House Bill 1825

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1825

        By Representative Trovillion






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to title insurance policy

  3         exceptions; amending s. 627.7842, F.S.;

  4         providing construction; limiting the use of

  5         certain surveys and affidavits for certain

  6         title policy purposes; deleting a seller's

  7         affidavit provision relating to persons in

  8         possession or claiming possession of certain

  9         property; requiring the Department of Insurance

10         to adopt, revise, or amend certain rules;

11         providing an effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  Section 627.7842, Florida Statutes, is

16  amended to read:

17         627.7842  Policy exceptions.--

18         (1)(a)  If a survey meeting the minimum technical

19  standards for surveying required by the Department of Business

20  and Professional Regulation and certified to the title insurer

21  by a registered Florida surveyor has been completed on the

22  property within 90 days before the date of closing, the title

23  policy may only except from coverage the encroachments,

24  overlays, boundary line disputes, and other matters which are

25  actually shown on the survey. For purposes of this paragraph,

26  a survey which uses or is based upon any part of the results

27  of any other survey on such property or on any property

28  abutting such property is not a survey which meets the minimum

29  technical standards for surveying required by the Department

30  of Business and Professional Regulation and a title policy may

31  not make any exceptions from coverage otherwise authorized

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1825

    563-166A-00






  1  under this paragraph based upon such survey. Notwithstanding

  2  this or any other provision of law, no affidavit or document

  3  other than a survey meeting the minimum technical standards

  4  for surveying required by the Department of Business and

  5  Professional Regulation, or a survey meeting the current

  6  standards adopted by the American Land Title Association and

  7  the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, may be used in

  8  lieu of or as a substitute for such survey for title insurance

  9  policy purposes.

10         (b)  If at closing the seller signs an affidavit

11  swearing that there is no person in possession of the property

12  or with a claim of possession to the property except the

13  seller, the title policy may not exclude from coverage rights

14  or claims of parties in possession not shown by the public

15  records.

16         (b)(c)  If at closing the seller signs an affidavit

17  swearing that no improvements have been made to the property

18  within the past 90 days for which payment has not been made in

19  full, the title policy may not except from coverage any lien

20  or right to a lien for services, labor, or material furnished

21  which is imposed by law and not shown by the public record. An

22  affidavit executed under this paragraph with respect to a time

23  period greater than 90 days before a date of closing on a

24  conveyance of real property is invalid.  No title policy may

25  make any exceptions from coverage under this paragraph on the

26  conveyance of any property for which an affidavit is executed

27  under this paragraph with respect to a time period greater

28  than 90 days before the date of closing on the conveyance.

29         (2)  The title insurer, agent, or agency issuing the

30  title policy may except from coverage the items specified in

31  subsection (1) if the title insurer, agent, or agency has

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1825

    563-166A-00






  1  knowledge of facts requiring the exceptions, notwithstanding

  2  the survey or affidavits, if the insurer, agent, or agency

  3  discloses such facts, in writing, to the proposed insured.

  4         (3)  The department shall adopt any rule necessary to

  5  implement this section and shall revise or amend any rule

  6  which is in conflict with this section to comply with this

  7  section.

  8         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.

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11                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Limits the use of specified surveys or affidavits for
13    purposes of title insurance policy exceptions.

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