Real Estate Exam Prep

Real Estate Exam [Texas] 42, Homestead Tax Exemptions

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - All Texas homeowners are entitled to a mandatory homestead exemption on their school district property taxes. - Homeowners who are over 65 or disabled qualify for an additional exemption from school district taxes. - The school district tax ceiling for those over 65 or disabled freezes the dollar amount of their school taxes, not the tax rate or property value. - A surviving spouse can retain the over-65 exemption and tax ceiling if they are at least 55 years old when their spouse dies. - Exam calculations require subtracting all applicable exemptions from the market value before applying the tax rate to find the tax owed. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Real Estate Exam [Texas] 41, Spousal Consent and Homestead

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Both spouses must sign to sell or mortgage a Texas homestead, even if it's one spouse's separate property. - A surviving spouse has a legal right to a life estate, allowing them to occupy the homestead for life, regardless of who inherits it. - Abandonment of a homestead requires both discontinuing use and forming an intent to not return; temporary absence is not enough. - Homestead rights are distinct from community property laws but often work together to protect the family home. - Exam questions often test scenarios where one spouse attempts to act unilaterally on a homestead property or after the other spouse's death. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Real Estate Exam [Texas] 40, Home Equity Loan Restrictions

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Texas law caps the total of all loans secured by a homestead, including a new home equity loan, at 80% of the home's fair market value. - A mandatory and non-waivable 12-day cooling-off period must pass between the loan application and the closing. - Homeowners are restricted to having only one home equity loan on their property at any given time. - A new home equity loan cannot be obtained more frequently than once every 12 months. - Lenders must obtain a court order to foreclose on a property due to default on a home equity loan, a process known as judicial foreclosure. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Real Estate Exam [Texas] 39, Homestead Protection Exceptions

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That Texas homestead protection is powerful but has four key exceptions that allow for foreclosure. - Why a purchase money lien, the original mortgage to buy the home, is a primary exception. - How unpaid property taxes create a superior lien that can lead to the forced sale of a homestead. - The strict requirements for a valid mechanic's lien, including a written contract signed by both spouses before work starts. - That defaulting on a home equity loan is another specific exception that can result in losing a homestead. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

Real Estate Exam [Texas] 38, Texas Homestead Protection

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Texas homestead protection is automatic for a primary residence and does not require a formal filing to be established. - An urban homestead is limited to a maximum of 10 acres of land, which can be on one or more contiguous lots. - A rural homestead is capped at 200 acres for a family and 100 acres for a single adult. - Homesteads are protected from forced sale by general creditors, like credit card companies or for personal loans. - Protection is not absolute; a homestead can be foreclosed on for specific debts, including purchase money mortgages, property taxes, and valid mechanic's liens. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep