Florida home-selling glossary

Plain definitions of the 34 probate, foreclosure, lien, reverse-mortgage and occupancy terms that come up when you sell a Florida house, each with its statute.

Sources verified: September 27, 2026. Updated September 2026.

Inherited houses

Probate: The court process for settling a deceased person's estate: proving any will, appointing someone to act, paying creditors, and transferring what is left to the people entitled to it. In Florida the administration rules are in Chapter 733 of the Florida Statutes, titled "Probate Code: Administration of Estates."Fla. Stat. ch. 733
Letters of administration: The court document that gives the personal representative legal authority to act for the estate; without it, nobody can sign a deed for the decedent's property. Florida Statute 731.201(24) defines "letters" as "authority granted by the court to the personal representative to act on behalf of the estate of the decedent," and provides that "all letters shall be designated 'letters of administration'" — so Florida uses one term where other states distinguish letters testamentary from letters of administration.Fla. Stat. § 731.201(24)
Personal representative: The person the court appoints to run the estate, called an executor or administrator in other states. Florida Statute 731.201(28) defines the term as "the fiduciary appointed by the court to administer the estate." Whether that person can sell real property without a court order depends on the will: under Florida Statute 733.613(2) a will conferring a power of sale lets them sell "without authorization or confirmation of court," while under Florida Statute 733.613(1), with no such power, "no title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale."Fla. Stat. § 733.613
Summary administration: A shorter, cheaper probate route for smaller or older estates. Under Florida Statute 735.201(2) it is available where the estate subject to administration, less exempt property, "does not exceed $150,000 or ... the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years." The $150,000 threshold took effect on July 1, 2026; it was $75,000 before that.Fla. Stat. § 735.201
Intestate succession: The statutory default for who inherits when there is no valid will. Florida Statute 732.101 provides that property "not effectively disposed of by will passes to the decedent's heirs," Florida Statute 732.102 sets the surviving spouse's share, and Florida Statute 732.103 sets the order for everyone else — descendants first, then parents, then siblings, then more remote kindred.Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101–.103
Homestead: A Florida homeowner's constitutionally protected residence. Florida Constitution article X, section 4 exempts it "from forced sale under process of any court," with exceptions for taxes and assessments and for obligations contracted for its purchase, improvement or repair; the protection extends to up to half an acre inside a municipality or 160 acres outside one, and under article X, section 4(b) it "shall inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner."Fla. Const. art. X, § 4
Heirs and beneficiaries: The people entitled to inherit under the intestacy statutes. Florida Statute 731.201(20) defines "heirs" or "heirs at law" as "those persons, including the surviving spouse, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the property of a decedent." The people with a stake in an estate, whether or not there is a will. Florida Statute 731.201(2) defines "beneficiary" as "heir at law in an intestate estate and devisee in a testate estate," and adds that the term stops applying "after that person's interest in the estate has been satisfied."Fla. Stat. § 731.201(20), (2)
Partition action: A lawsuit to divide or sell property owned by more than one person when they cannot agree. Florida Statute 64.031 allows it to be filed "by any one or more of several joint tenants, tenants in common, or coparceners," so a single co-owner can start it. Where the land cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, Florida Statute 64.071(1) lets the court order it "sold at public auction to the highest bidder" — a public auction, not a private sale. The right of a family co-owner to buy out a relative who wants to sell, instead of the whole property being sold. Where property qualifies as "heirs property," Florida Statute 64.207(1) requires the court to notify the parties that "any cotenant except a cotenant that requested partition by sale may buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale," and Florida Statute 64.207(2) gives them **45 days** from that notice to elect. The price is not negotiated: under Florida Statute 64.207(3) it is "the value of the entire parcel determined under s. 64.206 multiplied by the cotenant's fractional ownership of the entire parcel." How the court fixes the number that drives a buyout or a sale. Florida Statute 64.206(1) requires the court to determine fair market value "by ordering an appraisal" by "a disinterested real estate appraiser licensed in this state," unless all cotenants have agreed a value or a method, in which case the court adopts theirs. The appraisal is then tested on a fixed timetable: notice of the appraised value goes out "not later than 10 days after the appraisal is filed," a party may object "not later than 30 days after the notice is sent," and the valuation hearing is held "not sooner than 31 days" after that notice. Florida Statute 64.206 also directs the court to determine an equitable accounting on any cotenant's request, which matters where one relative has been paying the taxes and insurance alone.Fla. Stat. ch. 64

