RestonWeb

Bob Bruhns

What does it mean when a person sells their property to themselves for $0?

For example, the Fairfax County sales record for a property might show:

03/19/2007 $0 (party B) to (party B)
04/04/2005 $215,000 (party A) to (party B)

I read that this sort of thing seems to appear frequently in foreclosures; the property is sold for $0, and foreclosure follows within about a year. I have seen it in several properties that were not foreclosed, though.

I suppose it might be a family member with the same name, and not the same person. But it seems that a lot of parents sell to same-name children, then.
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Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

It's commonly the result of one spouse dying and the deed being transferred to the survivor or the result of a quit claim deed. There is no real sale. I believe a quit claim deed is often used to pass ownership to a trust controlled by the owner so that the property can bypass the probate procedure.

blueshoo · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 32 Location: old dominion

We did a quit claim deed to change the name of my wife from her maiden to married name and there is a $0 sale listed in the records for that date. I've also seen the same when properties are moved into trusts, although there's usually a TR following the name in that case.

Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

Here's another example for divorce.

Quit claim deed for mortgage title?: Mortgage is in my name and we're divorcing. Can my ex-spouse give me a quitclaim deed to the house? It's an amicable split and she wants to do it, but we're not sure how to proceed.

Maryann Haggerty: If the mortgage is completely in your name, then yes, a properly recorded quitclaim deed will do it. But you want to talk with your divorice lawyers and make sure everything you do is recorded as part of the separation agreement, as silly as that sounds. With an amicable divorce, it shouldn't be a big problem.

(For years after my divorce, would-be creditors kept asking to see my settlement agreement just to be double-dog-sure about everything. My agreement was written out by hand on yellow legal paper, with a line drawn down the middle for his and hers. But they still wanted to see it.)

Elizabeth Razzi: It should only cost a couple of hundred dollars for a lawyer to make sure the transfer is done correctly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/06/27/DI2008062702147.html

staceylr · Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 227 Location: Reston, VA

UStifosi · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 74 Location: Reston

Yes, some refi's show up as $0. They may have refi'd to an adjustable rate mortgage hence the foreclosure you mentioned.

Bob Bruhns · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:04 pm Post subject:

One unit sold at $235K in 2006, and now it's foreclosed and begging at $89K. Maybe I'll buy it. I should have sold my unit in 2005, but instead I pulled the whole association out of the fire. Now I'm committed to continuing on that course. Could be worse, taxes could have continued to skyrocket.
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The national debt and the deficit are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

We have a next door neighbor that is a same-sex female couple. The title was changed several years ago so that the property is held in a trust which I assume is for the benefit of the second partner.

Deed in lieu of a foreclosure is a voluntary foreclosure. That may be what you're referring to. There is no money changing hands.

Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

Bob Bruhns · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject:

Somebody bought the unit for $80,000.
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The national debt and the deficit are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

30 new condo units are up for auction in Reston. There was an interesting article about it in a blog belonging to a local realtor.

http://www.metrodcliving.com/urbantrekker/2008/11/mercer-puts-30.html

Bob Bruhns · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject:

Heck, I paid $77K for my unit in 1999, and the former owner took back $2,510 from that. A local realtor bought one of these units for about $220K at the peak of the bubble back in 2006. They rent it now.
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The national debt and the deficit are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Harrison · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:26 am Post subject:

The housing market has another good year of falling to go. I wouldn't buy anything before January 2009 minimum.

Bob Bruhns · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject:

The second (and last) foreclosed unit in my condos sold at fair market value for $104K on 12/16/2008. Fairfax County says "Sale from lender - valid sale price". The property is still assessed at $204,140 from the 2008 assessments, so I expect all of our assessments to drop in 2009, and our taxes along with them.
_________________
The national debt and the deficit are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Chester · Longtime Member Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 1973

We received our 2009 assessment notice from Loudoun County for land we own. The assessed value has been reduced by 18%.

I notice the yellow rezoning notices on the Cameron Crescents Apartments owned by the county. I haven't read the signs but I suspect they're going ahead with plans for tearing those down as part of the future revitalization. If the county-subsidized rental complex is going to be transformed into many more units, they should consider locating a grocery store within the complex, preferably one that would also serve meals to residents and visitors.