Q: Can we buy the same house through another Agent after the expiration of initial Buyer Agency Contract, without any liability to the first Agent?
A: Be careful. Read the contract carefully. It is possible that the first agent will claim a commission if he was the one who first procured or engaged the seller for you. I suggest your contact a lawyer who handles real estate litigation.
Q: There is a water lien on an inherited property from an old disputed water bill. We are happy to give the county this property as it is barely worth the lien. There are other assets in the portfolio however. Can they come after anything else?
A: It depends if you are sued in rem or in persona or both. Some real estate taxing entities and municipal service vendors, only seek to reclaim the real estate, which is in rem. If the proceeds gathered from the sale of the real estate, do not satisfy the claim, sometimes a “deficiency” claim is pursued against the persons who are record owners or heirs of record owners. This is called in personam. You can ask the water company how they handle this or what other options you may have. You can also consult with a local attorney who may have knowledge of the practices of your local tax collections services.
Q: If a cosigner on a mortgage has assumed all financial responsibility due to the joint owner’s default what is the process to get that joint owner off the deed or title? In Pennsylvania. No relation or marriage was involved just an act of good faith. The other party is not agreeable or even available or whereabouts unknown. Concerns around the other party’s debts continuing to mount in the way of liens on property. Intent to keep property but need to remove negligent party’s interests and ownership.
A: If your information is correct, that you are on the deed to real estate with someone else and the someone else will not sign off on a deed, you have a problem. If they are disagreeable, you may need to buy their interest out, or otherwise convince them to sign a new deed from both of you to you. If that is not possible, you will need to file an action for partition for real estate, which is expensive and time consuming. If their whereabouts are unknown, you may be able to serve them by public notice or advertising. You would need to discuss all the details with a lawyer for a more definite answer. Also, you may have a potential problem if the mortgagee (bank/lender) will not agree to taking the other person off the deed. You would need to seek their permission.
Q: My aunt bought a house decades ago and paid cash for it… It had been entirely in her name only as she was a widow at the time with younger children. My aunt put her sons name on her house 15 or 20 years-ago when she was married to a man that ended in divorce. She believed in doing so it would protect the house from the husband. Now the son, who has always lived with her, has turned into bi-polar? and a slob and a hoarder and his stuff is encroaching into the entire house, except her bedroom. He also is very verbally abusive to his mother. She has health issues and he refuses to do anything because he says he owns half the house and he pays half of the expenses. Is there any way to get his name off the deed without her buying him out or having him sign anything; especially when she is the one who paid in full for the house originally?
A: Once someone’s name is on the deed, you must get them to sign a new deed to get their name off, unless they die, assuming the property is held as joint tenants with survivorship. She must get him to agree to sign a deed from both to her. or buy him out. If that is not possible a partition action can be filed. These are expensive and time consuming. If he is verbally abusive, you might want to consider advising her to consult with an attorney regarding the filing of a Protection of Abuse Petition. This would in effect, get him out of the home, but would not affect his property rights.
Q: I own property and buildings that I want to sell. The problem is, I have a business tenant on my property who has a long-term lease but only pays $1.00 per YEAR in rent. Obviously, no one is going to buy the property with a lease like that in place. Can a new owner claim market unfairness in such a lease and get the tenants to pay a fair market rent? If not, then I will never be able to sell my property in my lifetime. Surely, there would be some legal remedy for a new owner? (McDonald, PA)
A: You need to have the lease reviewed by an attorney to determine if it can be challenged. If you inherited this tenant when you bought the property, you need to have your sales agreement checked to see if this lease contract was assignable or even mentioned. If he has as lock tight agreement, you may need to buy him out. I would have to research if there is any common-law limit on the number of years a lease like this can be legally in effect.
Q: I own a house in joint tenancy with my two older sisters. They live in the house and I do not. One has had two strokes and doesn’t really know what’s going on, and the other is making very poor financial decisions, is very angry, forgetful, and talks to herself. I fear she may have dementia but I don’t know how to get her to submit to an exam by a specialist. Now they have a new “friend” to whom they have given power of attorney, and who helped them create a will naming her as a beneficiary. A medical caregiver in the house told me she saw one of my sisters give this “friend” the deed to the house. They are writing her checks for thousands of dollars. This has all happened in the course of three months. The only asset is the house, and they have income from their pensions. I am now staying with them because I feared their friend was planning to move in. How do I keep the house safe, and how do I get rid of the friend? My sisters think she’s wonderful because she drives them and has helped them clean up their house, but she is poisoning their relationship with me which has been good until now. (Allison Park, PA)
A: You raise some concerns here which touch on elder abuse and financial exploitation. You may want to contact adult protective services to do a home visit and assessment. You should ask the friend to allow you to examine the POA and any other documents your sisters have signed. Make copies if you can. You will also benefit from consulting with an attorney about the suspected financial exploitation and what would be involved if you wish to become their guardian. As far as the deed, you would need to sign the deed in order to transfer ownership to anyone, assuming the property is held as joint tenants with right of survivor.