Reverse mortgages

HECM: The FHA-insured reverse mortgage, and the only reverse mortgage the federal government insures. 24 CFR 291.601 defines it as "reverse mortgages insured in accordance with 24 CFR part 206 under the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage insurance program," and 24 CFR 206.1 traces the program to section 255(a) of the National Housing Act, 12 U.S.C. 1715z-20.24 CFR 291.601
Due and payable: The point at which the whole reverse-mortgage balance becomes collectible. Under 24 CFR 206.27(c)(1) that happens if a borrower dies and the property is not the principal residence of at least one surviving borrower, or if a borrower conveys away all title and no other borrower keeps title; under 24 CFR 206.27(c)(2) it happens with HUD's approval if the property stops being a borrower's principal residence, if a borrower is absent for more than 12 consecutive months through illness, if property charges go unpaid, or if another mortgage obligation is not performed. A HECM is non-recourse: 24 CFR 206.27(b)(8) provides that the borrower "shall have no personal liability for payment of the outstanding loan balance" and that the lender "shall not be permitted to obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower if the mortgage is foreclosed."24 CFR 206.27(c)
95% rule: The figure that lets an underwater reverse-mortgage property be sold and the debt cleared. Where the loan is due and payable, 24 CFR 206.125(a)(2)(ii) allows a sale "for an amount not to be less than the amount determined by the Commissioner through notice, **which shall not exceed 95 percent** of the appraised value." Read it as a ceiling on what HUD may demand, not as the required price — the actual minimum is whatever HUD has set by notice, and because it is tied to appraised value rather than loan balance, a house worth less than the debt can still be sold.24 CFR 206.125
Eligible non-borrowing spouse: A surviving spouse who was not a borrower on the reverse mortgage but who may still stay in the home, because the loan's due-and-payable status is deferred rather than triggered by the borrower's death. 24 CFR 206.55 governs this "Deferral Period," and 24 CFR 206.55(c)(1) sets the Qualifying Attributes: the person must have been the borrower's spouse at loan closing and for the rest of the borrower's life, have been disclosed to the lender at origination and named in the loan documents, and have occupied and continue to occupy the property as their principal residence.24 CFR 206.55
Deed in lieu: Handing the property to the lender instead of going through a foreclosure. For a reverse mortgage this is not merely permitted but required of the lender in the right circumstances: 24 CFR 206.125(f)(1)(i) provides that the lender "shall accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure from the borrower or other party with legal right to dispose of the property provided it is filed for recording within 9 months of the due date and the mortgagee is able to obtain good and marketable title."24 CFR 206.125(f)
HVLS / HNVLS: HUD’s competitive auctions of defaulted, formerly FHA-insured reverse mortgages. HVLS is HUD Vacant Loan Sales and HNVLS is HUD Non-Vacant Loan Sales — the split is whether the property is occupied, not whether the loan is a reverse mortgage; both are HECMs. The framework is 24 CFR part 291, subpart G, and each sale is announced in the Federal Register.24 CFR part 291, subpart G; Federal Register notices

