House co-owned free-and-clear. Can Lien be placed on co-owner to cover unpaid taxes, etc?
September 29, 2004
My husband and I own a house with no mortgage. Let’s say the house is worth 200K and there are 2 years arrears taxes. I don’t want to lose the house before divorce is settled, and since he does not respond to summonses (EVER) the divorce may drag on. Also, the house needs septic system, sliding glass door, (broken) and about 2K worth of other repairs. House has been uninhabited for over a year.
1) If I pay taxes and can show proof I did, or if I let the Tax assessor’s office know I paid them and get a receipt for taxes in only my name, could I place a lien on my own house against ex’s half and when the house is finally sold, get his half credited to me?
2) Can I pay taxes and repairs, possibly put a lien on it, or not, but RENT the house out while awaiting the outcome of divorce? House cannot be rented in current state. If I did pay tax and repair bill, I could make that back in a year though the renting of the house.
3) Would it be possible for a relative of mine to lien the house and be repaid at sale of house in future? If so, could the relative lien for the full value of the house so we can invest the equity in the house in other avenues while awaiting outcome of divorce?
-I want to put the money to use right now instead of it sitting in abandoned house, and taking the possibility of losing house to Tax foreclosure in the next year or two. Would be nice to rent the house itself or else use its equity to purchase a different rental property in this buyer’s market, right? Also it would be nice to know if I did pay the tax the credit from that won’t go to him if house is split at divorce.
It’s not that I “feel entitled” to anything here, aside from the fact that I am raising his 3 children and he has not paid any child support except what judges have taken from his accounts. He is “self employed” so there is no paycheck to go after. it takes a year to get anything after filing violation, petitions and notices etc. i have gotten two child support payments so far: lump sum 1/09 for all of 2008, and lump in 1/09 for all of 07. There should be some source of income for his children. I will see what the lawyer says, just figured Id see if anyone had any experience with this. Thanks guys!
Tax Lien Investing
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2 Responses to “House co-owned free-and-clear. Can Lien be placed on co-owner to cover unpaid taxes, etc?”
tax lien investing
Suggest you contact your divorce lawyer. Since laws on community property vary by state.
tax lien investing
You can not lien your own assets.
You can pay the taxes, not lien it and only rent it if the other owner agrees or you obtain a court order. A family law judge can issue the order, but keep in mind that if you are not living it the other owner can opt to move in themselves. With no mortgage the other owner would be entitled to 50% of the rent. You can not act as sole owner just because you feel entitled.
Your relative would need a court order to place a lien, and they had better have some serious proof the you owe them money directly related to the house (hopefully they are a general contractor). The relative can not use your house as collateral for a loan without written consent from the other owner.
You can not use this property for anything without his consent, just like he needs your consent to do the same thing.
If you are legally separated when you pay the property tax you can most likely be credited one half of the property tax in the divorce settlement. You would not have to pay 100% when you only own 50%.