So let's review the first rule of Investing 101. Rule Number One is Do Not Lose What You've Got. Whatever the Golden Goose is, protect that goose! And for most Americans, home equity is the biggest asset (the goose) in their finances.
So it makes sense to start getting your financial house in order by starting with the house itself.
How do you hold title to your home? CONTACT ME
When I take my clients into escrow, the title company escrow officer always asks, "how do you want to take title to the property?" Next, they hand our client a list of twenty five choices without any advice about what to do. And you can understand why... the title company lawyers won't let the escrow officer run the risk of giving bad advice.
But we work with probate attorneys all the time and they tell us that it's a big problem... nobody talks to buyers about how to take title when buying their home. Our favorite Nor Cal estate law specialist, Joel Harris gives these tips:
- If you have an estate plan, consult your estate planning attorney.
- If you're a married couple buying a house and you have a living trust, take title as a Living Trust.
- If you don't have a Living Trust, and you're married, you always want to take title as community property with right of survivorship. There is no better way unless you have a trust. For a single person, there is only one way to hold title.
Whatever you do, get some expert advice. Don't settle for whatever comes along. It may not work out well in the end.
Refinancing
Because of all the new rules about financing, banks don't want to have to look at customer's Living Trusts to make sure they have the power to refinance, so they ask customers to convey their property out of the Trust so they can refinance as individuals. Then many title companies simply neglect to advise clients to put their property back into the Living Trust after the refinance transaction.
As Probate Realtors, we talk to attorneys each year that are handling court cases trying to get property back into a Living Trust that people have refinanced out and never put back.
The Takeaway
Getting your financial house in order might not seem like the most glamorous way to start taking advantage of this financial spring, but remember the first rule of investing: Don't lose your capital. Carefully attend to issues of how you hold your real property.
