YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE ANSWERS!
VIVA ESCROW Q & A SEGMENT
(Real questions sent to us – verbatim!)
“Adding someone to property ownership? Easy come, hard go!”
QUESTION:
Background – I’m opening an escrow and there are 2 people on ownership. A widow and a single man. This is the conversation with my client – the daughter – when the ownership was brought to her attention:
Client : My mom said she did not mean to put my brother on title.
Me: But was that her signature on the deed that was notarized?
Client: Yes, but she didn’t mean it to be forever. It was just to help her qualify for the loan.
Me: Well, now he is a part owner, forever, and he has to agree to the sale and sign all documents. Will that be a problem?
Client: Yes, it could be a problem. He says he doesn’t want her to sell because he would have no place to move to. Can we get around this?
Me (mumbling aside): I hate inter family issues
ANSWER:
No, unfortunately, you cannot get around it. If the son is on the ownership then he has to agree to the sale and he has to complete and sign all the sale documents. Plus, we will need him to complete forms with his personal information. If he has liens under his name or social security number they might automatically attach to his mom’s property because he is part owner and this is an asset that can be used to pay off his creditors.
EDUCATIONAL MOMENT:
Adding a person to ownership to help loan qualification is a pretty common occurrence. Loan Brokers and Lenders often recommend this method but they might not caution the homeowner to think it through. Of many questions that might arise, the most important one is this: What happens in the future as this co-borrower /co-owner needs to be brought into the conversation regarding disposition of the property? This could give rise to many angry familial arguments. I tell my clients who are thinking of adding another person, think before you act! It is easy to add a person; it is not so easy to remove them from the equation!
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~ Video of the Month ~
Definitely not your daily loaf of bread! – Amazing and fun!
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~ Quote of the Month ~
“If you can take care of the internal, you can easily take care of the external. Then you can avoid the infernal and latch on to the eternal”
~Joseph Lowery – civil rights activist~
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My YouTube Offering for the Month
In keeping with our Q & A topic, here is: The Story of the Undisclosed Seller!:
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You Have Questions? We Have Answers!
Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI, SASIP
“Escrow is my FOREMOST language!”
Advance Disclosure:
The opinions expressed in this blog are solely the author’s.
Your comments and viewpoints are always welcome.
Info @ VivaEscrow.com