not owning in your own name

[Ali Horbach]

Hi- I will be closing on a duplex this month and wanted to move title to a trust or LLC post closing however the lender is telling me I cannot do that per the loan docs. Rates were higher for LLC and Trust. Probably should have confirmed that earlier as we close next week. Any other options to protect myself and not own this property in my own name?

[Chris Mason]

Some potential bad info there, @Ali Horbach.

• LLC: Assuming a vanilla Fannie Mae type loan, you can move the property into a trust that you own, with a few caveats. Read more here. SPECIAL NOTE (for Californians, especially in the Bay Area, and others as well): this may result in a transfer tax being imposed. 
• Trust: Not only can you move the property into the trust after closing (people do this all the time for estate planning purposes), you can actually close in the name of the trust rather than in your natural name. You don't even have to wait until after closing. Of course there are caveats here too.

If your bank is doing some sort of portfolio loan (you'd know b/c the rates/fees would be trash, typically), they can make up whatever rules they want within the law, but the above is what will typically apply otherwise.