I'm preparing to start the selling process of my dad's estate.

He quit-claimed it to me, which I found out upon his death. I didn't know what else to do (being 21 and scared) so I just paid the monthly mortgage bill and insured it under my name. Now that I want to sell, I HAVE to go to the bank and report his death. I know the selling price would have to pay off the remainder of the loan, but what else might happen?

What happens to a mortgage when the soul person named has died? Could the bank repo the home? Penalize me for paying but not reporting to them? I'm incredibly naïve so I need to educate myself before I start meeting with any lawyers/brokers, etc.

HELP!
TIA :o

First, sorry to hear about your Dad.
I'm not an expert, but I tend to think the bank doesn't want the property. They want their money. And I don't think they'd care who they got it from. You could pay on any loan or debt. But you'll need to get with them, and perhaps legal advise would be in order, so you can obtain legal right to sell the property.

Good luck!

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When your dad quit claimed the property to you, did he register it with the county? If he didn't the property may still be in his name. Normally mortgage lenders do not want the property transferred without their permission since it affect the lien they have on the property.

But the bank doesn't want the property back so they are not going to foreclose as long as the loan is up to date.

There are a number of issues here. Did your dad have any other assets that were left to you? Did he leave any other debts that were not paid? Do you know the value of the property at the time he died and when it was quit claimed to you?

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

When your dad quit claimed the property to you, did he register it with the county? If he didn't the property may still be in his name. Normally mortgage lenders do not want the property transferred without their permission since it affect the lien they have on the property.

There are a number of issues here. Did your dad have any other assets that were left to you? Did he leave any other debts that were not paid? Do you know the value of the property at the time he died and when it was quit claimed to you?

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Register with the county? Not sure - the taxes come to me in MY name though, so I would assume so

Any other assets? I highly doubt it. In fact, I suspect he quit-claimed the home to me so that he could avoid the estate going to back child-support.
Any other debts not paid? If so, I don't know about them. In my state "debt dies with you" and they can only take from the estate, but not living descendants.

Do you know the value? No, not at either of those points, but its not much, BELIEVE ME. It'll probably just pay the lien amount... the home is in serious dis-repair.

Just wanted to add - I will be contacting a real estate lawyer to sort this out prior to going to the mortgage lender. I just want to gather some insight first, so THANKS for every bit you can offer :)

Check with the county to make sure it was registered and when. Back child support IS a debt on the estate. You need to get the value to determine your tax basis on the sale.

Exactly, the debts are a claim against the estate, so any proceeds of the estate need to be used to pay debts before it can be distributed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LearningAsIGo

I'm preparing to start the selling process of my dad's estate.

He quit-claimed it to me, which I found out upon his death. I didn't know what else to do (being 21 and scared) so I just paid the monthly mortgage bill and insured it under my name. Now that I want to sell, I HAVE to go to the bank and report his death. I know the selling price would have to pay off the remainder of the loan, but what else might happen?

What happens to a mortgage when the soul person named has died? Could the bank repo the home? Penalize me for paying but not reporting to them? I'm incredibly naïve so I need to educate myself before I start meeting with any lawyers/brokers, etc.

HELP!
TIA :o

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You need an estate attorney. You may have been quit claimed on the deed as a co owner with your dad. In either case the mortgage has to be straightened out. Is there a will? If so, who is the executor? If there is no will, that's another story. No one on this site should be attempting to give you any advice on this situation except to tell you to speak to an estate attorney. This can be a complicated situation.

I would start with an estate atty. He should have the knowledge you need regarding the disposition of the property property, especially since there is no will. If he doesn't, he will be able to recommend a real estate atty.

My pleasure... good luck to you!

Thanks to all who helped...

I have an update to the matter:
We saw an estate attorney who really helped us feel better. He basically said I should have no problems, everything looks kosher. All we'll have to do is pay off the loan with the profit of the sale and be done with it! He said the bank doesn't care WHO pays, only that it is paid (of course) His only real words of caution were waiting until the market swings back up... though now's the time to buy. ;)

Very glad to hear that things are working out for you.

Best thing to do is to stop the <a href="http://www.anatrealestate.co.uk/estate.html">mortgage</a> payments if you are in a negative equity on your house.