Inherited house comes with no mortgage but needs repairs

Q: My mother-in-law gave my husband, his brother and his sister her home before she passed. It is paid off, and there is no mortgage. It is in desperate need of repairs, but none of us can afford to pay for them. Could we get a home equity line of credit? What if we have bad credit? - D.

A: Even with good credit, it sounds as if no one could get a bank mortgage loan on the house in its present condition. Given your circumstances, I wouldn't advise trying to fix the place up. Call a few real estate agents for free advice. I expect they'll say your best bet is to put the house on the market as is, at a bargain price, for all cash. There are always investors looking for fixer-uppers.

Another possibility is that you'll hear from a would-be homeowner who can qualify for an Federal Housing Administration 203(k) mortgage. That's a loan that covers both purchase price and needed repairs.

Is it Illegal not to pay rent for years?

Q: I moved into an apartment in 2008. In the summer of 2010, my landlord wrote us a letter stating that he was no longer the owner of the property and not to send him any more rent checks, and the new owner would contact us. In case we needed to call, we were given a name of a bank and a phone number, which led me to believe this was a foreclosure or simply a case of throwing in the towel.

I tried calling the bank, and they wouldn't speak to me because my name was not attached to anything. It is now August of 2012, I am still in the house, and I haven't paid rent in two years. I've maintained the property (paid the heat and hot water that I previously was not responsible for, invested in a lawn mower and regularly taken care of the lawn and garden, replaced the washing machine, paid to have the dryer fixed, paid to have some plumbing fixed, etc ... ).

I am basically a homeowner without a mortgage. I can't figure out who pays the water or who pays the taxes. I'm just kind of at a loss of what is going on right now, but I'm just riding with it. Am I doing anything illegal? - Email

A: Beats me. Possibly a judge would say you should have been stashing away the rent in a special account until you found out who was entitled to it. But, of course, that would have to take into account the utilities and maintenance you've assumed responsibility for.

You could search the public records and the tax office to determine who owns the property, or have a lawyer do it for you. I suspect, though, that in your shoes, a lot of people might continue "just riding with it."

She Paid Half now needs name on deed

Q: My husband and I are 60. Each of us has grown children from our previous marriages. He purchased our home before we married two years ago. I recently paid him half the appraised value of the house (which was applied to the principal on the mortgage), and he continues to pay the remaining mortgage payments. We share all maintenance and utility costs. Should we file a quitclaim deed to show me as half owner of the home, and if so, do we need a lawyer or can we do it ourselves? - E.

A: Until your husband signs a new deed naming the two of you as co-owners, he is still the only owner of the house. If you both want to change that, a lawyer can take care of the necessary paperwork, after which the new deed will be entered in your county's public records office.

Edith Lank will respond personally to any question sent to www.askedith.com.