What is a Kansas Homestead Exemption? Can Kansas homeowners use it to keep their properties from being foreclosed on?

What is a Kansas Homestead Exemption? Can Kansas homeowners use it to keep their properties from being foreclosed on?

A homestead exemption is a very powerful tool for homeowners to protect themselves. Homestead Exemptions vary widely from state to state.

1) House can’t be force sold.
2) Protects owner if one of the owners pass away.
3) Protects the owners and the home from property tax increases and collections. In some states, a home claimed under a homestead can never be force sold.

The State of Kansas provides an unlimited dollar amount homestead exemption. 

Although the State of Kansas provides an unlimited dollar amount on its homestead exemption, it does limit the exemption to a certain area of land, which is much larger in rural areas. 

The federal bankruptcy homestead exemption is $17,425. Where a state’s homestead exemption is lower than $17,425, a debtor contemplating a bankruptcy filing should consider using the federal exemptions, all other things being equal.

Generally, consensual liens, such as mortgages, cannot be eliminated inside or outside of bankruptcy in Kansas, even when they are attached to property subject to an exemption. Therefore, the Kansas homestead exemption can actually be worth nothing to the debtor if the home is very heavily mortgaged. In order to keep the property in Kansas, a Kansas homeowner will need to have a property that is not heavily mortgaged.

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Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Premier Realty 

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