For most people, buying a home is the most significant purchase of their lives. If you are purchasing property together with another person, then one issue to consider is how you and the other parties (as the buyers) want to take title to the property. How do you want to own the property? The manner in which a purchaser takes title to property can have significant consequences depending on the situation whether that be the death of one of the owners or the souring of a personal or business relationship.

Three Ways to Own Property

Generally, title agents will ask you how you want to take title or will provide a form for you to fill out indicating how you want to take title. If you are buying property by yourself, then the options are straight-forward because as the buyer, you are going to take title as either “a single man” or “a single woman” or “a married man” or “a married woman.” However, what happens when a buyer is purchasing property with someone else and what are the ways buyers can take title jointly? More often than not, buyers purchasing property jointly take title one of three ways: tenants-in-common (“TIC”), joint tenants with full rights of survivorship (“JTWROS”), or tenant by the entireties (“TBE”). Other options to consider may be forming a corporation, limited liability company, or trust to take title, but those options are not being covered by this post.

Tenants in Common

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