Can you have three joint tenants with rights of survivorship? This reader wants to know if it’s legal to add a third person to the title of their home. Q: There are two of us on the title of a home. We own the home as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Is it legal [...]
How to resolve title issues. This reader sold one property but the closing attorney used the legal description for two and they need to get it fixed. Q: Earlier this year, I sold my house through a real estate company. I then moved next door to a rental home I own. A few months later, [...]
Paying property taxes on an abandoned home. This renter can’t locate the owner and wants to know if they can pay back taxes before it goes to auction. Q: I rented a house from a person who turned out not to be the owner of the home. I contacted the authorities and the scammer disappeared. [...]
Leaving an abusive home: How to protect your assets when you fear for your safety but rely on the ownership interest for your financial future. Q: I pay half the mortgage on the home that I own with my boyfriend. I live there with him and our son. The title of the house is in [...]
What to consider before purchasing property for friends. No matter how long you’ve known them, a detailed title and promissory note are always necessary. Q: My father purchased a fixer-upper for a friend and hand-wrote a mortgage payment plan they both agreed upon. Well, after a few payments, the buyers stopped making the mortgage payments. [...]
What’s the best way to hold title on your home? A real estate attorney and an avid reader offer their take on how to title your home. Whether you’re single, coupled up or married, deciding how to hold title is one of the most important decisions home buyers make. The ramifications of that decision might [...]
Should you have a transfer on death deed, a living trust or both? For this reader, it may be best to pursue all options available to them. Q: My father signed a quit claim deed in 2008 for my mother to be sole owner of their mobile home. Now, in 2018, she put him as [...]
Will adding a child to the title of a property increase property taxes? A father wants to add his child to the title to his home, but his child is worried that this will increase property taxes. She might be worried about the wrong thing. Q: I was wondering if you might be able to [...]
Mobile homes and property titles: What you need to know to ensure your mobile home is properly insured and recorded in your name. Q: In September 2017, you wrote an article about how "title insurers don't deal with mobile-home issues" in our local Ohio paper. This is exactly our situation. We have contacted the motor [...]
Home titles and property taxes: What you need to know to make sure you don’t end up with a defective deed. Q: We purchased a house and have been going through a lawyer to get our deed from the previous owner. In the meantime, we’ve been living in the house for well over a [...]
