Posted by eric on August 10, 2004 at 17:04:38:
Tell your friend to make sure to execute a tenants-in-common agreement that spells out the terms of their ownership interests and what will happen at the time of sale or if they split up. If she is investing her own money in this house, I would make sure that her name IS on title. This makes things a lot easier to sort out after a break up. If she is paranoid for some reason and doesn’t want her name on title, then afterwards transfer her interest to some entity. Land Trusts, LLCs and the like serve their purpose for investment properties, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to do that with their home, especially if they are inexperienced. You are just asking for bigger comlications down the road. A good solid TIC agreement and plenty of insurance is the best plan for this type of purchase.