For Rebound Renters, a Few Things to Remember

One final thought: If you are so desperately in debt, it's possible that you'll never be able to pay your way out of it. In that case, bankruptcy may be a viable option.

I have been married for 25 years and have three children. My name is not on the deed to our $600,000 home. If I divorce my husband, am I entitled to half of the assets even though the house isn't in my name? We live in Massachusetts. I am sick over this and don't have money for a lawyer.

You may be entitled to half the value of the house, but it will depend on the circumstances.

I'm wondering why your name isn't on the deed after all this time. But even if your name isn't on the deed, if the house is a marital asset (bought after you were married), and particularly if you have contributed sweat equity, if not cash, to the purchase and maintenance of the property, then you may have a good case to make for equal ownership whether or not you are listed on the property.

If your husband bought the house before you were married, it might not be deemed a marital asset. Then you would have more trouble making a case for yourself as a co-owner.

More important, if your marriage is in jeopardy, then you had better find a way to scrape together a few hundred dollars so that you can spend an hour or two with a divorce lawyer who can walk you through some of the landmines you will surely face if you do separate, and help you figure out the answers to some of these questions.

Four years ago, my stepmother signed a quitclaim deed to her and my father's home. The quitclaim was filed with the court. My father recently passed away. Since they were still married, does she still have claim to the home or would it fall to my two sisters and me?

Simply signing and recording a quitclaim deed doesn't tell the whole story.

To whom did she quitclaim the property? Did she quitclaim her entire interest in the home to your dad? If so, then his will would dictate what would happen to the property.

If the will dictates that she is entitled to all his assets, then she would inherit the property from him. If his will says that all of his assets go to you and your sisters, then she may not have any ownership interest in the property. Then you would have to figure out how to either allow her to live in the property, perhaps renting it from you, or kick her out and sell it.

If your father's will states that his assets are to be divided between his known children and stepchildren, and your stepmother has kids, then you will have to contend with some additional heirs.

The place to start is with the paperwork. Visit a lawyer who can help you go through your father's will (assuming he has one) and the distribution of assets.

Who legally owns the house on the day of closing?

Either the contract of purchase or local custom will dictate who is responsible for the expenses of the home on the day of closing.

When you attend the closing of the home (or, as it is referred to in some states, the settlement), you become the owner of the home at the time you receive the keys and the sellers receive their money.

Almost all homes accrue expenses everyday, such as real estate taxes, homeowner association dues and utilities.

The customs vary from state to state and even from county to county. In some states, the seller is deemed to be the owner of a home on the day of the closing and that seller has to pay all costs associated with the ownership of that home that day. The opposite is true elsewhere.

Some transactions go as far as to state that a buyer pays all costs relating to the ownership of the home if the closing occurs before noon but the seller will pay all those expenses if the closing occurs in the afternoon.

Because this is such a local issue, it's impossible to tell you what your financial responsibilities are for the day of closing. But your real estate agent or closing agent should be aware of these local customs and can guide you.

If your question relates to who gets to live in and possess the home on the day of the closing, the best thing is to have the seller out of the home when the buyer is ready to tender his money to the seller.

In some parts of the country, the custom is to allow the seller to remain in the home the day of the closing or even up to two weeks after the closing. However, if I were representing a buyer, I wouldn't want a buyer to close on the purchase of the home unless the seller was willing to pay for his stay in the home after the closing and was willing to put up a substantial amount of money to assure the buyer that the seller will move out on a specific date and has the money available to pay for that post-closing possession of the home.

If the seller is unwilling to pay for the post-closing possession of the home or is unwilling to put up enough security to satisfy the buyer that the seller will move out on time and will deliver the home in the condition required under the contract, then the seller should move out on the day of the closing and before the buyer delivers his money to the seller.

While this view may be different from the customs and practices in some parts of the country, it protects the buyer from a seller who decides not to move out of the home. It also protects a buyer from a seller who damages the home after the sale or when the seller is moving out, and it encourages a seller to respect the terms of the contract and deliver the home to the buyer on time and in the condition required under the contract.

My wife and I have put a bid in on a house and it is a short sale. We offered $275,000 and we have seen paperwork showing that the owners purchased it for around $350,000.

The sellers have 90 days under the papers we signed to respond to our offer. We have not had any inspections or a survey/appraisal completed yet. The more we think about it, the more we are worried we jumped the gun on this offer.

We might want to get out of the deal before they officially accept our offer. They have $3,000 of our cash in escrow. We would like to know if we can pull out without losing our $3,000.

If, as you have indicated, the sellers have not yet accepted your bid to purchase their property, you should be able to withdraw your offer. But as with so many things, the devil is in the details.

Some contract forms bind the buyer to the offer for some time. During that period of time, the buyer can't cancel, rescind or withdraw the offer. If your contract doesn't have that language, you will need to send a written notice to your seller, the listing agent and the closing agent, if there is one handling your transaction, that you withdraw, cancel and rescind your offer to purchase the home.

To protect your $3,000, you might want to have a real estate lawyer review your contract and send the notice to the seller.

If your seller has accepted your offer to purchase their home, you can't rescind your offer, but in some parts of the country you still might have the ability to terminate the contract. If your contract has a contingency provision allowing you to get legal advice on the purchase, that contingency may also allow you to terminate the contract as a result of having discussed the issues of the purchase with your attorney.

Finally, if your contract has an inspection contingency clause, you might be entitled to terminate the contract if you find things wrong with the home and the seller refuses to fix those items to your satisfaction.

Ilyce R. Glink is an author and nationally syndicated columnist. Her latest book is "100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask." Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate lawyer in Chicago. If you have questions for them, write Real Estate Matters Syndicate, P.O. Box 366, Glencoe, Ill. 60022, or contact them through Glink's Web sites,http://www.thinkglink.comandhttp://www.expertrealestatetips.net.

© 2008 Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

Distributed by Tribune Media Services