Changing Title Of House Question

[sifuwong]

I have a question. A few years ago, i bought a new house. My elderly father moved in with me. After that, i decided to change the title of ownership for house to his name to take advantage of the Homestead over 65 since he is gonna live with me for a while. A friend of mine knew an attorney who did this for me like $170 bucks. Now, I am planning to sell this house and move elsewhere. Is it gonna be difficult to change the title back to my name? I am still paying mortgage on it obviously. Or is it better to just sell it under his name and get the proceeds from my father? Which is easier or the better way to do this? Thanks.

[musicman]

i thought the owner had to sign the paperwork. did he pass?

[sifuwong]

i thought the owner had to sign the paperwork. did he pass?

After closing and moving in to my new house for like 3 months, i changed the title to my father since he was moving in with me. No, he is still alive, but i want to move now and he will be going with me. That does bring up an interesting question since you brought it up. If my father passed away, how would the title be changed in my name then?

Edited March 28, 2008 by sifuwong

[AJXterra]

After closing and moving in to my new house for like 3 months, i changed the title to my father since he was moving in with me. No, he is still alive, but i want to move now and he will be going with me. That does bring up an interesting question since you brought it up. If my father passed away, how would the title be changed in my name then?

I'd hope for your sake that it's in his will...if not you could lose your house though that's somewhat of a longshot.

[Porchman]

After closing and moving in to my new house for like 3 months, i changed the title to my father since he was moving in with me. No, he is still alive, but i want to move now and he will be going with me. That does bring up an interesting question since you brought it up. If my father passed away, how would the title be changed in my name then?

Well, this whole thing poses several other questions. Does you father have a will? Do you have siblings? Is your father looking to qualify for Medicaid (not Medicare)? What is you father's mental state (Does he have his "wits about him")? How much equity is in the house?

[TJones]

I'd hope for your sake that it's in his will...if not you could lose your house though that's somewhat of a longshot.

I don't think anyone would contest Sifu on the will as I am sure any siblings KNOW that Sifu is the actual purchaser of the home. I would leave the title alone, you may open up a whole can of worms from the Paul Bettencourt office . Just have him sign his parts and have him transfer the money like you are thinking.

I will tell you this much, if, God Forbid, your father died past the 6th month of the year, i.e.past June 15th, and deed was transfered to you, you can STILL use his 65 and older tax break for THAT year, because he lived in the house for more than 6 months of said year. I took advantage of that when I moved into my home I bought from an older lady year before last, because I moved in Sept.

Edited March 29, 2008 by TJones

[musicman]

my father passed away, how would the title be changed in my name then?

there better be a will

[Ross]

If you have a mortgage, how did you transfer title? Mortgage companies generally want to know about that sort of thing, and your mortgage contract likely had a clause in it that required you to pay the balance immediately on transfer of title. Did you pay the gift tax when you transferred title to your Dad? The IRS loves it when you don't follow all the steps. What I'm syaing here is that transferring titles on real estate willy nilly is a really bad idea. Obviously, you cannot sell the house now without your Father's permission. If you have him transfer the title back to you, the whole gift tax issue raises its ugly head again. Please don't take this as criticism, it's a good learning opportunity for everyone.

[sifuwong]

If you have a mortgage, how did you transfer title? Mortgage companies generally want to know about that sort of thing, and your mortgage contract likely had a clause in it that required you to pay the balance immediately on transfer of title. Did you pay the gift tax when you transferred title to your Dad? The IRS loves it when you don't follow all the steps. What I'm syaing here is that transferring titles on real estate willy nilly is a really bad idea. Obviously, you cannot sell the house now without your Father's permission. If you have him transfer the title back to you, the whole gift tax issue raises its ugly head again. Please don't take this as criticism, it's a good learning opportunity for everyone.

Thanks for bringing that up. I didn't know about that. All i know is that i gave my friend the money and he went to the attorney. Next thing i know, a month later, i go to hcad and my father's name is there. How about if i add my name back to the title? Basically, leave my father in it and just add mine back. Would that be easier?