Adding Fiancee to title...Florida

[Chaser40]

My fiancee and I refinanced our home last year. I was out of the state the mortgage company had us do a quick-claim deed. Once we got the the home title back she is not on the new title. The county wants over $500 to retitle with her added on. The mortgage company did not pay the first title fee of over $500 I had to pay later out of pocket. Now they want the same fee again. Is there a simple form I can submit to the county to add her on without paying the $500???

Rob

 

[FlyingRon]

The instrument is called a "QUIT claim deed." Unless we are talking mobile homes here, if you quit claimed it from you to the two of you, she is on the title. What makes you think she is not? How was the quit claim worded?

 

[justalayman]

who is on the mortgage loan?

 

[Chaser40]

The Quitclaim was what the mortgage company (Provident Funding) said we needed to do so only I could sign the mortgage forms out of state. That gave me full responsibility to for all actions and the only one on the mortgage. Obviously they didn't research FL title laws. Months after the refi I get a letter form the tax office that I have to pay over $500 for new title in my name only...So, now my Fiancee is mad that she is not on the title. I am looking for an easier and less expensive way to insure er interest in the home is protected.

 

[tranquility]

While I still don't know all the facts, it never fails to surprise me that a thing most attorneys hire out for (writing up of deeds), are done by people on their own to save a little money.

Deeds are forever. What is written on them count, forever. Changing things can be a problem. Heck, frankly, there may have been a gift (With a gift tax return due.) between the two in some way as they were not married.

 

[justalayman]

Chaser40;2673197]The Quitclaim was what the mortgage company (Provident Funding) said we needed to do so only I could sign the mortgage forms out of state. That gave me full responsibility to for all actions and the only one on the mortgage.

then that is why she is not on the title.

Obviously they didn't research FL title laws.

Huh?

Months after the refi I get a letter form the tax office that I have to pay over $500 for new title in my name only...So, now my Fiancee is mad that she is not on the title.

she and you are the one's that signed the deed that took her off the title.

I am looking for an easier and less expensive way to insure er interest in the home is protected.

Before doing anything, you should speak with an attorney that can review all of the facts. If you decide to do this on your own, be very cautious about a due on sale clause in the mortgage loan.

 

[Chaser40]

We have been engage for quite some time. We bought the house together a few years ago. We did the refi to take advantage of the low interest rate. We went with Provident Funding as their rates at the time were the best and had lower fees. We were unaware that the Quitclaim would remove her from the new Title.

 

[FlyingRon]

Oh crap, I get it now. You purchased the property (either as tenants in common or as joint tenants) and you decided to refinance and for
whatever reason (no job, bad credit) it was more advantageous for you to get the loan in your name alone. Well banks aren't real happy with
not having all on the deed also encumbered by the mortgage, so you played a game and got her off the deed.

You're right that may be a taxable event.

Yes you'll have to pay again to fix it.

Frankly, if you can talk her into it, I'd wait until you are ACTUALLY married.
There are a number of reasons for this.

First, you can take ownership as tenants by the entirety if you do. Florida is a state that allows married couples to do this (but not unrelated people).
This will give you specific additional protection in case one of you is sued.

Second, if you deed the property back over to her now, your lender may very well get quite upset and invoke a due-on-sale clause.
They are precluded from doing this when adding your wife to the ownership.

Third, as pointed out, you're flirting with more tax issues.

Just so you know...houses (other than mobile homes) are not vehicles. There's no "title" that indicates the owner. There is a chain of deeds (quit claim or warranty) that transfers some amount of interest form one person to another over history. What she did at refi is give you her half of the home (with all that entails).

Of course, if she is really upset, she's free to dump you now and leave you stuck with all the responsibility for the property, it's taxes, and mortgage.

 

[Chaser40]

Here is the verbiage from the QuitClaim Deed

QUITCLAIM DEED
(INDIVIDUAL)


THIS INDENTURE, Made this _______ day of April, 2009 by and between Robert John Steng, a single man and DeAnna Lynn Battin, a single woman, (erroneously recorded as DeAnne Lynn Battin), by Robert John Steng as her atterney in fact, recorded in Deed Book __________ page _________, of the County of Bay County, in the state of Florida herinafter collectively referred to as "Seller", and

Rober John Steng, a single man, of the County of Bay County, in the state of Flordia hereinafter collectively referred to as "Buyer",

WITNESSETH: That Seller, for and in consideration of the sum of $10.00 Dollars and other valuable considerations, lawful money of the United States of America, to Seller in hand paid by the Buyer, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, has remised, released and quitclaimed to the Buyer, Buyer's heirs and assigns forever, all the rights, title, interest and claim of the Seller in and to the following described land in Bay County, Florida, to wit:

Lot 3, Block E, GRIMES CALLOWAY ESTATES, UNIT FOUR, according to the plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 14, Page 98, of the
Public Records of Bay County, Florida.

We were told by the mortgage company that we needed to do this since I was working out of state. The sent a Title company rep to my hotel. What I am trying to avoid is paying another $500plus to add her on the title.

I do appreciate any advice and help!

 

[tranquility]

What I am trying to avoid is paying another $500plus to add her on the title.

Dude, the $500 is out the window, get over it. You have what is legally known as a fiasco on your hands. You may have a gift scenario with a sale as well.

You *had* 1/2 the property and 1/2 the encumbrance. You *have* all the property and all the encumbrance. I'd say you bought the property for the amount of the loan you assumed (1/2) and the fiance sold it to you for that. There is unlikely to be any capital gains taxes due. There may be a reportable gift as well--depending on the actual equity and amount owed.

To unwind it by your plan, you would be GIVING her 1/2 of the property! A reportable gift would be made to add her to title without adequate consideration. Here's the really cool part, if you DO do that, you are in what I call the FreeAdvice seventh zone of hell. Your FIANCE will own 1/2 of the property and you the other 1/2 and YOU WILL OWE ALL THE MORTGAGE.

Awesome. Well done you.

How about this. How about you go to see an attorney and see if there is a way to unwind this? The only way I see is to get another loan for at least 1/2 the amount or to refinance with both names on title and the mortgage. (A quit claim can be done in escrow then for 1/2 of the encumbrance.) If you would have spent the first $500 on an attorney in the first place rather than $10 on do-it-yourself deeds-R-us, you'd be fine. Now, you're looking at the cost of refinance, plus the attorney, plus the additional $500. (Plus a pissed off fiance.)

Besides, an attorney may look to see if someone gave you legal advice who shouldn't have and you might get something back with a threat of a malpractice lawsuit.

 

[FlyingRon]

I doubt he used deeds-r-us before, mortgage officers pull this stuff all the time. Chase tried to get my wife to quit claim her interest in a house she owned jointly with her mother on a refi (at the time we were only engaged so the debt to income ratio was all whacked since she was on the mortgage for both the house she owned with mom and the home we owned together). Fortunately, my wife was smart enough to say no way and the loan didn't close.

Oddly enough Chase in their stupidity returned the escrow and released the security on the previous loan which they also held. They refused payments (that loan has been paid off). I wrote a letter explaining that they had screwed up, but I was willing to sit and wait after that and see how long it took them to realize they'd misplaced $27,000.

 

[tranquility]

FlyingRon wrote:

I doubt he used deeds-r-us before, mortgage officers pull this stuff all the time.

Which is why I wrote:

Besides, an attorney may look to see if someone gave you legal advice who shouldn't have and you might get something back with a threat of a malpractice lawsuit.