Am I an owner too?

[MrsBeckyLP]

I have a "situation" here ...

DH bought the house we live in (and are trying to sell) in September 2003, long before we were married. When we sell this house, do I need to sign any of the paperwork, or is DH the only one who can legally do that? Or did the house just become mine also when we got married?

Thanks!

:D

[ejs]

If your name isn't on the deed/title, you're not an owner.

[LRL]

When you and your DH got married it did not change anything on the title/legally unless you did a re-fi or home equity loan. In California, it must read: "As a single man", "as a married man, sole and separate property". If your DH went to borrow against the home in California, you would have to sign on the deed of trust that you have no interest in the property as his spouse and the vesting would change as I indicated above. He could have easily added you had he borrowed, but I assume you would have remembered signing the deed of trust.

The laws may be different in your state though.

[hmbay]

It depends on the state law. DH is a realtor so I know this for a fact. I don't know what WI's law is but MN is "one to buy, two to sell" which means when I sold the townhouse I bought when I was single I was married so DH had to sign as well. Now that we are married either of us could go buy a house and sign the paperwork soley but if it was sold we'd both have to sign. As I said your state may vary.

ETA: I saw your other post about doing FSBO. Not to be snarky but questions like this are exactly why people who are trained in the federal, state, and city laws of their specfic area get paid a commission to sell your house. It takes them a lot of time and money to keep up on all these laws and the ever changing legal forms needed to sell a house. You can probably google Wisconsin real estate sales laws and find something to answer your question.

[jennylou]

Well, your DH will have to sign for sure. In some states, you might have dower's rights and have to sign as well. We sold a house in November that was soley in DHs name, and I had to sign the paperwork as well, since I technically had rights to it at that point.

If in doubt, contact a lawyer or real estate professional in your area.

[BTB]

Wisconsin's marital property laws are unique. I think it's wisest to have a professional help you through this one.

[loving624]

I'm not in Wisconsin, but I work for 7 attorneys and I asked one about this. He said that you would have a "vested interest" in the property, therefore here you would have to both sign since you have since become married. However, as previously stated, all state laws are different.

[blondegirl]

Shortly after getting married, DH sold "his" house. We moved into "my" townhouse. We didn't use a realtor, but had an attorney do the closing, title search, etc for us. I never lived in the house and I wasn't on the deed, but because we were married, I had to sign all papers at the closing.

[AHammer]

I have a "situation" here ...

DH bought the house we live in (and are trying to sell) in September 2003, long before we were married. When we sell this house, do I need to sign any of the paperwork, or is DH the only one who can legally do that? Or did the house just become mine also when we got married?

Thanks!

:D

it really sounds like the best thing for you to do is hire a real estate agent or attorney. maybe you've already done that and you're just curious, i don't know. but like someone else said, there are people trained to do this without mistakes, so that would be your best bet.

[camberne]

When I had my townhouse, my husband (regardless of his position as my husband) had absolutely nothing to do with the sale of the house. My parents had co-signed my original mortgage and were also on the deed with me, so they had to sign paperwork - but nothing for my hubby.

If your husband had added you to the deed after you got married, then you would be an owner.

When we bought this house, the mortgage is entirely in my husband's name, but the title/deed is in both of our names. The only papers I had to sign at closing were related to the deed and the filing of the deed... all those nasty financial documents were his and his alone. He can't sell the house without my signature, or me without his.

[MrsBeckyLP]

it really sounds like the best thing for you to do is hire a real estate agent or attorney. maybe you've already done that and you're just curious, i don't know.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I am planning on doing that (attorney), I just thought I'd check here first to see if anyone knew for sure. :) You ladies are usually all so knowledgeable!

And as far as the FSBO comment goes, I don't think anyone really knows everything the first time they do FSBO, so it's a learning experience. I was just trying to get ideas here (on CC), and I guess not many people here have them. :) We have many months until we need to sell our house, so I see nothing wrong with trying to do it ourselves for a while. We could save $10,000 ... who knows.

eta: If your husband had added you to the deed after you got married, then you would be an owner.

Nope, I wasn't added to the deed. Thanks for adding your experiences!

[hmbay]

Hire a lawyer or an agent--this pretty much says it's up in the air and you'll need someone to make sure all your bases are covered.

http://www.legalexplorer.com/legal/legal-QA.asp?PositionPoint=26&Sid=26&Qid=2#quest

[camberne]

We have many months until we need to sell our house, so I see nothing wrong with trying to do it ourselves for a while. We could save $10,000 ... who knows.ABSOLUTELY!! This is why our family started doing all of our sells/buys FSBO. When I bought my townhouse, the realtor did NOTHING. I swear to you, she didn't. When I'd call her about something, she'd tell me to call so-and-so. I finally stopped calling her and just called whomever I felt I needed to speak to at any given time. The fact that she got 3% was a crock... easiest money she ever made and still disgusts me 14 years later!

What that pisses me off most about FSBO are the realtors who call me non-stop to ask me why we're selling my parents house FSBO and would we consider interviewing them? Um, no, if I wanted a realtor, I'd be calling you! Even when I tell them that I have someone in mind if, down the road, I feel the need to call in a professional; they insist on telling me that they'll "keep in touch" to see how things are going. ARGH. I hate pushy people, and that's damn pushy in my opinion!

