Need information about my house situation

[octoblonde]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this before I have my consultation with the attorney tomorrow. I'm in NY. I co-own a house with someone who lives out of state and no longer wants anything to do with the house or mortgage. I'm the one who pays the mortgage and takes care of the house. I (we) owe $97,801 on the house and it's current. It was re-assessed less than 2 years ago at $125,800. Zillow has it listed way low, around $99k, I think.

Here are my questions: How much homestead exemption do I need if the house is jointly owned (right of survivorship?) Also, I know it's a bad idea to reaffirm the mortgage, however, if that would get the co-borrower's name removed from the mortgage & title, I would consider it. Is Bank of America likely to allow this on an FHA loan? What if I just did a ride through? Then the co-borrower would be legally responsible for the mortgage and I could just walk away someday, but it would be on my credit report as IIB and wouldn't help my credit score even if I continued to pay for years?

Thanks!

[DIY]

You use the current market value of the house. The market value of the house two years ago is not relevant. The Zillow number is probably more accurate, but a real estate appraisal will be the best indication. Just by going off the Zillow value you should be well within your homestead exemption. The New York exemptions listed at the top of this website indicate that the Homestead exemption is $50,000. Re-affirming the mortgage is not going to get the second name off of the title. You would need to refinance the mortgage in order to do so.

[octoblonde]

Thanks, DIY. I'm thinking I may need to use Federal Exemptions and use the leftover homestead portion to exempt my vehicle. I live in a market that was not part of the housing "bubble." It's been a rather stable market, but nonetheless, I will have to contact an appraiser or see what my attorney says is the norm for this area.

Jennifer

[DIY]

Make sure you specifically ask your attorney if you can carry over the homestead exemptions. Not all states allow you to do this. Either use it on the house, or lose it.