Can I Use Quitclaim Deed
My mother helped my wife and I purchase a home a few years ago. We have been paying the mortgage every month along with the insurance and taxes. How can we get on the title to the house without disturbing the current mortgage? Can we use a Quit Claim deed and have her deed the property to us? Is there a better way. We are trying to keep from disturbing the mortgage that is in place at this time. My mom doesn't want anything from the deal. Thanks for any help.
In whose name is the insurance policy? Changing ownership of the home may have an impact upon insurable interest.... and send up the very red flag that you wish to keep suppressed.
Why not keep the Mom on the Deed, but have her add you two, too. A $150 consult with a local attorney with a family/real estate practice is indicated.
Shortsale is right. Easier and safer to add you and your wife than to quit claim it as that might call the mortgage due. Also, if you have siblings make sure she has a will saying the house if yours as unforseen things happen and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen/heard of one sibling evicting another from their own house because a parent died without will and the other sibling has no way to prove the house was really theirs
Can the bank call it due? Yes. Will they? Hardly. If they call it due they have to go through the process to lend it out again. Why bother if someone is paying? I wouldn't care if the checks said George Washington's grandfather was making the payments. As long as the check is good and on time they rarely get involved. If they didn't like it it would be easier for them to sell the loan.
Others' suggestions about not bothering the lender seem reasonable.
However, your Mom should give a warranty deed. The key advantage for you is that the title insurance policy that was issued at the time of the purchase will continue in force to protect the condition of title at that time, since the Insured has given warranties of that condition of title.
If your Mom uses a quitclaim deed, the benefits of that policy are terminated. Both she and you will have no title insurance coverage.
That deed form difference won't change the issue related to the lender.
Well it seems likely to me that what you want to do here is have mom transfer you an interest in the house as a Joint Tenant with Rights of Suvivorship. You'll need to talk to an attny about how to do this in your state. In this way mom retains enough ownership to make the mortgage not a sham and to avoid the due-on-sale provision. If mom were to step out in front of a bus this afternoon you would inherit the house without having to go through probate and without having claims on the house from siblings or others.
Thanks to everyone for their posts helping me out with this. From reading the posts it seems like we can do a warranty deed and also get added to the title insurance. Again, thank you for your help.