[MrsBeckyLP]

What that pisses me off most about FSBO are the realtors who call me non-stop to ask me why we're selling my parents house FSBO and would we consider interviewing them? Um, no, if I wanted a realtor, I'd be calling you! Even when I tell them that I have someone in mind if, down the road, I feel the need to call in a professional; they insist on telling me that they'll "keep in touch" to see how things are going. ARGH. I hate pushy people, and that's damn pushy in my opinion!

We haven't received any calls from realtors trying to push themselves on us, but we have received mailings. Annoying. It's all addressed to "Home Seller." If they can't even take the two seconds to look up open records and find out who lives there, I'm definitely not interested! If I do get calls, I'm going to tell them right away that I don't appreciate it and they better not call back. If we do have to list with a realtor, we already know who we're going with, so I don't need their "advice."

[Rose]

And as far as the FSBO comment goes, I don't think anyone really knows everything the first time they do FSBO, so it's a learning experience.

The thing is you are selling a home and you have to know everything or you will be opening yourself up to a lawsuit if you do it wrong. It's fine if you want to do it yourself but you do need to know what you are doing. There are laws, disclosures, and contracts you are dealing with.

There is a reason agents have to be licensed.

[hmbay]

ITA with Rose--and those lawsuits might happen years from now when you think you were in the clear (although I think 7 years is the limit but I'm not positive on that).

As for agents calling you when you list FSBO that's their job. They are sales people. They are trying to sell their services to someone that is trying to do exactly what they do and obviously selling a house. You can't fault them for seeing if you are interested since it's obvious you are selling a house. It's not like they get their listings at the home sellers store--they have to work for them. If they keep bugging you or call you when your house isn't for sale, yes you can be annoyed, but part of listing FSBO is opening yourself up to showing your own house to prospective buyers (who could be rapists and muggers and killers BTW which is something else you're paying your realtor to deal with), fielding a bunch of stupid calls from non-serious buyers a realtor or listing agency would deal with as well as calls from mortgage people asking if your prospective buyers need financing or inspectors or appraisals asking if your prospective buyers need these services (DH gets these calls/emails all the time). If you want to save the money you have to deal with the hassles that come with it. That's part of what your agent deals with to earn their commission (which is less than you think--out of that 1-3% usually half will go to their broker and after they pay the fees to list your house in MLS, put a sign in your yard, print up fliers, advertize etc as well as pay their monthly fees they have if they sell a house or not most of them are not getting rich). If you want to try FSBO I don't blame you but I'm just trying to point out you take on the work and the annoyances of the realtor so you need to weigh whether those annoyances are worth the money you save and accept them if they are worth it to you.

[momama]

I don't think you need a realtor, but definitely an attorney. We are using a realtor to sell our house, but we ended up finding the place we'll be moving to before it was listed with a realtor and we are saving tens of thousands of dollars. We hired an attorney but we were fortunate to not have a realtor for that deal because our builder passed his savings on to us.

[MrsBeckyLP]

I don't think you need a realtor, but definitely an attorney.

I agree.

I hadn't said this earlier because I didn't feel the need to (and it's not what the thread was originally about), but the major problem is that DH didn't want to hire anybody because of the money deal. :rolleyes: That's just how he is, and his way is always right. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a husband like that. I've learned to deal with it (I knew he was like that since day one and yes, I still chose to marry him), and I know it's best that way.

HOWEVER, last night I was able to convince him that it was essential we hire a real estate attorney. There is a young couple very interested in our house right now, and they aren't working with a realtor either. If they make an offer, they'll need an attorney, and so will we. I've known this for a long time, and I'm just glad DH finally realizes it. One of my major struggles is over. Whew!

[mamax2]

Originally Posted by camberne
What that pisses me off most about FSBO are the realtors who call me non-stop to ask me why we're selling my parents house FSBO and would we consider interviewing them? Um, no, if I wanted a realtor, I'd be calling you! Even when I tell them that I have someone in mind if, down the road, I feel the need to call in a professional; they insist on telling me that they'll "keep in touch" to see how things are going. ARGH. I hate pushy people, and that's damn pushy in my opinion!
We haven't received any calls from realtors trying to push themselves on us, but we have received mailings. Annoying. It's all addressed to "Home Seller." If they can't even take the two seconds to look up open records and find out who lives there, I'm definitely not interested! If I do get calls, I'm going to tell them right away that I don't appreciate it and they better not call back. If we do have to list with a realtor, we already know who we're going with, so I don't need their "advice."

I get that you (collective) find it 'annoying', but you're talking about sales people - it's their job to sell! Plus they know:
1. Homes sold by Realtors go for 16% HIGHER than FSBOs. Even if you take out a generous 6-7% commission, the seller still nets more money.
2. Less than 15% of homes are even sold FSBO - the odds are favor of Realtors since they are in fact handling most of the business out there.

FYI though, re: phone calls - have you registered your # on the federal do not call list? If not, that's your first stop.

hmbay ~ V. well written! I couldn't have said it better myself. So many people are anti-Realtor it seems. There are good Realtors, there are bad Realtors - it's just like any other profession.

[hmbay]

mamax2--Thank you. I have a whole new respect for realtors since DH gave up stable income 6 years ago to try his hand at it. I don't fault people for trying to save themselves money by doing FSBO but I don't think most people (myself included until DH changed careers) have any idea how much work good realtors do for so little money most of the time.

[kimbyj]

I live in NJ and bought my house in 2000. Married DH in 2004 and yes...he MUST sign when I sell - it's the law here. Every state is different.