my daughter is looking into buying a house..

[movie zombie]

and parents worry about it too much, DF.

putting your wife on the house will only happen if she also is on loan papers and also responsible for the loan. your wife's credit score will probably help your daughter get the loan. why won't the bank do it? they own the house and give title only to those on the loan papers. once the house is paid for your daughter can gift 1/2 to her mother if she wishes because she now owns the house.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

I'm in Canada so I'm sure the law is different, but a good friend of mine lost her house when she broke up with her live-in boyfriend of 2 years. The house was in her name and he never contributed to it (he was unemployed for over a year). After they broke up he argued that he was entitled to half of the equity that was built while he lived there. Housing prices had gone up so she owed him over $60 000. She had to sell her house to pay the settlement.

My advice would be to have her talk to a lawyer before she has anyone move in with her, married or not.

If the home price had gone up by 120k, why didn't she just take out a home equity loan and increase her basis if she wanted to stay in the house?

 

[Anastasia]

why would mom's name be on the paper unless she's signing for the loan or putting $ into it? could also complicate your wife's estate issues. putting your wife's name on it will not protect the property in case your daughter marries and then divorces.

why not?.. my wife then would own 1/2 of the house and her husband can't claim my wife's 1/2,it would be better if they got married first then buy a house together.

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself.

I don't know the laws, but if you are concerned that he would be entitled to half of her house, and your wife owns half of the house, wouldn't he still be entitled to half of your daughter's half? He would be entitled to half of her asset, which is half of the house. So he would get 1/4. Confused yet?

Your daughter should buy her house according to her current circumstances. If she gets married she should address it then. If she is financially capable of buying a house on her own right now, let her buy a house on her own. I can't see any advantage to having your wife on the deed.

 

[Dancing Fire]

why would mom's name be on the paper unless she's signing for the loan or putting $ into it? could also complicate your wife's estate issues. putting your wife's name on it will not protect the property in case your daughter marries and then divorces.

why not?.. my wife then would own 1/2 of the house and her husband can't claim my wife's 1/2,it would be better if they got married first then buy a house together.

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself.

I don't know the laws, but if you are concerned that he would be entitled to half of her house, and your wife owns half of the house, wouldn't he still be entitled to half of your daughter's half? He would be entitled to half of her asset, which is half of the house. So he would get 1/4. Confused yet?
Your daughter should buy her house according to her current circumstances. If she gets married she should address it then. If she is financially capable of buying a house on her own right now, let her buy a house on her own. I can't see any advantage to having your wife on the deed.

that's what i was thinking by adding my wife's name on the deed in case something goes wrong with her marriage. 1/4 is better than 1/2..

 

[movie zombie]

DF, let me repeat what i wrote in my 2nd response: the bank will not put your wife on the deed unless she is also on the loan papers as a borrower. call a bank....any bank....tomorrow and confirm it. your daughter will not own the house until its paid off. the bank owns it. they are letting her use it while she completes making the payments. the only names that appear on the deed are those of the borrowers. is your wife willing to be on the loan papers?

 

[Dancing Fire]

DF, let me repeat what i wrote in my 2nd response: the bank will not put your wife on the deed unless she is also on the loan papers as a borrower. call a bank....any bank....tomorrow and confirm it. your daughter will not own the house until its paid off. the bank owns it. they are letting her use it while she completes making the payments. the only names that appear on the deed are those of the borrowers. is your wife willing to be on the loan papers?

yes,i understand that part. i guess my Q is...should she be a co-owner of the house?

 

[movie zombie]

DF, only you and your wife can decide that. given your daughter's past history with credit cards, i wouldn't do it.

at some point you have to let her be an adult....she did graduate college and is working. and adults make decisions and sometimes they make mistakes. advise is one thing but you can't protect her forever. that is her job.

if your daughter doesn't make a payment, your wife will need to do it. it could affect your wife's credit score. talk to an estate attorney to make sure you aren't putting your future at risk in some way. which tenancy would your wife take 1/2 title as?

it is her $ and she can be responsible for her decisions..... if you let her.

also, i think she's moving a bit soon. prices will be still coming down in your area. if she's really serious she could wait a bit, save more $ to put into it and still take advantage of the market.

 

[chemgirl]

I'm in Canada so I'm sure the law is different, but a good friend of mine lost her house when she broke up with her live-in boyfriend of 2 years. The house was in her name and he never contributed to it (he was unemployed for over a year). After they broke up he argued that he was entitled to half of the equity that was built while he lived there. Housing prices had gone up so she owed him over $60 000. She had to sell her house to pay the settlement.

Wow - I can't believe that. Seems really unjust towards your friend, doesn't it? I wonder if there isn't a back story to her situation.

No real back story. They lived together for most of their 2 year relationship because he was layed off. Technically he became her common law spouse after 12 months and he was entitled to her employer health benefits. They broke up and he sued for half of the equity that had accumulated while he was living in the house. Housing prices in my area have doubled over the last 10 years and her house value increased by over $100 000 during the 2 years he lived there. She couldn't afford to divide their "joint" assets so she sold the house.

 

[Dancing Fire]

also, i think she's moving a bit soon. prices will be still coming down in your area. if she's really serious she could wait a bit, save more $ to put into it and still take advantage of the market.

well,she been looking.last week Wells Fargo pre-approved her for a $240K loan... anyhoo,the prices in our area had been steady in the past few months,some even sold for over the asking price.

