selling my home to my girlfriend?

Question

My credit is not good but I really want to buy another property. So I'm thinking about selling my house to my girlfriend which will give me 60k. Can I skip a realtor?  What process should I take?

Shawn Mcenteer · Answer

Account Closed I also initially thought why not have the GF purchase the second property instead of the primary but I am guessing the reason that is not possible is because she does not have the funds to purchase the second property and you are only allowed to gift a certain amount of money per year tax free (I think $15k?).

Account Closed · Answer

@Carlos Rodriguez

selling your house to your girlfriend may net you $60K but...

As others have said above, selling your property to your girlfriend will not have an immediate effect on your credit.

To buy the property from you, she will (I assume) have to qualify for a mortgage and the house would need to appraise and she would need to pay closing costs, even if you do the sale without a realtor.

Wouldn't it be more efficient financially, since she's going to have to qualify for a mortgage anyway (again, I'm making an assumption), for her to buy the second house in her name rather than do this gymnastics where she buys your home so you can buy a second one?

That being said, the best thing you can do for your credit is be paying those bills every month on time and building up your savings for a deposit. Paying them off in one lump sum would save you some of the interest charges but would not do magic to your credit score.

I don't know your whole situation but look at it from all angles and hopefully you come to a good solution.

Carlos Rodriguez · Answer

Thanks again everyone.... I really appreciate.  I'm gonna wait, catch up on my bills and check my credit again in 6 months. I will ave time to rethink my whole plan.

My gf doesn't make to much income.  But I'm gonna see what e can save in 6 months and see what we can purchase under her name.

Carlos Rodriguez · Answer

I think we might follow your lead Elizabeth.

I'm hoping paying off my debt/ repo/ and my car will help my credit so I can buy a single family home with 20% down.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

My husband is my partner and we have been very successful and being married and therefore financially interrelated has been very beneficial.

On a separate note, as I discuss in on my website and in the blog I am starting, we got started through personal properties. We would buy a property and live in it till my husband was transferred by the military. At 23 and 24 this let us get started with little down and lower interest rate/credit requirements. As we have gotten more successful we have been able to buy pure rentals with my income (we are duel income but live off one) and the profits from our house. Don't know if this is an option for you, but it was the way we got started.

Carlos Rodriguez · Answer

lol...i know what your saying. She is my gf of 5 years. We have 2 kids together and my stepson. But yes it would be 60k profit.

Robert Anderson · Answer

Are you selling the house for $60k or would that be the profit from the sale, net of paying the mortgage off?

I would avoid doing deals with any form of SO unless and until you put 2 rings on it.

Carlos Rodriguez · Answer

I appreciate all the comments.  But if I do sell, I would pay off my credit cards (5k) pay off my car (6k) and pay off my dad's repo that is under my name (4k). Once I do that my credit should go up and should be able to qualify for a mortgage loan.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

if your credit is not good how are you going to qualify for another property once you sell the property to your girlfriend?