Florida Statute 697.08 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XL
REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY

Chapter 697
INSTRUMENTS DEEMED MORTGAGES AND THE NATURE OF A MORTGAGE

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697.08 Equity skimming.—

(1) It is unlawful for any person, with intent to defraud the owner of real property, to engage in equity skimming, which is, to:

(a) Purchase, within a 3-year period, two or more single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, three-family dwellings, or four-family dwellings, or a combination thereof, that are subject to a loan that is in default at the time of purchase or within 1 year after the time of purchase, which loan is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust;

(b) Fail to make payments under the mortgage or deed of trust as the payments become due, regardless of whether the purchaser is obligated on the loan; and

(2) A violation of subsection (1) constitutes a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

History.—s. 1, ch. 94-288; s. 775, ch. 97-102.

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Amendments to 697.08

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 697.08

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

S697.08 - EMBEZZLE - EQUITY SKIMMING - F: T

Cases Citing Statute 697.08

Total Results: 2 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Citation Mortg., Ltd. v. Rc of Ret. Living Ltd., 753 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 3517

...ult to purposes other than the property maintenance or mortgage payments." Florida had no statutory or common law cause of action prohibiting equity skimming at the time of the assignment of rents or the transfer of the assignment to appellants, and section 697.08, Florida Statutes, enacted in 1994, which now makes equity skimming a crime, applies only to family dwellings and not to retirement centers and nursing homes, even assuming the statute gives rise to a civil cause of action....

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Minalla v. Equinamics Corp., 954 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 4174, 2007 WL 837170

...ute, § 687.02(1), Florida Statutes (2005); in Count IV a quiet title claim; and in Count VI[sic] seeks declaratory relief on the basis that enforcing the SLO as a "sale lease option" would enforce an illegal equity skimming contract in violation of section 697.08, a third degree felony, which it claims allows Minalla civil damages as being "against public policy."