Property transfer & taxes

[Daniel Bither]

I have a question about a property transfer and taxes. To sum it up: What I’m trying to accomplish is to gain ownership of a home without resetting the property taxes to their current value.

The story: My Grandparents (the trustor) made a trust and included their 4 sons as the beneficiaries of the trust. My Father (one of the 4) passed away years ago without any changes made to the trust. I inherited his share. I agreed with my Uncles that I’d be able to purchase the home from them once my grandparents passed away, which they now have. I’ll happily pay my uncles their share of the inheritance in exchange for the home at a fair price that we will agree upon. They are all pretty agreeable and want me to have the home, so no real family drama. As long as they get paid (which they will) I think they are open to all ideas in and out of the box.

The property taxes are set based on a 1950’s rate and if they reset, I’ll have to pay thousands more for every year that I own the home. I’d rather not keep the property in the trust as I imagine it would be hard if not impossible to borrow money from the home while it would be in my deceased grandparent’s names. Same for asking my uncles for their signatures on paperwork for any future changes to the property for permitted work, insurance claims, etc.

For any real estate investors, lawyers, title officers, or anybody else…Is there a way to transfer property while not triggering a tax rate increase? Any other tips/ideas?

The details:

Located in California, Los Angeles county.

Held in a trust

The home is the only real asset in the trust.

Small mortgage, about $50,000 owed.

No other liens.