Foreclosure and debt

Lis pendens: A recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting the property is pending, which warns anyone dealing with the property that the outcome may bind them. Under Florida Statute 48.23(1)(a), an action "operates as a lis pendens on any real or personal property involved therein ... only if a notice of lis pendens is recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located." The recording date matters beyond the lawsuit itself: it is the date that fixes who is the "owner of record" entitled to foreclosure surplus under Florida Statute 45.032.Fla. Stat. § 48.23
Final judgment: The court order that ends the foreclosure case and sets the auction date. Florida Statute 45.031(1)(a) requires the court to direct the clerk to sell "on a specified day that shall be not less than 20 days or more than 35 days after the date thereof," and allows a later date "if the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney consents to such time" — which is the provision that makes it possible to push a sale back to finish a closing.Fla. Stat. § 45.031
Sale date: The date of the foreclosure auction. Florida Statute 45.031(1)(a) directs the clerk to sell the property "on a specified day that shall be not less than 20 days or more than 35 days after" the final judgment, and allows a later date if the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney consents.Fla. Stat. § 45.031(1)(a)
Right of redemption: The right to pay off the debt and stop the foreclosure sale. Florida Statute 45.0315 allows this "at any time before the later of the filing of a certificate of sale by the clerk of the court or the time specified in the judgment, order, or decree of foreclosure," and then closes the door: "Otherwise, there is no right of redemption." Both halves of the "later of" matter — usually the certificate of sale ends it, but if the judgment names a later date, that date controls, and Florida gives no general post-sale redemption period.Fla. Stat. § 45.0315
Certificate of sale: The document the clerk files after the foreclosure auction. Its filing is what ends the right of redemption under Florida Statute 45.0315; Florida Statute 45.031 governs the sale itself and the certificate that follows it.Fla. Stat. §§ 45.031, 45.0315
Certificate of title: The document that actually transfers ownership after a foreclosure auction, and the point at which the former owner stops being the owner. Under Florida Statute 45.031(5), if no objections to the sale are filed within 10 days after the certificate of sale is filed, "the clerk shall file a certificate of title"; under Florida Statute 45.031(6), once it is filed "the sale shall stand confirmed, and title to the property shall pass to the purchaser."Fla. Stat. § 45.031(5)
Surplus funds: Money left over when a foreclosure auction brings more than the judgment and costs require; it belongs to the former owner, not the lender. Florida Statute 45.032(2) creates "a rebuttable legal presumption that the owner of record on the date of the filing of a lis pendens is the person entitled to surplus funds after payment of subordinate lienholders who have timely filed a claim." Florida Statute 45.032(3)(a) lets the owner of record claim it "before the date that the clerk reports it as unclaimed" — note there is no fixed number of days; the old 60-day deadline was removed from the statute effective July 1, 2019.Fla. Stat. § 45.032
Deficiency judgment: A personal judgment for the shortfall when a foreclosure sale does not cover the debt. Florida Statute 702.06 makes entering one "within the sound discretion of the court" and caps it for owner-occupied residential property at "the difference between the judgment amount, or in the case of a short sale, the outstanding debt, and the fair market value of the property on the date of sale." The lender has one year to bring the claim on a one-to-four-family residential property under Florida Statute 95.11(6)(g).Fla. Stat. § 702.06; § 95.11(6)(g)
Short sale: Selling the house for less than the mortgage balance, which requires the lender to agree to release its lien and accept the shortfall. It is a negotiated arrangement rather than a statutory procedure, so no Florida statute governs it.
Rescue consultant: Someone who charges a homeowner for help avoiding foreclosure, regulated by Florida Statute 501.1377. Under Florida Statute 501.1377(3)(b) such a consultant may not "solicit, charge, receive, or attempt to collect or secure payment, directly or indirectly, for foreclosure-related rescue services before completing or performing all services contained in the agreement" — so an up-front fee is prohibited, not merely discouraged.Fla. Stat. § 501.1377

Liens and title

Tax certificate and tax deed: What the county sells when property taxes go unpaid: the tax debt itself, not the house. Florida Statute 197.102(1)(f) defines it as "a paper or electronic legal document, representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes ... and becoming a first lien thereon, superior to all other liens." A certificate holder is an investor holding a lien; Florida Statute 197.432(2) confines them, providing that the lien "may not be enforced in any manner except as prescribed in this chapter." The deed that transfers the property itself after unpaid taxes go unresolved long enough. Under Florida Statute 197.502(1) a certificate holder may apply for one "at any time after 2 years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the tax certificate" — the clock runs from April 1 of the year of issuance, not from the issuance date. The owner can stop it: Florida Statute 197.472(1) allows redemption "at any time after the certificate is issued and before a tax deed is issued."Fla. Stat. ch. 197
Construction lien: A claim recorded against property by a contractor, subcontractor or supplier who has not been paid for work on it, governed by Part I of Florida Statutes chapter 713. Under Florida Statute 713.08(5) it must be recorded "not later than 90 days after the final furnishing of the labor or services or materials," and under Florida Statute 713.22(1) it "does not continue for a longer period than 1 year after the claim of lien has been recorded" unless an enforcement action is filed in that year. An old construction lien with no lawsuit behind it is therefore in a very different position from an old code lien.Fla. Stat. ch. 713, pt. I
Code enforcement lien: A lien a local government records after a code enforcement board imposes a fine, under Part I of Florida Statutes chapter 162. Under Florida Statute 162.09(3) the recorded order "shall constitute a lien against the land on which the violation exists and upon any other real or personal property owned by the violator," and the fine "shall continue to accrue until the violator comes into compliance." Two things cut the other way: the same subsection provides that no such lien "may be foreclosed on real property which is a homestead under s. 4, Art. X of the State Constitution," and Florida Statute 162.10 caps the lien's life at 20 years from recording.Fla. Stat. ch. 162, pt. I
Cloud on title: Any recorded claim, lien or defect that casts doubt on who owns the property and stops a clean sale. It is a general title term rather than a statutory one; the statutory remedy for removing one is a quiet title action.
Quiet title action: A lawsuit to establish clear ownership and remove competing claims from a title. Florida Statutes chapter 65 is titled "Quieting Title"; Florida Statute 65.011 empowers the court to "determine the title of plaintiff as against defendants and enter judgment quieting the title," and Florida Statute 65.021 lets a claimant act to "quiet or remove clouds from the title to the land," expressly whether or not the claimant is in actual possession.Fla. Stat. ch. 65
Quitclaim vs. warranty deed: A deed that transfers only whatever interest the grantor actually has, with no warranty of title. Florida Statute 689.025, added in 2023, prescribes a form in which the grantor "does hereby remise, release, and quitclaim ... all the right, title, interest, claim, and demand which the said first party has" in the land. If the grantor turns out to have owned nothing, the grantee receives nothing and has no warranty to sue on. A deed in which the seller guarantees the title and promises to defend it. Florida Statute 689.02 prescribes the form, in which the grantor "does hereby fully warrant the title to said land, and will defend the same against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever."Fla. Stat. ch. 689

