Can I Prevent the Rental of Sale of Property of Another if I'm Not the Owner?
Full Question:
Answer:
There are options for retaining control over property, such as creating a revocable gift or a trust. However property owned by a trustee or recipient or a gift isn't eligible for the credit. A loan contract, such as a mortgage may contain a due-on-sale clause in which the transfer of the property without the lender's approval gives the lender the right to accelerate the loan. I suggest consulting a local attorney or tax professional who can review all the facts, documents, and tax ramifications involved.
Joint tenancy is a form of ownership by two or more individuals together. It differs from other types of co-ownership in that the surviving joint tenant immediately becomes the owner of the whole property upon the death of the other joint tenant. State law, which varies by state, controls the creation of a joint tenancy in both real and personal property. Joint tenancy property passes outside of probate, however, it may be severed so that the property becomes part of one person's estate and passes to that person's heirs. A joint tenancy between a husband and wife is sometimes known as a tenancy by the entirety. Tenancy by the entirety has some characteristics different than other joint tenancies, such as the inability of one joint tenant to sever the ownership and differences in tax treatment. In some jurisdictions, to create a tenancy by the entirety the parties must specify in the deed that the property is being conveyed to the couple "as tenants by the entirety," while in others, a conveyance to a married couple is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety unless the deed specifies otherwise. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property. All joint tenants, and their spouses, must sign deeds and contracts to transfer or sell real estate. A joint tenant may convey his or her interest to a third party, depending on applicable state law. This conversion would in effect terminate the joint tenancy and create a tenancy in common.
Tenants in common hold title to real or personal property so that each has an "undivided interest" in the property and all have an equal right to use the property. Tenants in common each own a portion of the property, which may be unequal, but have the right to possess the entire property. There is no "right of survivorship" if one of the tenants in common dies, and each interest may be separately sold, mortgaged or willed to another. A tenancy in common interest is distinguished from a joint tenancy interest, which passes automatically to the survivor. Upon the death of a tenant in common there must be a court supervised administration of the estate of the deceased to transfer the interest in the tenancy in common.
Taxpayers who have not owned another principal residence at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase. IRS Notice 2009-12 provides guidance for allocating the first-time homebuyer credit between taxpayers who are not married. It may be found at the following link:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-09-12.pdf
Please see also:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=187935,00.html