Refinacing a home and adding my name to the deed at the same time?

Question

Ok I know I've asked this in many different ways but people here are misunderstanding me so I'm going to ask this one last time and make things so very clear that you can't misunderstand what I'm asking.

My mom and dad own a townhome. They have a mortgage with a bank. I am not on the mortgage nor am I on the deed.

I want to do a refinance with JUST my name on the mortgage and remove my mom and dad off the deed at the same time.

I know I will need to have them with me when I'm doing all this and their consent of course. I'm not trying to scam my parents and this is all being done because they cannot afford to pay the mortgage anymore and I obvoiusly want the tax break if I'm paying for it anyway.

Can I refinance the house and remove them off the deed add myself on the deed while I go to closing at the same time? Yes I know they will have to be there with me to do this.

And lastly, if I rent this house to a family for 1 year, and then sell the house. Will I owe taxes?

I ran out of space so I'll continue my question here.
So if I rent this house out before I do the refinance just in my name and remove them off the deed and add myself meaning getting a NEW DEED, and then decide to sell in 1-2 years, will I owe capital gains tax to IRS? And if so, how do I avoid not paying capital gains tax when I sell? Do I have to live in the house for 2 years to be considered tax exempt? Or can I use the proceeds or gains to buy another house will that make me exempt? I know a lot of questions.. but I'm in a bind here. Thanks.

To tina.. how am I getting this house for free? I'm refinaincing the house so that I can put it in my name and get a better rate. My parents do owe a lot of money on it.. yes in the end I'm getting it for less than what they could sell it for but its only maybe 20-30k less.. and with the market the way it is, I dont think it would even be that easy to sell it.
Anyway i'd probably end up refinancing about 140k and putting down 110 to pay off the 250k they currently owe. Does that make sense?

Amanda.. are you a professional or something? This is exactly the problem I'm having everytime I ask this question here.. everyone has different answers and no one can claim to be a professional so I dont know who to listen to. I live in virginia does that matter? Maybe people are giving different answers because everyone is from somewhere else. I've heard people say yes I can refinance it and not be treated as a purchase if I refinance and change the deed at the same time in my name or do a new deed I guess. This is what I heard from a DA underwriter for 20 years under her belt and now people like you who I'm not sure if you are professional or not is saying something like it has to be done as a purchase. This is driving me nuts. I'm just going to call a bank and ask. Sorry to have wasted everyones time.

Answer 1

The laws for what you can do in a refinance do vary from state to state, so honestly, I'd check with a mortgage broker to see what's allowed in your state. Also, many refinance situations assume that this will be your primary residence, not a rental property. IN some states, you'll need to process different paperwork if you're going to rent it.

For the second question, you must own the home for 2 years before you can sell it and not pay capital gains taxes on it.

Answer 2

First, a bank will view this as a "sale." The first thing you need to do is draw up a purcahse and sale agreement for the amount you are paying for the home. Yes, I know you see it as a 'refinance' but you are not refinancing-- you are taking out your own mortgage and paying someone elses, while transferring ownerhsip. This is the very definition of a sale. Once you get the P&S, deliver it to the bank you plan to use, as well as the escrow/title company you want to use. This gets the ball rolling and wtihin 30 days you can close.

Second- the bank or the closing company does the deed stuff for you. You will set a closing date, and a few days before your parents will go in and sign offf, and so will you-- not neccessarily at the same time. The bank funds the sale and the house becomes yours-- all on the same day.

Be aware that if there is built in equity (IE, you are financing less than it would cost on the open market) its possible your parents would end up with a tax liability for the 'gift of equity."


Also, your parents will have some closings costs plus excise tax as a result of the "sale", so be sure you add this into your new mortgage so they can end up as close to 0 as possible.

Last, if you are not planning on having this as your primary residence, capital gains will be applicable. Even if it is your primary residence, you have to live in it a full two years to avoid this.

Answer 3

I only partially agree with the previous answers. First, I think you have to separate changing ownership from changing financing. Only the current owner can refinance. If you want to be the owner then you are doing a transfer and the refinance you are talking about is not REfinancing but getting the financing to become the owner.

As far as taxes, financing/refinancing has nothing to to with taxes resulting from ownership. If you sell a property and have lived in it 2 of the last 5 years then you avoid taxes. Otherwise changing ownership is subject to capitol gains taxes. The tax is based on the "basis" or the value of the property when it went from your parents to you and your taxes would be based on the difference between what the basis was and what you sell it for.

Renting to a family? I don't know what you are trying to accomplish there but is sounds wierd to me.

Keep it simple or you will get messed up by the IRS.

Answer 4

Yes you can transfer the deed to your name. You just have to consult a real estate attorney. I think you should do this first.
Then refinance the house in your name.
Remember if you get the house for free you will pay capital gains on everything above 250k single and 500k married. Since you paid nothing if the property sells above this you will owe capital gains. You have to live in the house for 2yrs out of the past 5 to get this exemptions. You could always rent it during the 2yrs and live somewhere else but if they catch you you might be in trouble.
I'm not completely sure but I would verify with an attorney and CPA.

Answer 5

Yes, you can. You will need to explain to the lender what you are doing. You will be refinancing the home and doing a family transfer. It will not have to be done as a purchase. A family transfer can be done between grandparents/parent/children.

As far as your last question goes, you would have to discuss that with you tax person and try to determine what you anticpate the value of the property may be.

Answer 6

they probably won't let you do it because a lot of lenders need "seasoning" on title meaning you need to be on title for at least a certain amount of time.