- The Florida Uniform Title Standards describe the Florida laws that affect property titles.Legal Law Justice image by Stacey Alexander from Fotolia.com
The Florida Uniform Title Standards pull together in one place all of the provisions of Florida law that govern or have impact upon property titles in Florida. The standards are updated as needed when the state's laws applicable to property titles change. The standards are approved by the Real Property, Probate and Trust Laws Section of The Florida Bar. They have not been formally adopted by any legislative body or court. - A title is marketable in Florida when it can be easily transferred.for sale or lease image by Keith Frith from Fotolia.com
The Florida Uniform Title Standards are a starting point for determining whether a piece of property in Florida has "marketable title." Florida law provides that if a title can be easily transferred to another owner it is called marketable. Sometimes a third party has valid claim against a piece of property that would prevent ownership from being freely conveyed by the owner to someone else in a sale, gift or other type of transfer. In that case, the owner doesn't have marketable title.
The standards themselves explain what they are meant to accomplish: "The purpose of the uniform title standards, generally, is to facilitate conveyancing by eliminating needless objections to marketability of title. A title standard may well be described as a voluntary agreement made in advance by members of the Bar on the manner of treating a particular title problem when and and if it arises." - Under the law, some mistakes are serious and others are entirely unimportant.Correcting A Mistake image by Amanda White from Fotolia.com
For most home buyers, the most important standards are those described in Chapter 3, "Conveyances." In some cases, a simple error in the paperwork for a property sale can make it invalid. In other words, the deed may say that the owner sold you the property but under the law, that's not what happened. In other cases, what might seem to the layman to be a serious mistake is of no importance at all. It all depends upon what the law of Florida says. The standards described in Chapter 3 give examples of both. - Many properties in Florida have been involved in some way in a banrkuptcy.bankruptcy 2 image by Sorin Alb from Fotolia.com
A lot of properties in Florida have been affected in some way by bankruptcy, particularly since the arrival of the recent recession. Chapter 2, "Bankruptcy," gives a lengthy list of the ways bankruptcies can have an impact upon buying, selling or leasing property. As with the other chapters, the standards are explained by giving examples of factual situations and then following them with questions and answers about their consequences under the law of Florida. - Chapter 8 deals with construction liens.electrician image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
A review of Chapter 8 of the standards, "Construction Liens," might be a good idea for anyone considering the purchase of a brand-new or unfinished house in Florida.
The Florida Bar in its publication "Buying a Home" has highlighted the purchase of a home under construction or recently completed as a transaction that calls for a great deal of caution by the consumer. "...Special care is required to make sure that all building costs have been paid by the sellers and you are fully protected as to the provisions of the Florida Mechanics' and Materialmen's Lien law," the Bar said.
Chapter 8 of the Florida Uniform Title Standards discusses the law governing liens and then goes on to explain them in ways that consumers might find particularly helpful. The standard presents a series of situations involving liens and claims and then explains their consequences under the laws of Florida.
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