If you missed it, our last message was about a common mistake made by married couples regarding their property’s title: Owning the property as joint tenants, instead of as community property. You can view that video here.
Similarly, today’s topic is about another mistake made with startling regularity by homeowners that can cost them substantially: Not having their property correctly titled on their grant deed.
Let’s say you’ve had a living trust done, and your home has been included in that trust by a grant deed. After the fact, you look to refinance your property.
More often than not, the finance company will take it out of your living trust to complete the refinance. And, also more often than not, the company won’t place it back in the trust.
“I’d be happy to get you a complimentary copy of your property’s grant deed.”
Recently, a client of mine needed a home valuation done on her property. Her living trust had been put together in the 1990’s. As it happened, when she went to refinance the property in 1999, the finance company took the house out of her trust, but failed to put it back in.
I went back to her with the information that her home hadn’t been in her trust for a number of years, and she was left in disbelief. Nearly 20 years had gone by with her property unknowingly outside of her trust; suffice it to say.
This could have ended in disaster had I not caught it for her— Had she or her husband died with their house out of their living trust it would have been a very costly mistake. Their home could have been subject to the probate court system and thousands of dollars would have been spent fixing that mistake.
If you’d like, I’d be happy to get you a complimentary copy of your property’s grant deed. Just send me an email at JohnFraker@KW.com or send me a text at 408-647-4242. I look forward to hearing from you!
