Father & Son on Deed, Only Son on Mortgage

[jmalex]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

My father gave me a down payment for a home when I was 19. I got a mortgage and the original deed was in my name. My father had me sign a document a month after I closed on the home that turned out to be a quit claim deed to add his name to the deed. I didn't discover this until years later when I had joined the military and was living in a different state. My father had been managing the property for me & renting it out (for a fee) so I didn't make a big deal out of it. He was collecting $1,100 from renters and with that money he was making the mortgage payment of $650 directly to the bank on my behalf. As long as the mortgage was being paid, I wasn't concerned with where the rest of the money was going.

My father and I had a falling out and haven't been speaking for about six months. I checked my mortgage account online and to my surprise, my father stopped paying the mortgage two months ago. After speaking with another family member, I learned that the renters had moved out but my father made no attempt to contact me to let me know the mortgage would not be paid.

I will pay the mortgage payments to prevent further damage to my credit and possible foreclosure, but I am wondering what to do now. I honestly want to get rid of the house and end my relationship with him, however I still owe $54,000 on my mortgage. If I sell the house, will he get half of the money before the mortgage is paid off? I am willing to be fair and pay him back the down payment, but I lived in this house and made payments for six years before joining the military, plus he has been profiting off the rental for the 11 years I have been in the service. It doesn't seem fair for him to walk away with pockets full of cash and I'm left with nothing. I was counting on the money from this house to settle down with my wife and children once I retire, now it looks like I'm getting screwed.

Any insight/advice would be much appreciated.

 

[tranquility]

"You" can't just sell the house. You either have to have the agreement of the other owner or go through a partition suit. In an agreement the profits are divided as agreed. In a partition suit, the court determines the relative ownership rights and distributes the money. In both cases, the lien will be paid off.

How much equity do you have in the property?

 

[jmalex]

"You" can't just sell the house. You either have to have the agreement of the other owner or go through a partition suit. In an agreement the profits are divided as agreed. In a partition suit, the court determines the relative ownership rights and distributes the money. In both cases, the lien will be paid off.

How much equity do you have in the property?

Thanks for your quick response. I have approx. $68,000 in equity. My father is notorious for shifty business deals involving family, and they never end well. With that in mind, I will likely have to get a lawyer and do it through the courts. From what you mentioned with agreement/partition suit, it sounds like I may be able to prove that I should get a larger portion of the sale? I worry about how much this is going to cost me just to walk away from this mess, most likely empty-handed. He has money to spend so this will just be a game of sorts for him. Happy holidays, right?

 

[justalayman]

My father had me sign a document a month after I closed on the home that turned out to be a quit claim deed to add his name to the deed.

I'm just an overly curious person but who was listed as the grantor(s) and who was listed as the grantee(s) on that deed?


were you married at the time? Was the house purchased while you were married?

 

[jmalex]

I'm just an overly curious person but who was listed as the grantor(s) and who was listed as the grantee(s) on that deed?


were you married at the time? Was the house purchased while you were married?

No, I was not married at the time. I was the grantor & my father and I were the grantees as "joint tenants". He owns a bunch of properties and told me it was regarding one of his properties "just in case something happened to him"...being a naive 19-year-old, I signed away not thinking twice about it.

 

[justalayman]

wow, just wow.


best of luck. not going to be easy to extricate yourself from that pickle. The worst part of it all is each you and your father have equal rights to the house. Neither one is superior to the other. He can do anything with the house that you can do and due to the joint tenancy, he is entitled to 1/2 of any rental income the home produces.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

My father gave me a down payment for a home when I was 19. I got a mortgage and the original deed was in my name. My father had me sign a document a month after I closed on the home that turned out to be a quit claim deed to add his name to the deed. ???????? I didn't discover this until years later when I had joined the military and was living in a different state. My father had been managing the property for me & renting it out (for a fee) so I didn't make a big deal out of it. He was collecting $1,100 from renters and with that money he was making the mortgage payment of $650 directly to the bank on my behalf. As long as the mortgage was being paid, I wasn't concerned with where the rest of the money was going.

My father and I had a falling out and haven't been speaking for about six months. I checked my mortgage account online and to my surprise, my father stopped paying the mortgage two months ago. After speaking with another family member, I learned that the renters had moved out but my father made no attempt to contact me to let me know the mortgage would not be paid.

