I recently purchased a condo with my father as a guarantor on the loan. The lender changed their mind twice at the last minute about which names they were requiring on all the documents; they ultimately decided that they would accept everything (deed, mortgage, etc.) in my name only, which is what we wanted and had originally been told months ago when we applied for the loan. My attorney had prepared a declaration of homestead for each of us when we thought the lender was going to require both names, but with the new understanding she only issued a declaration of homestead for me, as the sole owner.
The closing was highly disorganized and chaotic and the title attorney kept pushing me to sign documents faster so that everything could be recorded in time. I pushed back and read everything over as it was presented to me, only I never saw the actual unit deed signed by the seller and seller's attorney because I was not required to sign it so it was never given to me. Later on, after the closing, I downloaded the official forms off the Registry of Deeds website only to discover that the unit deed was issued in my name and my father's name. The mortgage is only in my name, as agreed. In the disorder of the closing, the title attorney did not look over the papers in her hand closely and recorded everything with the registry, regardless of the final agreement on the names.
I contacted the title attorney's office and they agreed that this was a mistake and that they have to correct it under the terms of the title insurance. However, their method of remedying the situation is to have my father sign a quitclaim deed to transfer his portion of the deed to me. I have a couple questions about this:
1) Is this really the only way to make the correction? This doesn't seem right to me, since it was a clerical error on the part of the title attorney at closing and my father was completely unaware that his name was even on the deed (nor would he have agreed to it unless it ended up being required by the lender).
2) Under this arrangement, would my father potentially be subject to gift or transfer tax, or could he otherwise be held legally or financially responsible for anything related to the condo during the time that he supposedly "owned" it?
Appreciate any insights anyone can share. I've asked the same questions of the title attorney but they are currently very pointedly ignoring me. That is a separate issue that I also have to deal with.
Thanks in advance!
The closing was highly disorganized and chaotic and the title attorney kept pushing me to sign documents faster so that everything could be recorded in time. I pushed back and read everything over as it was presented to me, only I never saw the actual unit deed signed by the seller and seller's attorney because I was not required to sign it so it was never given to me. Later on, after the closing, I downloaded the official forms off the Registry of Deeds website only to discover that the unit deed was issued in my name and my father's name. The mortgage is only in my name, as agreed. In the disorder of the closing, the title attorney did not look over the papers in her hand closely and recorded everything with the registry, regardless of the final agreement on the names.
I contacted the title attorney's office and they agreed that this was a mistake and that they have to correct it under the terms of the title insurance. However, their method of remedying the situation is to have my father sign a quitclaim deed to transfer his portion of the deed to me. I have a couple questions about this:
1) Is this really the only way to make the correction? This doesn't seem right to me, since it was a clerical error on the part of the title attorney at closing and my father was completely unaware that his name was even on the deed (nor would he have agreed to it unless it ended up being required by the lender).
2) Under this arrangement, would my father potentially be subject to gift or transfer tax, or could he otherwise be held legally or financially responsible for anything related to the condo during the time that he supposedly "owned" it?
Appreciate any insights anyone can share. I've asked the same questions of the title attorney but they are currently very pointedly ignoring me. That is a separate issue that I also have to deal with.
Thanks in advance!
