Q: I bought a house and my name is on the deed. My brother is paying the mortgage. Is it wise to add my brother on deed?
By adding my brother on the lease, is it going to benefit me when I purchase another property in future?
A:
That your brother is paying the mortgage is not relevant to identifying who owns the property. Assuming you are the only name on the deed, you own 100% of the legal title to the property. Once you add your brother's name to the deed, he will own some of the legal title to the property. The law will assume that he owns an undivided one half interest in the whole property unless you have a written agreement signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought that specifies the understanding. So, your brother will have the same rights as you to live there, to maintain, to use, and to sell the property. You will own the other interest. So, your interest will decline by 50%. I do not see how this benefits you unless these are the terms by which he will agree to pay your mortgage.
I hope that this paragraph has demonstrated that this is all a bit more complex than it might at first appear. You can pay a lawyer a small amount to clarify and record your title correctly, or you can pay tens to hundreds of thousands for your heirs to straighten it out sometime later.
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