I am buying a property from a seller - her husband is in jail for domestic violence.
She bought the property a few years ago, she was already married but the loan and and property are in her name only. What do I need for him to sign and how do I do this if he is in jail.
She said he is in agreement to the sale and that her mom visits him in jail and can get any paperwork signed.
Any help would be appreciated. The property is in TX.
If her name is the only one on the property, she’s the only one who needs to sign. No need to bother with the loser in jail.
I second that. None of his business.
you guys sure about that?
the house i purchased had the husbands name on it and i needed the wife to sign off as well. doesn’t he have half ownership?
I would say a call to an attorney is definitely in order.
Not 100% sure no. My truck is in my name and not my wife’s, if I sell it I don’t need her to sign off on it. Maybe real estate is different. Anybody know the legalities of this one??
Just check the title on the property. If it has him listed on it, he HAS to sign. If he’s not on there your all set. If she purchased the property before they married they would’ve had to make a special trip to town hall to ADD his name. I would think she’d remember that.
In Ohio, even though my wife is not on the deed she must be present at closing to release dower rights to the property. This can probably be done while he is in jail through a Notary before clsoing but the transaction cannot be completed without her releasing dower rights
i lived in ohio long ago & they had dower rights then. :bobble
harriet(fl)
What are dower rights?
My wife bought a condo before we were married and then a month after we got married we decided to buy a new condo. Well when we sold her old place I had to be at the closing and sign off on it I live in NJ.
Dower rights are the rights that a non owner spouse has in the real property of his or her spouse. It was originally set up when the husband was the only real property owner. It was designed to allow the non-owner wife to make sure that if her husband sold their home without her permission she would still have some protection in the value of the real property, so that if the husband later died, she could claim the one third of the value of her right to live in the home or the value of income produced by any farm, rental or other real property that he owned for the rest of her life. Now dower rights apply to both husband and wife and act more as veto power on the sale of any real property owned by the other spouse. There is no lending institution that will give a loan on any property that they cannot easily foreclose and sell to make up for any losses due to default by the borrower.
yep NJ here too.
this post is a great example of checking with an attorney and not taking forum advice as concrete
Texas is a community property state. Verify with an attorney or the title co., but more than likely you will need his signature.
In texas you need both signatures even if only one is on title.
Interesting, I’ve never heard about that before. It makes sense, but I can see how that could be a real problem too. Seems like there are alot of situations where that wouldn’t be fair.
I’m going to agree with needing the scumbag’s signature.
If she owned the property BEFORE she married him then he does not need to sign. If the property was purchased any time after they were married he needs to sign. I have done a deal with someone in jail, it is a pain, but can be done. You can’t send his mom in to do it…
the jail has a notary and they will go and get it signed. only problem, they do it when they feel like it and wont explain it to him either. thats where mom comes in, she can expalin it and maybe bring in copies of what the paperwork looks like, you can write explaination on each one etc.
While this may be true in some states it is not true in all. To the original poster- I would get the sig just to be safe. Or consult with an attorney before proceeding.
Yes thats true, this is for the State Of Florida. But, you can just go straight to your Title company- chances are they have dealt with somone in jail before. Make sure you use a title company that deals with investors, then you will know they have done it before.