AAF Proposes the passing of a new Federal Homestead Act ( FHA ) in 2023 to protect all American Senior land grants (*) and home owners over 65. No more property taxes. We just need donations at AAF to make it happen in 2023. No more foreclosures or evictions either!
The homestead exemption is a legal regime to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes, creditors, and circumstances that arise from the death of the homeowner’s spouse.
Such laws are found in the statutes or the constitution of many of the states in the United States. The homestead exemption in some states of the South has its legal origins in the exemption laws of the Spanish Empire. In other states, they were enacted in response to the effects of 19th-century economy. -Wiki
Q. Are homestead rules different in different U.S. states? What do they generally cover?
A. Yes, homestead exemptions vary from state to state. They provide protection of a certain amount of a homeowner’s assets in case of bankruptcy and can reduce his or her property tax bill.
Most states have a homestead exemption. They require the homesteaded property be the homeowner’s primary place of residence. Homeowners can only be homesteaded in one state.
In Florida, the exemption lowers the the assessed value of the house by $50,000 for tax purposes, according to Leslie Evans of Leslie Robert Evans & Associates in Palm Beach, Florida.
It also caps annual increases to the assessed value of the property, he said. Any increase in value can’t be more than 3% or the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rise of a collection of household necessities. The CPI rose 2.5% over the last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And, in the case of bankruptcy, a home with the exemption can not be repossessed, Mr. Evans added.
To qualify for the exemption, the home must be the owner’s primary residence, and can not be owned by an LLC or other entity, the attorney noted. However, Florida has no minimum number of days a homeowner must be in the state. Even a part-time Floridian can apply for a homestead, even if he or she is not in the state a majority of the year.
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Texas, meanwhile, offers a general homestead exemption that reduces the assessed value of a home by $25,000, according to the State Comptroller’s Office. Local taxing units throughout the state have the option to offer a separate exemption of up to 20% of the total value.
In California, homestead exemptions also protect the equity of a home for owners, according to the California State Board of Equalization. But the exemption only lowers the assessed value of a home by $7,000.
The 588 grants made by Spanish and Mexican authorities in California between 1769 and 1846 encompassed more than 8,850,000 acres (3,580,000 ha), or nearly 14,000 square miles (36,000 km2).
Some states offer asset protection, but no property tax relief.
Arizona is one example, according to Lawrence D. Hirsch, a founding partner at Parker Schwartz Law Firm in Phoenix.
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(*) https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/homestead-act
When were land grants given?
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman made the first claim under the Act, which gave citizens or future citizens up to 160 acres of public land provided they live on it, improve it, and pay a small registration fee.