What to do, and how to do it....please!

[Mojorator]

What is the name of your state?CA

Hello-

I live in a house bought by my sister back in January 2002. We want to sell the house by the end of January and get another house with the equity.

My sister has full title on the house and the loan is also under her name. BUT I was making all the payments to the loan company and my sister claimed all the taxes/interest paid on the mortgage.

She has moved out of state last month.

Does she need to be here to "SELL" the house?
She wants to give me all the profit after selling the house, will she have to "PAY" taxes on this?

Can she just sign a quit-claim making me FULL owner and "I" sell the house and keep the profit without her getting involved?

Thanks
Mike

 

[CatLadyInCA]

~~I am a realtor in CA, not an attorney nor a CPA.~~

Does she need to be here to "SELL" the house?

No, I handle out of state/out of area sales all the time. There are certain issues which need to be addressed (such as notaries, time issues, and whatnot), but that's just detail stuff the realtor needs to pay attention to.

She wants to give me all the profit after selling the house, will she have to "PAY" taxes on this?

I'd check with your CPA. Taxes can be increased/reduced many ways, and it depends on what's happening in the rest of your life what the impact would be to you personally (or to her).

Can she just sign a quit-claim making me FULL owner and "I" sell the house and keep the profit without her getting involved?

That's possible, I think. I'd have to double check with my escrow people about the procedure, and if in fact it's doable, though. I also think it might be a red flag to the IRS, which may not be what either of you want. Again, check with a CPA about the potential ramifications.

January is a decent time to sell here in CA, but allow yourself a bit more "on market" time than is usual. It may sell right away, but it also may take some time. It's not nearly as fast as during Spring/Summer, but we still transact quite a bit of business.

Good luck!
The Cat Lady in CA.