Occupants

Eviction: The court process a landlord uses to remove a residential tenant, governed by Part II of Florida Statutes chapter 83. Florida Statute 83.59(3) is the limit: "the landlord shall not recover possession of a dwelling unit except" through a court action, the tenant's surrender, abandonment, or the narrow deceased-tenant route. Self-help is separately penalized — under Florida Statute 83.67(6) a landlord who cuts utilities, changes locks or removes a tenant's property "shall be liable to the tenant for actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, and costs, including attorney's fees." The court's instruction to the sheriff to put the landlord back in possession after an eviction judgment. Under Florida Statute 83.62(1) the clerk issues it commanding the sheriff to act "after 24 hours' notice conspicuously posted on the premises," and "Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays do not stay the 24-hour notice period."Fla. Stat. ch. 83; § 83.62
3-day / 7-day notice: The written demand a landlord must deliver before terminating a residential tenancy for unpaid rent. Florida Statute 83.56(3): "If the tenant fails to pay rent when due and the default continues for 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, after delivery of written demand by the landlord for payment of the rent or possession of the premises, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement." The same subsection limits the exclusion to "court-observed holidays only." The notice period for terminating a residential tenancy for noncompliance other than unpaid rent. Where the tenant should not get a chance to cure, Florida Statute 83.56(2)(a) provides that "the landlord may terminate the rental agreement, and the tenant shall have 7 days from the date that the notice is delivered to vacate the premises." Where the noncompliance is curable, Florida Statute 83.56(2)(b) requires notice that if it "is not corrected within 7 days from the date that the written notice is delivered, the landlord shall terminate the rental agreement."Fla. Stat. § 83.56
Unlawful detainer: A court action to recover property from someone holding it without any lease or tenancy, as distinct from an eviction. Florida Statute 82.01(4) defines "unlawful detention" as "possessing real property ... without the consent of a person entitled to possession ... or after the withdrawal of consent by such person." Florida Statute 82.03(1) gives the person entitled to possession a cause of action and says they are "not required to notify the prospective defendant before filing the action"; under Florida Statute 82.03(2), if the detention is "willful and knowingly wrongful," the court "must award the plaintiff damages equal to double the reasonable rental value."Fla. Stat. §§ 82.01(4), 82.03
Florida squatter law: A fast route added in 2024 that lets an owner ask the sheriff to remove unauthorized occupants without filing a lawsuit, under Florida Statute 82.036. It is available only "if **all** of the following conditions are met" — the eight conditions in Florida Statute 82.036(2)(a) to (h) are cumulative: , court costs, and reasonable attorney fees." Using this procedure against someone who turns out to have been a tenant is therefore expensive.Fla. Stat. § 82.036

General information, not legal advice. Every Florida statute cited here is free to read at flsenate.gov or leg.state.fl.us; the federal regulations are at ecfr.gov.