If you live in Florida and you have unsecured creditors hounding you for payment, you are protected from having your home foreclosed on so that payment to them can be made. Those creditors are legally able to put a lien against your property, but you will not lose it to foreclosure. The Florida State Constitution prevents this act.

While an unsecured creditor is allowed to file a lien against your property, you can also sue to get that lien removed from your homestead. Many creditors will place a lien against your property anyway, hoping that its presence might encourage you to voluntarily pay off the debt when you sell your home or refinance it. Remember that you have options other than paying off the lien. If you do try to sell your home while a creditor has a lien against it, the title insurance company will alert you to this fact and you might be delayed in closing on the sale. However, this does not mean you need to pay off the lien in order to move forward with the sale of your house.

Talk to a qualified and experienced real estate attorney. You have options to get the creditor’s lien removed from your homestead. Most creditors are hoping you will not understand your rights, and will rush to get the debt settled in their favor. Let Stephen K. Hatchey, a Florida real estate attorney, help you explore other ways. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/

This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.