How does my friend go about adding me to her house title?

There is a mortgage.

We both live in the house that she purchased.

I did not have good enough credit to purchase a house. But, I had the money needed to purchase. She has the good credit, but not the money to purchase.

We live in Austin, Texas 78754

Dumb move... really dumb move.

Here's why... The people who's names are on the title are legally co-owners. ALL of them... no matter how much they contributed or even IF they contributed.

The name on the Mortgage only means who is obligated to make the payments.

If you got into a fight in the near future... EITHER of you can force a partition sale to take 1/2 of the equity out... without the other person agreeing.

And that's just the beining... once the name is there.. they are equal owners and you can't make them take their name off again... unless they wanted it off... then there would be tax implications.

The proper thing to do would be for the owner to give OP a note, secured by a second mortgage. But this probably has to be approved by the bank which holds the first mortgage, assume that it contains a due-on-sale clause (most mortgages do).

She can't add you to the deed because it isn't your house to do what you want with as long as there is a lien on it.
Write down every penny you put into the house so far, and have her write you a promise to split proceeds according to the percentage you put in when/if she goes to sell. Have the note notarized and have 2 witnesses with you. Make copies to keep and to give to others for safekeeping. Such things do get lost!
Keep careful records from now on.
Have her ask the lender when she can add you to the deed. We don't know what was put down and how much equity is in it, or how much equity her lender requires.

Never EVER assume that relationships will continue as they are. People have fights, they die, they get brain injuries, they get married, they go broke, who knows all the things that can go wrong.

It's a dumb move on your friend's part, not on yours. You get a half share of the property. But you have to BUY that half share. As noted, she can give you a note for you to pay that half share over time. And, if you have paid towards the home up to now, that can be considered a down payment.

However, any change in title, would need the approval of the lien holder, otherwise they can call the loan.

Why is it a dumb move on the deed holder's part? The risk is all the person asking here, until she gets that notarized note. Even then there can be problems if the deed holder decides to sell and ignore the note. She'll have to sue outside of the sale of the house.

There is also something few people even think about...

Liability.

If they kept minimal insurance on the property.. and failed to clear the sidewalk well enough in winter... leaves in thej fall... etc and someone fell and injured themselves as a result.. and the injuries excede the insurace limits, the victim would come ofter the owners of the property... and guess what if you were more financially solvent than they are?

I like AK Lawyers solution to this... as it covers your interest better and protects you as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joypulv

Why is it a dumb move on the deed holder's part? The risk is all the person asking here, until she gets that notarized note. Even then there can be problems if the deed holder decides to sell and ignore the note. She'll have to sue outside of the sale of the house.

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Unless the deed holder is getting full value for her share of the house, then it's a dumb move. Basically its giving away a share of the house. The OP's question was not how does she buy a share of the house, but how can her name be added to the deed.