Homeownership is the goal of many Americans who want the security and sanctity of owning their own property. While there are many benefits to homeownership, there’s nothing like the feeling of owning real property outright. There are many risks to homeownership that are obvious, such as weather catastrophes, termite damage, or a home fire. But one threat to homeowners in the present climate is far less obvious, and many victims don’t know that they’ve been had until well after the crime has been committed. Home title fraud is increasing in popularity. It often goes unnoticed because it involves the forgery of a home title or deed that allows the perpetrators to use the home as collateral for fraudulent mortgages. The rise in cases of home title fraud has left many to seek a home protection plan that locks the title from the aforementioned fraud.
If you own a home, protect yourself from title fraud by educating yourself about the crime and related real estate matters. While many cases of title fraud are perpetrated by complete strangers, other cases could occur when there are varying homeownership arrangements at play. Keep reading to learn more about the various types of homeownership so that you can be better prepared to prevent becoming a victim of title theft yourself.
Sole Ownership
The most common type of home ownership is sole ownership. Sole ownership is a term that describes the circumstance in which one person owns total interest in a piece of real estate without dividing interest with anyone else. If the owner is deceased, the property enters the estate unless it is specified in the will that it goes to an individual.
Joint Tenancy
Joint tenancy occurs when two or more people each hold a share in the interest of the property. For example, if a husband and wife are both listed as owners of the property concurrently, that circumstance can be considered joint tenancy. The interest of each property owner must be equal for such an arrangement to exist. While marriage represents one common arrangement in which joint tenancy can exist, joint tenancy is not restricted to married couples only. There are many situations in which two or more people could be involved in joint tenancy. A joint tenancy situation is determined by the unity of time, title, interest, and possession. With joint tenancy, if one of the property owners dies, the interest of that property owner is divided equally among the remaining joint property owners.
Tenancy in the Entirety
In some jurisdictions, joint tendency can take another form known as tenancy in the entirety. Under this type of property ownership, tenants have an equal share of interest in the property, as is the case with standard joint tenancy. However, tenancy in the entirety means that none of the interest holders can sell the property without the consent of all the others. This type of ownership usually involves a husband and wife, but such an agreement can exist between non-married parties.
Tenants in Common
Tenants in common is another form of joint property ownership. Unlike joint tenancy, however, not all parties must have an equal share in ownership for the arrangement to exist. Also, unlike joint tenancy, if one of the owners dies, that owner’s interest is not divided among the surviving property owners. Instead, the interest is confirmed onto the deceased property owner’s heirs, who then become tenants in common with the surviving property owners.
Community Property
A community property arrangement combines several aspects of other property owner types. They feature joint ownership with each party having an equal share, as is the case with standard joint tenancy. However, like tenancy in common, if one of the property owners dies, that person’s interest does not confer to the surviving property owners. Instead, it is conferred upon the heirs of the deceased. For example, if a husband and wife are involved in a community property ownership arrangement, if the husband passes away his interest in the property transfers directly to his heirs.
Before shopping for a protection plan for your home, you should first define the nature of your property ownership arrangement to calculate your risk. To learn more about the different types of property ownership and how home title lock services could benefit you, visit Secure Title Lock at https://securetitlelock.com/.