property and one incompetent CA TC NOT require the spouse to sign. Call and ask, then do what you are told no matter what you believe, AND get it in writing.

Reply by Todd/OH on 7/10/07 12:40pm
Msg #199200

Re: Florida prop - thanks

I'll see what's what when I print the docs.

Reply by PAW on 7/10/07 2:54pm
Msg #199234

I thought the same thing. If property is homestead of the borrower, then spouse, must sign. However, I was recently corrected by a FL title company's underwriting legal counsel. The spouse must sign ONLY if she is on title. A married person (man or woman) may homestead the property without having their spouse on title. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but when I ran into the situation where the spouse wasn't on any documents and the property shows "homestead exempt" on county records, I called the title company. The processor told me to have the spouse sign the usual (mortgage, riders, TIL, RTC) but just before leaving for the signing, the title company attorney called and said that the spouse, "under no circumstances" is to sign any documents.

Searching deeds and mortgages, revealed that the spouse is not listed on any documents concerning ownership of the property, though the couple do live together.

I ran into this one time before with a reverse mortgage, where the spouse wasn't old enough, so she was removed from title, though the house remained "homestead exempt".

As I said, I'm not sure how all this works with spousal rights and homestead. Maybe someday someone can coherently explain it to me, based on the Florida Homestead Act.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 7/10/07 3:32pm
Msg #199244

PAW - about Homestead ...

Hmmm - let's see what kind of soup we can come up with here, but my understanding of a spouse's "homestead rights" weren't in regards to the property tax homestead exemption. It was my understanding that these statutes specific to a person's homestead rights (i.e. the place where they reside)are regardless and separate from whatever tax exemptions are claimed.

So, a borrower could have a homestead exemption of 100% - but COULD have a spouse who did not reside in that home, therefore she would not have "Homestead Rights" to that property. I see in your example that the spouse did at least appear to reside there, but ... I know zip about that! =)

Reply by PAW on 7/10/07 8:49pm
Msg #199275

Re: PAW - about Homestead ...

You're kind of right. The Homestead Act (a Constitutional Amendment in Florida) only requires that a spouse (and children) reside in the homestead, whether or not any tax exemptions are taken. But, when one applies for a homestead, they are granted the tax exemption. You can't get it without applying for and being granted homestead protection. My understanding is that if a spouse lives in the homestead, they are protected under the Constitution. Therefore, they would have homestead rights even if they aren't specifically shown to be "on title". This is going to take some looking into. But it's going to have to wait for a while.

Reply by Michael/FL on 7/10/07 10:44pm
Msg #199297

Re: PAW - about Homestead ...

If I remember correctly too, you can only file for homestead on your "primary" residence right?

Reply by jba/fl on 7/11/07 1:40am
Msg #199323

correct n/m