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HUMAN
RESOURCES
POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES
Business
Ethics
Striking
a balance between integrity, professionalism and sensibility, client
loyalty and personal responsibility, our company adheres to a set of
business and ethics guidelines that it hopes will increase
confidence in the company and in its service agents by making it
easier for our customers, service providers and the public to
understand what constitutes unethical behavior, and for the company
to fulfill its moral and legal obligations. Among the desires that
we believe will enhance our services is the fact that we self
regulate our industry and have implemented very stringent
requirements for our agents and representatives in addition to the
regulations stated herein. We are very serious about these
issues and enforce these policies and regulations daily.
Considering
your thoughts and our agent's opportunity, compiling the right staff
is critical. When preparing information or a list of professional
references, we put our self in the shoes of a perspective client. In
these paranoid times, with liability law suits and other legal
actions commonplace, companies must protect themselves by hiring
upstanding, trouble-free and competent people. At a minimum, we
select people to provide professional services to you from
references that will be open to confirming their ethics and
background. They are also asked other questions about their
background, including their level of responsibility and performance.
In addition to this, we also consider a
potential agent's personal issues and beliefs regarding many subject
matters.
These
regulations control those agents who provide services through our
company and accomplishes several things. It (a) requires certain
disclosures, (b) prohibits certain misstatements, (c) defines the
minimum kinds of services that must
be
provided by one who provides services through Florida Homestead
Services, LLC, (d) rigorously limits the statutory or other fees
that can be charged, and (e) requires agents to act in the best
interests of the client, to be truthful and factual, and to act at
all times beyond reproach in all communications and matters
regarding clients, potential clients, licensees, representatives or
agents and (e) requires agents and officers to act in the best
interests of the company, to be truthful and factual, and to act at
all times beyond reproach in all communications and matters to the
company regarding clients, and to adhere to all laws of the state
and of the United Sates at all times and be law abiding
citizens.
Failure
to act in the highest ethical manner, or violations of any law or
court decision will result in the termination of a representative
agent and possible subsequent causes of legal action against the
officer or agent.
These
rules are not all-inclusive, and the company has the right to act,
as it deems fit, in the best interests of the company and of our
clients at all times.
Below
is an abbreviated synopsis of our rules, regulations and standards
of practice...
Why
Were These Regulations Initiated, Drafted and Adopted by Florida
Homestead
Services,
LLC?
These
regulations were adopted because some individuals providing
homestead services were misrepresenting the company, the need for,
or the character of our services. A common misrepresentation is that
a person is an agent or employee of our company or that a recorded
declaration of homestead protects against enforcement measures by any
and all
creditors.
In fact, filing a homestead declaration does not protect against
creditors whose claims are secured by a mortgage on the property, or
against businesses that have a ‘contractor’s’ lien on the
property as a result of providing services or improvements, or for
non-payment of property taxes and assessments. Also, some
unscrupulous individuals conceal the existence of the legal
requirements of homestead protection, stating that it is automatic,
in order to sell other legal services to those who do not really
need it.
A
brief excerpt of the company’s stringent regulations follow:
Social
Responsibility: The
company can have a substantial impact on the lives and well-being of
citizens and therefore avoids doing business with agents or partners
who participate in illegal or unfair labor or business practices,
including illegal labor or child labor, the payment of low wages,
unsafe work environments, or ethnic, racial, gender, or sexual
discrimination.
Executive
Responsibility:
The company's officers shall be directly and wholly responsible for
the company's employees, agents, and actions, including but not
limited to financial activities and statements, extra-corporate
agreements, and product or service claims. The company will at all
times adhere to, and uphold the regulations provided to its officers
and agents initiated and published by the company.
Board of Directors:
The company's board of directors, acting in its fiduciary capacity
on behalf of all, shall be liable for all financial statements
emanating from the company.
Financial
Deception:
Purposely concealing or misrepresenting the company's financial
information, or misappropriating corporate funds for personal gain,
is unethical and punishable by law.
Investigatory
Response:
Employees or officers of the company , if under criminal or civil
investigation by any agency or of the US, shall not destroy
documents or data that could be construed as pertinent to that
investigation.
Such individuals shall be suspended or terminated from the
company based on the level of investigation or cause of action.