I will pay the mortgage payments to prevent further damage to my credit and possible foreclosure, but I am wondering what to do now. I honestly want to get rid of the house and end my relationship with him, however I still owe $54,000 on my mortgage. If I sell the house, will he get half of the money before the mortgage is paid off? I am willing to be fair and pay him back the down payment, but I lived in this house and made payments for six years before joining the military, plus he has been profiting off the rental for the 11 years I have been in the service. It doesn't seem fair for him to walk away with pockets full of cash and I'm left with nothing. I was counting on the money from this house to settle down with my wife and children once I retire, now it looks like I'm getting screwed.

Any insight/advice would be much appreciated.

Just to clarify here, unless dad was included as a named grantee on what you refer to as the “original deed” to the home, it is not possible that his or any other person’s name could be subsequently added to that original transaction short of recording a correction deed.

What you definitely need to learn is the recitations that are contained in the quitclaim deed (QCD). And whether or not it has been placed of record in the appropriate county.

By “recitations” I mean the wording in the QCD that describes just what interest in the home was being transferred to your father.

I cannot over emphasize the urgency of you becoming acquainted with the contents of that QCD! Because the worst scenario would be that you quitclaimed over the entire piece of property!

And because you seem to have little recollection of it and due to dad’s shenanigans in getting you to sign it after the closing and after he gave you the down money - PLUS his pocketing the profits - that is not an entirely unlikely possibility!

What you should do is to retain a local attorney to research the status of that title to the home. And then examine your options.

Good luck

 

[justalayman]

after reading this again, and admitting I have not researched it one bit but maybe somebody knows offhand:


OP states the title was granted as joint tenants. Is that possible in Nevada; granting from a current owner to that person and another to establish a joint tenancy? I know in some states it is not functionally possible. Whether that would allow for nothing more than a correction to the tenancy being TIC or it makes the deed defective such that it is invalid would be the next step.

any Nevada scholars out there?

 

[latigo]

No, I was not married at the time. I was the grantor & my father and I were the grantees as "joint tenants". He owns a bunch of properties and told me it was regarding one of his properties "just in case something happened to him"...being a naive 19-year-old, I signed away not thinking twice about it.

(It seems questionable that you even thought once about it.)

But whatever, your term "joint tenants" could apply to any percentage of ownership.

And why in blazes would HE have YOU sign a quitclaim deed "REGARDING HIS PROPERTIES"?

It's very apparent that you know little if anything of the nature of the transaction or its legal consequences. In fact, not enough to even speak intelligently regarding it.

If you think you are going to sort it out by fussing around in cyberspace, you are sorely mistaken.

 

[anteater]

OP states the title was granted as joint tenants. Is that possible in Nevada; granting from a current owner to that person and another to establish a joint tenancy? I know in some states it is not functionally possible.

You got me curious. What states would not permit me to add a joint owner with right of survivorship?

 

[justalayman]

You got me curious. What states would not permit me to add a joint owner with right of survivorship?

I would have to do some checking but it has to do with the 4 unities. In some states (at least it is how it was although I have seen some states removing the requirements) you must meet the 4 unities to be able to create a joint tenancy.

The four unities are unity of time, unity of title, unity of interest, and unity of possession.

Unity of time is a characteristic because each joint tenant receives his or her interest at the same time—that is, upon delivery of the deed to the property.

Unity of title exists because each tenant receives his or her title from the same grantor, and

unity of interest because each tenant owns an undivided interest in the property.

Unity of possession exists because each tenant has the right of possession of every part of the whole property.

the unity of time precludes a joint title being created by a single tenant granting title to himself and a joint tenant. In practice, title would have to be conveyed to a "straw man" who would then re-deed title to the parties accepting it as a joint tenancy.

and due to that, the share of interest latigo spoke of would not be in question (if title was truly created as a joint tenancy) as it requires an equal share to he held by each joint tenant.

 

[anteater]

I may be wrong, but I did not think that any states still required a straw man to create a joint tenancy from a sole ownership.

 

[justalayman]

I may be wrong, but I did not think that any states still required a straw man to create a joint tenancy from a sole ownership.

well, offhand I couldn't tell you and i have not surveyed any states very recently but since my state is very calcitrant when it comes to change, I would be surprised to see it having changed in my state.

this publication from the American Bar Association states some states still have the requirement when it was published in 2011.

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2011/october_november/home_ownership_unmarried_couples.html