Question Hi, My mom deeded her house to me and my sister before she passed away. Can one of us take a equity loan out for repairs or does the loan have to be in both our names?
Answer Todd,
You can certainly try to get the equity loan in one name and most likely it will not be a problem Go ahead and see if the lender allows it. Sometimes lenders will require the names on the deed also be on the loan.
Lending criteria has become much stricter so just go ahead and give it try and see what the lender says.
Keep in mind...if the lender allows only one name then that person is responsible for the repayment. You would not be able to force the other person to participate in the repayment.
You need to think through all the situations when two people own a property and one person is responsible for a mortgage on the property.
