I have a small 3/2 house in College Station worth about $275K. We used it for both kids in school and a tailgating house since. No mortgage and titled individually but jointly with my wife. I still have a $200K mortgage on my primary residence.

One of my kids is now looking at buying one-half from me at market value. He wants to take advantage of the low rates while they last. I'm now retired and wouldn't mind getting some cash out of the investment.

Would I need to sell this house from me/wife to my son and me/wife jointly? Or is there an more direct way with a Quitclaim deed or Warranty deed to re-title it?

Would he be able to get a mortgage for his half if he only owns half of the collateral? Or would the joint title mean that we would all need to be co-signers on the mortgage?

If the answer is just "find a good lawyer and title company" then please help with recommendations. (I'm in Austin and the property is in BCS.)

Thanks for any help.

Would you prefer a lump sum of cash or a stream of income payments?

I believe that it would is he used joint funds to make mortgage payments on it, assuming he could get one on a property s as described in the OP.

bloom said:

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We looked at total re-fi with co-ownership and that was doable and puts both names on the deed.

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Thanks, all.

This is what I thought I'd have to do and I'll start looking into it.

JP76 said:

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If the son bought the property before marrying then it would not apply in a divorce in Texas

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Not entirely true and may not be true at all.

Yes if said son bought his share outright with cash then it would be considered separate property and could be excluded from being considered joint property upon marriage......................However, my friend:

If he is making mortgage payments after marriage, that would be with jointly earned money and now the ownership is using co-mingled money to support not only the buy of the property (mortgage) but also shared expenses like property tax, utilities and repairs. If the property generates income enough to support these expenses then there is a case that the property continues as separate even though married.

The example provided does not discuss income producing to offset those cost. Any monies outside of what the property itself generates that is used to support the endeavor can be considered co-mingled and subject it to becoming joint property.

Disclosure: I am not an attorney and professional advice should be sought. The above description is for informational purposes only.

The only time to use a quitclaim deed is never.

When we filed a quit claim in the early 2000's on a property in CS, it was not accepted. It had something to do with property laws in Texas. We ended up having to refinance (which basically said they they were selling us their portion) to remove the other owners.

Don't go into business with family. Just let him purchase it from you. Don't owner finance, but have him make the transaction like you were a regular seller. If that doesn't interest you, then just keep it in your name.

Is your son married ?