People who are not fully familiar with the intricacies of real estate transactions think that the title of the house means that the person owns the place. Yes, it is true to some extent, but not entirely. Don’t be under the impression that just because the seller of a house has the title, they can sell the property without any issues. AsafIzhak Rubin says that the house’s title is not like a “solid” piece of wood. Instead, he says that it is like many small pieces combined in one place.
In other words, the house’s title might give a person the right to live in it but not allow the same person to sell the house. That’s the reason you have to understand this concept in as much detail as possible before you agree to buy a house and close the deal.
The Title Holder Can’t Sell the House.
In certain instances, the person who has the house’s title cannot sell the house just like that. You have to realize that people can use the equity of the home to get a loan. They can use this loan for many purposes. Some people who own the house fully use the house’s equity to get a loan to finance the education of their children. Now, when that happens, they lose ownership of the house to some degree. In other words, the equity that they have used for getting the loan is the part of the house that they don’t own anymore.
Who owns that part of the house? Well, the lender does, and if the homeowner cannot return the loan as agreed, they might end up losing the home. Foreclosure is a possibility when the owner of the house cannot repay a loan to the lender.
The Heirs Are Missing
Yes, one of the biggest issues is that more people own the house than is visible on the surface. The one thing that you have to know here is that the house owner might not have any bad intentions in this case. They might not be aware of the situation themselves. When the owner of the house dies, they leave a will behind them. At times, there are no lawyers to declare that will to anyone or the announced people as the new owners are not present at the scene. However, these heirs can appear out of nowhere.
If they do and are alive, this can cause problems for you if you have already bought the house. In other words, there are multiple owners of the house, and only one has decided to sell it. In the case of more heirs, the house can be sold only when all the owners agree.
Failure to Pay Taxes
When you own a property, you have to pay property taxes. However, if you are not paying your taxes on time or paying them at all, you can end up in an undesired situation. Yet again, the authorities that collect the tariffs can put a lien on the house even if the owners occupy the property. The problem here is that people trying to evade taxes might not tell you about this issue. As per Asaf Izhak Rubin real estate lawyer, they might have received a notice from the country’s tax authority and are only selling the house to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Final Thoughts
These are just a few of the many issues that can result in title issues when buying a house. Such problems also become a part of the regular real estate news. However, you have to avoid being a part of such news by making sure that you hire a real estate lawyer as soon as you are ready to buy or sell a house.
Read Also: Ten Tips That Will Help You Sell Your home