Buying real estate with partners
Before two or more people purchase property in Florida together, they must make some important decisions. How to hold the property’s title, whether to create a limited liability company, whether to put the property in a trust and how to handle liability issues are just some of the issues that are faced by shared real estate owners.
The two most common ways that a property title can be held are joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenants in common. When partners own a property as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the surviving partner or partners inherit a deceased partner’s share of the property. On the other hand, people who own property as tenants in common pass their share of a property to their heirs after they die.
Though it might make sense for many married couples to own property as joint tenants with right of survivorship, some married couples choose to put a property title in just one spouse’s name. If one spouse works in a field that puts them at risk for malpractice lawsuits, leaving that spouse’s name off of a property title could protect the property from being lost to a malpractice judgment.
Partners that are purchasing property as an investment may choose to create a limited liability company. By forming an LLC, real estate investment partners may lower their liability risk. Another option for owning property with multiple partners is setting up a trust. Partners that are considering purchasing property together may want to speak to an attorney about title issues and real estate agreements.