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Ways to Take Title in Arizona - Decisions to Make when Buying Real Estate in Tucson

June 20, 2007

When you buy property in Tucson, you’re going to be asked by your Escrow officer how you want to hold title.  Most people don’t know what the options are, and ask me what way is best.  Unfortunately, I can’t advise you in that area.  Each method of holding title may have legal and tax consequences, so you should consult your attorney or CPA to determine which way is best for you.

However, I’m not prohibited from providing some general information!

Arizona is a Community Property state.  This means that the system presumes that all property acquired by a husband and wife is community property.  If a husband and wife want to own property separately, or in any other way than as community property, they must explictly elect to do so, often with the other spouse signing a disclaimer to the property.

Other ways to hold title include:

• Community property with right of survivorship
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
• Tenancy in common
• Sole and separate
• Corporation
• General Partnership
• Limited Partnership
• Limited Liability Company

Here’s a link to a short description of each type, and another link to a more indepth discusion of the more common ways of holding title, as provided by Title Security Agency.

Other Information That Might Be Helpful

• Top Ten Things To Know About Tucson Real Estate - Community Property and Other Ways to Take Title (July 23, 2008)

  Number 9 - Community Property
  Arizona is a Community Property state, which means that anytime a husband and wife purchase property in Tucson, it is assumed that they’ll hold title together, equally, as community property.
  When one spouse tries to buy property on their own, the other spouse usually has to explicitly give up their rights to [...]

• Because Life Changes (June 3, 2008)

  There’s a part of our residential resale purchase contract that says:
  Taking title may have significant legal, estate planning, and tax consequences.  Buyer should obtain legal and tax advice.

  I was in a class the other day and we were reviewing ways owners can hold title to property.  The instructor went through some scenarios that were [...]

• Are You Married or What? (October 2, 2007)

  A couple times in the past weeks, I’ve been forced to ask some delicate questions of clients about their marital situation.
  Honestly, the state of your marriage is not my business.  However, if you’re in the middle of a divorce, trying to buy real estate in your own name, then I need to know. 
  Why?
  Arizona [...]

• Lessons Learned from Canadians Buying Tucson Real Estate (April 29, 2008)

  I recently had the pleasure of helping a couple of Canadians buy real estate here in Tucson as investment property.  The current exchange rates make real estate here in Sunny Arizona rather attractive at the moment to our Canadian friends.  I think we both learned a lot about how real estate works in each other’s [...]

• Reading Preliminary Title Reports (August 5, 2008)

  I wrote earlier about why you review the preliminary title report, but let’s just review what a preliminary title report is.  We call it “the prelim,” in agent-speak around Tucson.
  If you’re buying a home in Tucson and using the standard resale contract, then you should receive a preliminary title report from the title company within [...]

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