Q: She has a trust and I am the only beneficiary. She has a life estate that was signed over 5 years ago. She has nursing home insurance but they say she is not currently eligible to receive benefits. We live in Oregon and I am disabled. The cold weather contributes to my pain levels and I want to move to Florida. The house is 64 years old and my husband age 79 has done many repairs and major remodeling to keep the place intact and from deterioting in value.
We would move her to Florida if necessary. The local relatives either work out of town or they are not well and able to help. I wonder if we can sell the house or would we need to rent it out until she passes away? She has some assets in addition to the house but no other real estate.
A: You really should consult with a lawyer. The life estate would need to be reviewed to determine what conditions allow mother to vacate the lease. Trust needs to be examined as well to verify if and when any transfer was made. These need to be known especially if there is any potential that your mother may need to apply for Medicaid funding in the future. If there is any chance that Medicaid will be involved and this house may be subject to a Medicaid lien, you will want to sell the house only at fair market value and nothing less and document the transaction as well as how all the proceeds are spent on your mother’s care. However, review this with an attorney before you do anything. You may also want to consult with a Florida attorney regarding Medicaid.
Q: I bought a home with my ex fiancé, then we broke up. Her name is on the deed but not the mortgage. I want her name off the deed. We agreed, over text, that I owe her $600 and she would take her name off the deed. I still have the texts. But now she’s saying she doesn’t want to take her name off. What should I do?
A: I have seen situations where one person, even a spouse, is on the deed but not on the mortgage. You have a problem if she will not voluntarily sign a deed to you. If she has any equity in the home, through mortgage payments, or has contributed to the value, as in paying for improvements, you may need to put a number on that and buy her out. If that won’t work, there are two options: a) file a quiet title action in court which is very expensive and time consuming, or b) stop paying the mortgage and have the home foreclosed on. I do not recommend this. It will cause legal proceedings to be initiated against both of you. You can give the lender her contact information and they will harass her as well. You will suffer more harm than she as your credit will take a huge hit, but she may not like being sued. If she gives in and signs, you will be assessed legal fees on top of interest and costs if you are allowed to cure the default on the mortgage.
Q: My mother passed away the 26th of January and I have been helping her pay her bills. She has a roommate that is being a pain and is telling me I’m not allowed to move in. I have paperwork saying that I have been helping her and so forth. Her roommate is not on the lease and wasn’t helping. Do I have a leg to stand on or do I have to go to civil court?
A: If you are not on the lease, I do not believe you have a legal right to move in. Helping to pay her bills unfortunately will not give you any rights to be a tenant. If the roommate is not on the lease, then he or she is likely to be on a month to month lease. Unless the roommate agreed to pay the bills that you paid, I do not thing there are grounds to sue the roommate.
Q: My mom is still alive at 83, but 12 years-ago gifted her home to me and my four sisters all individually named on a deed as joint tenants in common with right of survivorship. 10 months-ago one of my sisters passed away. We have been told we now owe an inheritance tax for my sister who passed, portion, plus we had 9 months to have done that, and now owe a penalty for a month as well. We had no idea any of that needed to be done! Is this accurate and how is this inheritance calculated?
A: This sort of thing happens a lot. Somebody was in my office yesterday with the same issue. The four remaining joint tenants will owe inheritance tax on one-fifth of the market value of the home. The value of the home will be based at date of death value of the home at the time your sibling/joint tenant died. Interest begins to accrue on unpaid inheritance at a very small percentage rate after 9 months from the date of death. You can go to the PA Department of Revenue website and calculate interest due on delinquent inheritance tax. I doubt if at only 10 months out, penalties will be incurred. You will need to file an inheritance tax return as soon as possible. More importantly, you should promptly make an estimated payment toward inheritance tax to the Department of Revenue so that interest will stop accruing. This can easily be done by an attorney and I suggest you consult with one.