School is Back – File Your Homestead
Would you buy a car without getting any warranty? Would you buy a new refrigerator without a warranty. Filing a homestead in the State of Nevada is similar to getting a warranty on your car or major appliances.
What is the Declaration of Homestead Act in the State of Nevada? Nevada is one of many states that allow a homeowner to file a Declaration of Homestead. In Nevada, this Declaration of Homestead protects the equity in your primary residence up to $550,000. This protects you from an unsecured creditor putting a claim or lien on your property and then getting a judgement to force you to sell your home to pay off the debt. It’s important to note it is Equity not Value of the primary residence. If you own a home worth $750,000 and you have a mortgage of $600,000, then your equity is $150,000 which would be covered if you properly record a Declaration of Homestead in the correct jurisdiction.
Similar to filing your own taxes, filing a Declaration of Homestead is not difficult. The challenge is making sure that you file it correctly so that it affords the protection if you need it in the future. Unlike filing your taxes, if errors and/or omissions are made, you will usually hear from the I.R.S. With a Declaration of Homestead, you will never know until you need to use it.
Like any online service, there are companies that market either through a mass mailing or other advertising, at a low cost, to get you to use their service. These online services, will type up the information you give them and send it back to you to be recorded. Here’s the challenge:
- These online services do not notarize or record the Declaration of Homestead with the respective County in Nevada. You will need to have the document notarized and go down to the County building to have it recorded.
- There is no assurance that they verify the accuracy of your name on title. You could go to the County’s website and confirm how your name is on the title.
One other thing, if you have made any changes to the title of the property after you filed your Declaration of Homestead, you MUST file a new Homestead. The Declaration of Homestead must follow the most recent deed which reflects the true ownership of the property.
Our concierge service will:
- Review the County records to confirm the true ownership
- Complete the Declaration of Homestead ready to be signed and notarized
- Record it and provide you with an electronic copy and the original for your records
If you have questions, please give us a call, 702.233.4014 or email us at [email protected].
