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Housing issues / eviction

V put money towards down payment but her name isn't on the deed. What are her rights?

Generally, the law only recognizes the person whose name is on the deed as the legal owner of a house regardless of who paid money to purchase the house. In addition, even if someone’s name is on the mortgage and s/he is actually paying the mortgage, that doesn’t mean that the person has ownership rights to the house unless that person’s name is also on the deed. Therefore, the person on the deed is the one entitled to the profits once a house is sold. If, however, the person on the deed had a separate contract to split the profits from the sale of the house with someone who paid money for the down payment or who helps to pay the mortgage, that sort of written contract could be enforceable in court. Since I can’t weigh in on your specific set of circumstances, you may want to confirm this information with a lawyer to be sure that it applies to you or to see if any other laws may apply. We have legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer [HYPERLINK] page.

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