Defective or Deceptive Products,
Services,
Practices:
The company shall not knowingly produce or provide a defective
product or service so as not to be in material breach of ethical and
legal standards, causing the company or its clients to suffer
appropriate negative consequences. Agents will at all times
practice business beyond reproach and will adhere to the highest
ethical standards possible in all actions and communications with
clients and in representing the company. Agents will not give legal
advice in any communication with clients nor engage in any
misrepresentation whatsoever. Officers and agents will at all times
uphold all legal and fiduciary duties required by law and will at
all times practice sound business principles.
Unfair
Trade Practices:
Any company that participates in unfair or deceptive trade,
including but not limited to coercing partners, suppliers, agents or
distributors into signing unethical agreements, forcing customers or
clients to use unwanted company products or services, or
underselling in the market in an attempt to starve out internal
competition, shall be guilty of anticompetitive practices and the
company will not do business with them.
Whistle-blowers:
Employees who make allegations of illegality or indiscretion against
the company are protected by law and must not be harassed or made to
suffer economically or psychologically for their actions.
Standards
of Practice - Representatives and Agents
Health
and Safety: Company and its agent's certify that workers
will be provided a safe and healthy working environment to prevent
accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or
occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of
agent facilities.
Environmental
Responsibility:
The company has a moral and legal obligation to protect and preserve
the environment and should ensure that our operations, and those of
our partners, agents, subsidiaries, and licensees, adhere to
environmentally safe practices.
Freedom
of Association:
Company certifies that employee' rights to freedom of association
will be recognized and respected.
Wages
and Benefits:
Company certifies that eligible employees will be paid at least the
minimum wage required by local law, or the prevailing industry wage,
whichever is higher.
Hours
of Work/Overtime:
Company certifies that it complies with regulations concerning work
hours mandated by local laws and uses overtime only when employees
are compensated according to local law. Company further certifies
that it won't allow employees to exceed the maximum number of
overtime hours provided by local law.
Environment:
Company certifies that it complies with applicable country, state,
county and city environmental regulations.
Harassment
or Abuse:
Company certifies every employee, agent and customer or client shall
be treated respectfully
and dignity. No employee shall be subject to harassment or abuse.
Nondiscrimination:
Company certifies that no person shall be subject to any
discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits,
advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of
race, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation,
nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.
Forced
Labor: Company
certifies that it will not use any forced labor - prison,
indentured, bonded or otherwise.
Child
Labor: Company
certifies that no person shall be employed at an age younger than
the law allows or younger than the age for completing compulsory
education.
Documentation
and Inspection:
Company agrees to:
(A) Certify on an annual basis that each of the above listed
Standards are met.
(B) Consent to and permit annual inspections of each business by
company representatives.
(C) Maintain on file such documentation as may be needed to
demonstrate compliance with the company
Standards of Practice.
(D) Make these documents available for audit inspection upon
request.
(E) Provide employees with the opportunity to report noncompliance
with workplace standards & free from punishment or prejudice for
so doing.
(F) Post the Regulatory Standards in a common area accessible by all
employees.
Who
is Subject to this Regulation?
This
regulation controls the provision of homestead filing services and
applies to anyone who provides homestead filing services as an
officer, agent, licensee, referral agent or other service provider
as defined by the company. However, this regulation does not
apply to
attorneys, law firms or to those who work under the direct
supervision of attorneys, with respect to paid legal services that
are provided to a client who has retained the attorney to provide
those services. Hence, once a homeowner hires an attorney to advise
them regarding a homestead, neither the kind of services that are
furnished by an attorney, nor the charges for those services are
covered by this regulation and we no longer represent that client.
What
Protections Does This Regulation Provide?
This
regulation may require that a homestead filing service agent or
licensee, in the event that the home office cannot accomplish the
task, to handle the entire task of completing and filing the
homestead declaration and other paperwork, including payment of all
notary and county recording fees as required. The regulation
requires that the declaration of homestead must be recorded in the
appropriate county within 10 days after it is signed before a notary
public.
The
regulation limits the notary and recording fees that can be charged
in addition to the service fees. The fees may not be requested until
after the homestead declaration contract and limited power of
attorney are executed. This may mean that the amount that a client
pays for a homestead declaration will be paid to a company escrow,
which will disburse the funds to the homestead filing service
provider only after the homestead is executed or recorded.
To
help assure that homeowners are not mislead about the need for
filing a homestead declaration or the enormous protections that it
provides, a homestead filing service agent must include a prescribed
disclosure in every advertisement, promotional material and other
offer made before the time when the owner is obligated to pay for
the service. In the case of an oral solicitation or broadcast ad,
the disclosure should be recited at the beginning of the
presentation. In the case of a printed ad or other promotional
material, the required disclosure must be printed.
