Miramar, FL Attorney
Attorney for Miramar Homeowners, Buyers, and Families
Miramar, in south Broward, was incorporated on May 26, 1955, according to the City’s own history. Many of its neighborhoods, such as Monarch Lakes and the Miramar side of Silver Lakes, are governed by homeowners’ associations, and the City bills its own water and sewer service. Both matter when a Miramar home is bought, sold, divided in a divorce, or carried through a bankruptcy. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. takes Broward real estate, family law, and bankruptcy matters in English and Spanish, with 30 years of practice in South Florida. The firm has one office, at 7821 Coral Way in Miami; Miramar clients can meet there, by phone, or by video. Call (305) 266-9584 or request a free consultation.
Miramar Homes: Association Obligations and the City Lien Search
The association summary comes before the contract. When a home sits in a community with a mandatory homeowners’ association, Fla. Stat. 720.401 requires that the prospective buyer be presented a disclosure summary before signing the contract for sale. If it is not, the buyer may void the contract by written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent within 3 days after receiving the summary or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right ends at closing. Our page on seller disclosures explains what the summary must say.
A buyer can inherit the old balance. Under Fla. Stat. 720.3085(2)(b), a new parcel owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for all unpaid assessments that came due up to the time title transferred. That is why a Miramar closing in an association community depends on the association’s estoppel certificate, its signed statement of what the seller owes. Our Q&A on HOA estoppel letters covers the fee caps, the delivery deadline, and how long a certificate stays valid. If a seller is already behind, our Q&A on whether an HOA can foreclose walks through the notices the association must send first.
The City runs its own lien search. The City of Miramar’s Financial Services lien search page says the search checks property liens, delinquent account balances, water and sewer account balances, and special assessments, and asks requesters to allow 3 to 5 business days. Requests go in on the City’s Lien Request Form with the fee the City lists, and balance updates are requested from the City’s water billing customer service. The City’s own disclaimer says the search is incomplete without also contacting the Building Department about open permits and Code Compliance about open code violations, and it notes that Broward County may hold other encumbrances. For a sale, that means separate checks at the City, the association, and the county records. The City’s lien search line is 954-602-3040.
Open permits on a house that has been improved. If a prior owner added a screen enclosure, a pool, or a room, ask the Building Department about the permit history early. An open or expired permit found late can push back a closing date, and the association may have its own architectural approval file for the same work. Our Q&A on liens when selling a home explains how recorded liens are cleared at closing.
Miramar deeds are recorded by Broward County’s Records, Taxes and Treasury Division rather than the Clerk of Courts. Documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents per $100 of consideration (Fla. Stat. 201.02), with no equivalent of the surtax that applies to some Miami-Dade transfers. Florida law does not require an attorney to close a sale; read title company or attorney closing, how we handle residential closings, how a title search and title insurance work, and our real estate law services.
Courts, Divorce, and Bankruptcy for Miramar Clients
Miramar cases are heard in Broward’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, not Miami-Dade’s Eleventh. The Broward Clerk directs family cases (Family Division, Room 04130), domestic violence, county civil, small claims, evictions, and foreclosures to the Central Courthouse West Building at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, and Attorney Alfonso appears there when a case requires it. The circuit also has a regional courthouse in south Broward: the Clerk’s directory lists County Civil South (Room 100) and Marriage South (Room 160) at the South Regional Courthouse, 3550 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. Go where your notice directs you. Our Broward County page lists the other county offices.
A divorce involving a Miramar home in an association community needs more than a line naming who keeps the house. The agreement should say who pays the regular assessments, any special assessment the association has already approved, and the City water and sewer bill until the house is sold or the deed transfers. Moving out does not end a spouse’s obligation: under Fla. Stat. 720.3085, each owner is liable for the assessments that come due while he or she owns the lot, and unpaid assessments are secured by a lien on the lot. At least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing (Fla. Stat. 61.021), and the court begins from the premise that marital assets are divided equally unless there is a justification for an unequal split (Fla. Stat. 61.075(1)). See who gets the house and our family law services.
Bankruptcy cases from Miramar are filed in the Fort Lauderdale Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, 299 East Broward Boulevard. Association dues need planning there too. In a Chapter 7 case, 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(16) does not discharge association fees or assessments that come due after the case is filed for as long as the debtor or the trustee holds a legal, equitable, or possessory ownership interest in the lot. That paragraph does not except the dues owed from before the filing. An owner who plans to surrender a house should expect new assessments to keep coming due until that ownership interest actually ends, which can be long after moving out. Start with Florida bankruptcy exemptions and whether you could lose your house in bankruptcy, then see our bankruptcy law services.
Common Questions
Does a City of Miramar lien search show everything owed on a house? No. The City says its search covers property liens, delinquent account balances, water and sewer balances, and special assessments, and that it is incomplete without also checking open permits with the Building Department and open code violations with Code Compliance. Association balances and Broward County records are separate checks.
If I buy a Miramar home, am I responsible for the seller’s unpaid HOA dues? Under Fla. Stat. 720.3085(2)(b), a new owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for unpaid assessments that came due up to the transfer of title, which is why the association’s estoppel certificate is obtained before closing.
Contact Us
Whether you are buying in a Miramar association community, sorting out a City lien search or an open permit before closing, dividing a home and its association dues in a divorce, or weighing bankruptcy with an HOA balance, Attorney Alfonso can review your documents in English or Spanish from our Miami office, by phone, or by video. Hablamos español. Call (305) 266-9584 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
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