Free Practice Questions for FL Real Estate Law Specialist

You must be a member of The Florida Bar in good standing for at least 5 years, demonstrate substantial involvement in real estate law during the years preceding application, handle a qualifying number of real estate matters, complete approved real estate law continuing legal education, obtain favorable peer review from judges and attorneys familiar with your work, and pass The Florida Bar's written real estate law certification examination administered by the Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

The exam is an approximately 6-hour written examination, generally given in one day, that combines essay questions and multiple-choice questions. It tests Florida real property law including conveyances and deeds (ch. 689), title examination and the Marketable Record Title Act (ch. 712), contracts and closings, mortgage foreclosure (ch. 702), construction liens (ch. 713), landlord-tenant law (ch. 83), and homestead. The fee is generally a $250 application fee plus a $150 examination fee. The passing standard is set per certification area and is commonly around 70 percent.

The Marketable Record Title Act (Chapter 712, Florida Statutes) clears stale claims against real property. The 'root of title' is the most recent title transaction that was recorded at least 30 years before marketability is determined (Fla. Stat. 712.01). A person whose record title traces to a qualifying root for 30 or more years holds a marketable record title free of most claims that depend on matters predating the root, subject to the exceptions in section 712.03 (interests disclosed in the post-root muniments of title) and the preservations in section 712.04 (such as rights of the United States and Florida and utility easements in use).

Yes. Under Fla. Stat. 689.01, a conveyance of a freehold interest in Florida real property must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. Florida is among the small minority of states still requiring two witnesses on a deed. The two-witness requirement for leases was eliminated effective July 1, 2020, but it remains in place for deeds. Effective January 1, 2024, the post office address of each witness must also appear on instruments presented for recording (Fla. Stat. 695.26).

A lienor not in privity with the owner must serve a Notice to Owner before, or within 45 days after, first furnishing labor or materials (and before final payment) under Fla. Stat. 713.06. A claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days after the last furnishing (713.08). An action to enforce (foreclose) the lien must be commenced within 1 year of recording the claim of lien (713.22), unless the period is shortened by a notice of contest. A contractor in privity with the owner must also furnish a Contractor's Final Payment Affidavit before recovering final payment by lien.

Florida is a lien-theory state, and all mortgages are foreclosed judicially in equity under Chapter 702 (Fla. Stat. 702.01). The lender files suit, records a lis pendens, obtains a final judgment, and the property is sold at a clerk's judicial sale, after which the clerk issues a certificate of title. The borrower's equity of redemption is cut off at the filing of the certificate of sale or as the judgment specifies (Fla. Stat. 45.0315). A lender may seek a deficiency judgment for the difference between the debt and the property's fair value, subject to section 702.06 and a one-year limitations period for 1-4 unit residential properties.

Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution gives homestead three protections: exemption from forced sale by most creditors (with no equity cap, except for mortgages, taxes, and lien claims for construction/improvement of the property), restrictions on devising homestead when a spouse or minor child survives, and property tax benefits. A general money judgment does not create a lien on or force the sale of homestead, and a devise that violates the constitutional restriction is void, with the property passing under section 732.401.