 

[rosetta]

I'm the overly cautious type.

Buying my first house with my husband only now that we are married, I wouldn't do it before (though I'm not saying everyone should follow suit)

We also are putting an equal amount of deposit in, and our equal monthly payments will only be what we can both comfortably afford, and also an amount we could still afford to pay on one of our salaries alone, should one of us lose our jobs.

I've seen too many people lose their homes by stretching their finances to the max, and also by never considering that their relationship could end.

DF is wise to consider protecting his daughters assets early on, before emotional issues become involved. A cast iron pre-nup if your country upholds these is a sound plan. In the UK, I believe they are still not enforced much (though this is changing, not fast enough for us to consider one)

I love my husband very much, but none of us can predict the future and I'm not silly enough to consider my marriage unbreakable and not subject to the same risks as everyone else's.

I would be interested to know what you decide in the end DF.

 

[rosetta]

I've just read a bit more.

As MZ said, your wife would be co-owner and subject to the same risks as your daughter if she was on the deed surely?

Then your daughter is not buying a house on her own, her mother is buying it with her.

Your daughter's credit rating may well affect your wife's: they are going into debt together.

How risky is this venture? $240k is a very small loan around these parts, and if it was me, I would risk taking out this my daughter as we would pay it off quickly. However, if it will take her a long time to repay, then more time for things to go wrong.....

 

[Jennifer W]

Free legal advice over the internet is worth what you pay for it. Speak to a lawyer, in the state where you live. It will likely save money and stress in the long run.

There's no 'right' answer though - you have to choose the options that work for your family. Whether your wife wants to be named on the deeds and own half the house (making her liable for half of the standard security, half of any maintenance costs or common property repairs in a tenement, half of the lender's insurance requirement and half of any future loans secured on the property with or without her consent depending on legal requirements of secured borrowing where you live) is her decision. Whether your daughter wants to own her property jointly with a parent is her decision.

The marriage / divorce issues are somewhat hypothetical at this point, and could be addressed if and when they actually happen.

 

[mrscushion]

I'm in Canada so I'm sure the law is different, but a good friend of mine lost her house when she broke up with her live-in boyfriend of 2 years. The house was in her name and he never contributed to it (he was unemployed for over a year). After they broke up he argued that he was entitled to half of the equity that was built while he lived there. Housing prices had gone up so she owed him over $60 000. She had to sell her house to pay the settlement.

Wow - I can't believe that. Seems really unjust towards your friend, doesn't it? I wonder if there isn't a back story to her situation.

No real back story. They lived together for most of their 2 year relationship because he was layed off. Technically he became her common law spouse after 12 months and he was entitled to her employer health benefits. They broke up and he sued for half of the equity that had accumulated while he was living in the house. Housing prices in my area have doubled over the last 10 years and her house value increased by over $100 000 during the 2 years he lived there. She couldn't afford to divide their "joint" assets so she sold the house.

Wow. I sure would be careful having someone move in with me if I lived in Canada. 12 months is a bit short to proclaim common law marriage IMO. In any case - sorry DF to threadjack.

 

[partgypsy]

Wow living together for 12 months is considered common-law marriage? That's crazy, and in your friend's case, unfair. Most states in the US don't even recognize common law marriage (which I also think is extreme). We have friends in IL who have lived together for the past 20 years and have a child together (now graduated from college), but are still not considered common-law married.

The places in the states that do have common law marriage it usually takes into effect around 7, 10 years.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="mscushion|1311936557|
Wow. I sure would be careful having someone move in with me if I lived in Canada. 12 months is a bit short to proclaim common law marriage IMO. In any case - sorry DF to threadjack.[/quote]
no problem,thanks for the information...i'll make arrangements to move in with Sharon...

 

[TooPatient]

DF, only you and your wife can decide that. given your daughter's past history with credit cards, i wouldn't do it.

at some point you have to let her be an adult....she did graduate college and is working. and adults make decisions and sometimes they make mistakes. advise is one thing but you can't protect her forever. that is her job.

if your daughter doesn't make a payment, your wife will need to do it. it could affect your wife's credit score. talk to an estate attorney to make sure you aren't putting your future at risk in some way. which tenancy would your wife take 1/2 title as?

it is her $ and she can be responsible for her decisions..... if you let her.

also, i think she's moving a bit soon. prices will be still coming down in your area. if she's really serious she could wait a bit, save more $ to put into it and still take advantage of the market.

This exactly.

Let her grow up. You've done your job (and then some) raising her and now you have to let her make decisions AND MISTAKES on her own. Give her advice but leave the decission making up to her and wait until SHE takes the initiative to do (or not do) something. It is her life -- let her live it.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi All,

Just want to point out that while your wife would have to be on both the deed and the loan agreement(they are two different things),
initiqlly when the home is first purchased those rules may not apply six months later. In Illinois you have what is called a quit claim deed, where you may either transfer tiltle or give a portion of title to anyone youn wish. New York also has this procedure because after my divorce, my ex-husband quit-claimed the property to me, so that I was sole owner. I , in Illinois quit-claimed one of my properties to my brother while my morgage was in effect. Several yrs later it was quit-claimed back to me.

So your wife can be made an one half owner after the fact, unless the documents specifically prohibit this. In my family my father always put family property in my moms name. It served us well. Of course divorce never entered their minds, even if they were fighting.

Of course you have to check the Califoria laws, but property belongs to you even if you have a mortgage.


Thyanks,
Annette