Mommy giving me her house?

[BK911]

Thanks Joe, that info helps.

[-Levi-]

Sell it and move on.
Renting from a distance is and will be challenging.
In today’s market the house should sell quick.

[Tishabet]

First off, sorry to hear of the death in your family.

Originally Posted by BK911

House is not paid off and she still owes about what they paid for it.

So if I understand this correctly the mortgage balance and the likely selling price of the home (aka LTV) are close to 1:1, right?

Originally Posted by BK911

We could sell it, but with real estate fees, closing, plus the ~$10k in closing she just paid, she would most likely take a loss on it.

The 10k already paid in closing is sunk cost fallacy.

This might not be a popular answer but why not consider mailing the keys to the mortgage holder and washing your collective hands?

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by MikeSid

Transfer title upon her death. You will get a stepped up tax basis to a value at the date of death.
If the property appreciates between now and then, you will save capital gains tax on that increase in value when you ultimately liquidate it. Assuming appreciation of the property, your basis will be higher than if you take title now.

If there is a non-tax reason to sell, then by all means, do what you have to do. But if you are certain you are keeping the property and the only question is mom's name or your name, then by all means, keep it in mom's name.

This.

But do consider you have nothing right now. A house worth the debt on it. If you had unlimited borrowing power would you buy this house right now? If no then perhaps best just to sell.

[LakeCleElum]

Seems Mom is giving you a liability, not a house. I agree with those above that it should be sold while still in her name. Keeps it a lot cleaner than dealing with a gift and any associated taxes down the road.