Occupancy Test Strict for Home Sale Tax Exemption

DEAR BOB: I bought my house in 1960 and paid it off in 1980. I have a living trust in my name. My problem is for the last 18 months I have been receiving mail from real estate agents addressed to a person I don't know, asking if I want to sell my home. I phoned one agent to ask where he got her name. He said he got the name on the Internet. I called the county assessor, and he told me not to worry as everything is in the name of my living trust. However, I seem to have misplaced my title insurance papers. Any advice? -- Phillip V.

DEAR PHILLIP: If you are receiving your property tax bills in your name, you probably have nothing to be concerned about. However, when you are near the county recorder of deeds office, stop in to double-check how the title to your home is held. Mistakes do happen. Or there could be a forgery in your chain of title.

I don't mean to alarm you, but checking won't do any harm. If you find there is a title problem, contact your owner's title insurance policy insurer. Your title policy is valid as long as you or your heirs own your property.

DEAR BOB: We are considering buying a retirement home in a nice new golf course development near where we frequently vacation. However, we learned the houses are on 99-year land leases. Although we don't plan to be around when the lease expires, won't that hurt the value of the homes as they become older? Are there any advantages or disadvantages? -- Connie S.

DEAR CONNIE: That 99-year land lease is a great deal for the developer but not so good for the home buyers. The reason is at the end of the 99 years, title to the houses reverts to the landowner.

As you can see, the market value of the houses will decline as the 99th year approaches.

However, if the 99-year land leases contain an option for the individual homeowners to buy the land beneath their houses, that makes them much more attractive for several reasons.

The major reason is your land lease payments then become tax deductible, just like interest. But another reason is most people want to own the land under their home. Consult a lawyer to review the documents before getting involved.

DEAR BOB: Four of us own a valuable piece of land that we want to sell in the next year or so. The problem is one owner is ill and will probably die in the next few months. Is there any way to avoid having her share tied up in probate court so title can be transferred to her heir quickly after her death? A problem, however, is she has Alzheimer's and doesn't understand what's going on.

-- Lucie R.

DEAR LUCIE: Presuming you hold title as tenants in common, not as joint tenants with right of survivorship, her share will pass in probate court according to the terms of her will.

Or, if she holds her share in her living trust, then probate court action is not required after her death and her successor trustee can easily transfer her share of the land to whoever is named in the living trust.