This
regulation also prescribes the procedures by which someone who
provides homestead filing services is paid. The provider may not
charge, demand, or collect any money from the homeowner until
after the homestead contract and power of attorney is executed.
Also, the total amount charged, demanded, or collected by the
provider for all filing fees and notarization fees, may
not exceed the specified amount in addition to any service fee.
Sources
and Enforcement
The
homestead law covers both tax related homesteads and declared
homesteads. The law that regulates homestead tax filing is regulated
under Florida Statutes, Title XIV and XV and any violation is a
misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and or a five
thousand dollar fine. In addition, the attorney general or a
district attorney, and certain county attorneys, may recover a civil
penalty for each violation. Suits for an injunction prohibiting
violations, and securing restitution of amounts paid by client
victims, may be maintained by both law enforcement agencies and
private parties. Agents are fully responsible for any consequences
of a tort or damages.
Should
You
File
A Homestead
Declaration?
The
filing of a declared homestead does
indeed enormously add
to the homestead and equity protection that the law provides to all
homeowners. While the typical homeowner need not file a declared
homestead to enjoy basic homestead protection, homeowners who may be
or are in financial trouble, or who expect to be in financial
trouble, probably should
file a
homestead declaration, just to be on the safe side. Precautionary
measures should always be taken by homeowners, especially those with
any amount of equity. The exemption of a homestead from ad valorem
taxation is quite a different thing from the exemption of a
homestead from seizure and sale for debts, and therefore homestead
issues and court decisions for tax purposes are not necessarily
relevant to issues and decisions for forced sale purposes, the
statutory provisions being entirely different.
The
following are some of the reasons that a homeowner who is or expects
to be in financial trouble should file a
declared homestead and not rely exclusively on the homestead tax
exemption:
•
The owner who files a declared homestead can choose which of several
different residences will be protected.
•
The protection that is provided by a declared
homestead
will continue to apply to that residence even if the owner becomes
deceased.
It will not apply to rental properties. If a declared homestead has not
been
recorded, the homestead protection may be lost if the owner moves,
rents or becomes deceased.
•
The protection that is provided by a declared
homestead
will apply to the proceeds
of a voluntary sale.
If no declared homestead has been recorded, the protection of the
owner’s equity in a home may be lost in the event of a voluntary
or forced sale of the home or if a judgment or lien exists. (This
means that the proceeds of the voluntary or forced sale of the home
will go to the judgment creditor or creditors rather than the
owner).
•
If a declared
homestead
has
been
recorded, the law is clear that the proceeds of sale can be used to
purchase another house as a homestead or be used for living expenses
until purchase and the property will be unencumbered.
•
Only if a declared
homestead
has
been
recorded will the proceeds of a voluntary sale assuredly be
protected after they are used to purchase another house; only then
will the protection given to the first house be carried over to the
second in regards to purchase funds.
•
If a declared
homestead
has
been
recorded, the law is clear that the property cannot be forcefully
sold to pay a debt, judgment, levy or lien (if not a mortgage, tax
or mechanic’s/construction lien), and can be sold or contracted
against within 45 days after filing the declaration up to 180 days
afterwards.
•
If a declared
homestead
has
been
recorded, the law is clear that the home is protected unless
abandoned (The legal definition of abandonment consists of rental or
moving to a new homestead).
Neither
the homestead tax exemption nor the declared homestead will protect
a homeowner against the loss of his or her home to a secured
creditor -- such as the lender who has financed the original
purchase, or a lender who extended a second mortgage loan, or to a
contractor, subcontractor or laborer who has filed a valid claim of
mechanic's lien for improvements to the homestead or to a property
tax lien or assessment. The protections of both the declared and tax
homesteads, however, extend to most other kinds of creditors.
Homeowners
who are in financial trouble or those who expect that they may
encounter financial trouble should consult a qualified attorney for
legal advice on how to protect their home, as agents of Florida
Homestead Services cannot and shall not render any legal advice or
engage in the practice of law whatsoever.
All
officers, agents and employees have
hereby agreed in writing to implement, abide by,
adhere to and maintain the rules, regulations and standards
enumerated herein.
Florida
Homestead
Services,
LLC
AGENTS
ONLY
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