I would like to transfer the deed of a house to my significant other. She will reside in the house and assume property taxes going forward. I'm not sure if this matters but I will continue paying the mortgage. How should I go about doing this? Do I need to pay an attorney for their service to transfer the deed? We live in Brazoria County. Thanks for your help!
Wouldn't this be considered a gift thus requiring someone to pay taxes? I don't know if that's something you've considered OP and I have no idea on any of this stuff but just something that came to mind. Sorry that I'm no help to your original question.
If there is a lien on the property (the mortgage), then you do not own the deed, the bank does. The bank doesn't care nor will they change anything. If you want everything out of your name, you will need to pay it off. Refi is probably the easiest.
I guess that makes sense. Ultimately is there a way my significant other can take be listed as owner and file for homestead exemption for property tax purposes?
You'll want to file a special warranty deed with the tax assessor's office. They'll disseminate that information to the county's appraisal district. Had to do this recently to remove my ex-spouse from my house.
Thanks Turbo! So just to be clear, I would file a special warranty deed with the tax assessor's office naming my spouse as the homeowner. The tax assessor's office will them update the Brazoria County Appraisal District of the change and then my spouse can request her homestead exemption for the house. Is this correct? It doesn't matter if there's a mortgage on the home at all?
Conveyances of real property are filed with the county clerk. If you have a mortgage, there is a lien on your property also filed with the county clerk. In some cases you can quitclaim your rights to real property, but more than likely, your mortgage has a due on sale clause that would mean once you (assuming the mortgage has your name in it) relinquish title, the whole mortgage becomes immediately due. In other words, you’d have to pay it off and refinance at today’s rates. You might want to dig a little deeper in this before you go and file anything with the county clerk.
Thanks Pole for the additional tip. Sounds like I need to speak to a real estate / tax advisor first.
Would definitely seek the opinion of a real estate lawyer... Pole's answer regarding due on sale clauses is on point but there's also community property laws that would seem to apply here as well. Not sure you can accomplish what you're proposing and being perfectly honest, I wouldn't play games with property. Guessing that you own two properties and want to get a homestead exemption on both?
Absolutely correct! The appraised values are getting really high and this is the only way I can think of to help control our property tax payments. I just went through an ARB protest hearing and was able to reduce the value a good chunk but am worried it'll rebound again next year.
