Real Estate titles is an important discussion to have when purchasing a home or condominium with another person, a friend or a spouse. There are a variety of ways you can hold title and it is best to know meaning of the two most common options.
Tenants in Common
Now we are not talking about having common interests with someone else. ?? Tenants in Common means when two or more people own real estate together. In this arrangement, owners can have equal ownership or they could each own different percentage. This option allows more flexibility, where ownership can come in at different times.
Tenants in common are able to individually sell their ownership in the property. That means that owner A could sell his 50-percent interest while owner B retains their half. The same holds true for inheritances. If owner A deceases, their ownership rights are inherited by their heirs, while owner B would continue to own their portion of the property. This can lead to some sticky situations where co-owners of a property don't know each other well or at all.
Joint Tenants
Joint tenants are also co-owners of the property, but there are some distinctions. For example, joint tenants must all take title simultaneously from the same deed, while tenants in common can come into ownership at different times. Another difference is that joint tenants all own equal shares of the property.
Joint tenancy also differs from tenancy in common as when one joint tenant passes, the other remaining joint tenants inherit the deceased tenant's interest in the property. However, a joint tenancy does allow owners to sell their interests. If one owner sells, the tenancy is converted to a tenancy in common.
Those are the two most common forms of titles in real estate. It is always highly recommended to discuss these options with your lawyer to make sure you set it up best to suit your scenario.
If you have any questions regarding titles please feel free to give me a call and we can discuss it further. Don’t forget to like, share and comment below.
