Hi all.
Joined this forum with the hopes of getting some advice on my situation. Not quite a real estate investor (at least not yet); however am facing a bit of a "tougher" real-life family situation with two properties held by the family. Here is the scoop (located in Maryland):
1. Parents have long owned a single family house. Current market value is around $450K; owe $280K on it.
- Refinanced last year due to favorable rates. Existing monthly payment ~$1,750.00
- Deed in parents names
2. I own a condo. Current market value is around $325K; owe $290K on it.
- Purchased in December of 2016. Existing monthly payment ~$1,950.00
- Deed in my name
Mother has not been employed and has been a home maker for several decades. Father has been in on/off employment as a government contractor and has recently struck an unfavorable streak of unemployment.
I am attempting to optimize the existing situation. I am not a real estate genius. These homes were purchased purely for life and not investment purposes. I am questioning if and how:
1. Shall I transfer their home into my name (have them transfer the deed to me)? The point for this would be to see if I am able to write off their interest on MY taxes since the parents are NOT able to file for such as they do not have an income. Do the existing tax laws allow for deduction of TWO residences on a single income? My tax deduction for my condo last year was about $10K. I believe theirs is slightly lower than that
2. Is there a possibility to consolidate the two loans into one (for some sort of a favorable arrangement/reduce payments?) again.... I am a dummy when it comes to all this... The rates that we have for both homes are pretty nice considering the existing lending sphere. The condo is at 3.65% and the home is at 3.75% --- both fixed 30 yr.
3. I have heard that it may be possible for me to place my name on the deed for their home and then claim to "rent" it to them at a "loss" and to then write some portion of $$$ on taxes. How does one go about this?
4. How does one go about changing/editing the deed? Is this done by the titling company? is there a cost to this?
Look forward to everyone's replies. Again, please pardon the lack of knowledge on this subject. I am currently just trying to optimize the existing circumstance to save as much money as possible. While I am hopeful that the unemployment situation is a temporary issue --- I am planning for the worst which is the possibility of me needing to pay for both residences indefinitely (due to parent's age)...
Thank you,
