Hello, I purchased a property and a title company closed for us. I noticed when looking at the local tax assessor that my name (purchaser) was listed as 50% while someone else was listed as the other 50%. Long story short, the other 50% was the now deceased husband of the wife I bought the property from.
Wife was 50% owner
Husband was 50% owner. I bought the wife's part I guess. I was a bit frustrated with this after ward. I have contacted the company I used that closed and I wanted to get insight from yall and ask for your expertise. I have paused all renovations until I can get this cleared.
Has anyone else dealt with this or have any suggestions?
Start by having a look at your purchase and sale agreement. The title company will have a copy. Assuming you did actually negotiate with the seller to purchase the property outright, the PSA should have your name as the buyer and husband and wife as seller. This may have been a mistake by the title company. They will warrant their work and should fix the problem free of charge. Bottom line is you need to get more information first.
Start by having a look at your purchase and sale agreement. The title company will have a copy. Assuming you did actually negotiate with the seller to purchase the property outright, the PSA should have your name as the buyer and husband and wife as seller. This may have been a mistake by the title company. They will warrant their work and should fix the problem free of charge. Bottom line is you need to get more information first.
I only see wife as seller. I was told by title company earlier today that they will handle it. I will call on Wednesday to get an update. Thank you! I did not know it would be that easy. Although title company is working on it, I like to be in the background assessing the moving parts.
I posted about another property. My plan is to rehab this residential home I recently purchased, cash out refi- then use the profit from that home to finish up the church property that I acquired and run a business out of that property. I want to have one mortgage only. Pay off that mortgage with a renter and then profits from the business I plan to open. This is my first time ever doing any of this. I know there are multiple methods.
Church Property (zoned residential home) ARV 420,000 Rehab Costs $80K
Single Residential Home ARV 120,000. Rehab costs $50K
Hello, I purchased a property and a title company closed for us. I noticed when looking at the local tax assessor that my name (purchaser) was listed as 50% while someone else was listed as the other 50%. Long story short, the other 50% was the now deceased husband of the wife I bought the property from.
Wife was 50% owner
Husband was 50% owner. I bought the wife's part I guess. I was a bit frustrated with this after ward. I have contacted the company I used that closed and I wanted to get insight from yall and ask for your expertise. I have paused all renovations until I can get this cleared.
Has anyone else dealt with this or have any suggestions?
Location: Louisiana
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney & don't play one on TV.
It sounds like the title company did not do much research into the chain of title if they did not see that a succession was not done on the husband (what appears to be the case based on what you have relayed).
Did you get title insurance? That would cover any screwups, but also incentivize the title company to remedy the situation without making a claim, since it appears to be their oversight that caused the issue in the first place. I would have them correct the situation at no additional cost due to their lack of due diligence.
Where at in Louisiana was this, if you don't mind my asking?
I certainly don't know for sure, but it's possible the H&W either took title as tenants in common or they got divorced which reduced their entireties interest to tenants in common. Now dead people can't hold title, so the husband's interest is held by his heirs and/or beneficiaries possibly subject to claims of creditors, which may or may not be your seller. If it is there probably no problem since you already have a deed from her. However, if it's not, a deed will probably need to be obtained from the proper parties.
Keep in mind the title insurer is only liable for the amount of insurance you purchased so you may be self insured for any additional value. Let's say because your seller knew she didn't have full title she sold you a house worth $200k for $75k and that's the amount of insurance you purchased. If the husband's heirs demand $100k for their 1/2 interest the insurer is probably only going to be willing to offer the $75k policy amount. In addition, if the work you've done has increased the value to $250k the heirs might demand $125k. As a result, I'd be careful about continuing the rehab until the problem is resolved.
I recommend you talk with a good real estate attorney and get some actionable advice.