Long Story Short.

Buying a House in the USA.

Wife is Thai, myself American.

We want to put it in both of our names. What needs to be done so that this can happen? Can my wife simply sign the contract?

Our marriage was registered at the American embassy in Bangkok and her name is on my tax returns that i file in the usa.

My wife has a tourist visa only. we do not live in the usa. this will be a second home.

You can have your wife's name on the title of the house at any time. The easiest way is at closing. That's the quick answer. Ownership of property in the USA has nothing to do with citizenship. The wife need not be in the States to sign the contract.

But here is the real deal. You are paying 100% cash or are you taking out a mortgage/loan from a bank? If you are paying 100% cash, then during closing, both of you and the wife just need to sign the paper. If you are borrowing from a bank, then technically, the bank is the owner until you pay back the loan.

The best thing is to get a REALTOR. He/she can answer all your questions. Remember this, get your own realtor and don't use the seller's realtor. When you get you own realtor, remember that you are the boss. The realtor works for you. Get the house inspected by certified people (electrical, plumbing, structural, MOLDs, and pests (termites, rats, roaches) and appraised. You should make an offer on a house on conditions of the loan amount and the inspection results. Remember, your realtor is looking out for himself/herself first. The more you pay, the more the realtor makes. Lastly, verified every thing, contracts, inspection results, and title to make sure that it is free and clear and no lean on the property.

http://www.realtor.com/basics/allabout/realtors/why.asp?source=web

This was how I did it.

I saw a house that I like. I got with a realtor. My realtor gave me the appraised value. I made an offer way below the list price and the appraised value. The offer was based on the conditions that if a seller accepts my offer, at any time, I can retract the offer with no penalty if I can't get a loan equal to the offer amount, the title was not free/clear, the inspection results were negative (structural problems, MOLDs, termites, electrical, plumbing, pests). I usually make my offer valid for 7 days. If the seller like my offer but the price is too low, then they usually make me a counter-offer with a higher price. From there, we start negotiating on the final price of the house. I would never, negotiate away the conditions that I attached to the offer (inspections/loan/title). If the seller refuses to accept my conditions, then there is something probably wrong with the house. If every thing went okay, then it usually takes 30-60 days to close.

Side note: Always tell the seller that you will borrow from a bank even if you are going to pay 100% cash. This way, if you need to get out of your offer, you can try to get a loan and hopefully your bank turns down the loan.

This is something she wants you to do or that you want to do? It matters as there is no reason to consider this as the home is naturally a part of your estate that is governed by law. More than one name means lots of grief down the road if anything should happen. I would advise against doing it for all the obvious reasons.

Even if you don't put the house in your wife's name, she can always file a lawsuit to put her name on the equitable title. Then, you would have to prove you used your sole and separate funds to purchase the house. If you purchase with a mortgage, you would have to prove you made all the payments, and your wife contributed nothing. If you want to keep the house your sole and separate property, you would take title in your name, and then have your wife quitclaim deed in your favor.

You don't have to provide any proof of marriage to have your wife put on title. The grantors should deed to you and your wife, as "husband and wife". Usually, you want to do this as "joint tenants with right of survivorship". This means that the house will pass to the survivor, and is not subject to a will. When the first spouse dies, you record an "affidavit of death of joint tenant" and the survivor then has sole title. The other option is to deed as "tenants in common", so upon death, the decedent's share of the property passes by way of their will, or, if no will, intestacy laws of the state.

This is something she wants you to do or that you want to do? It matters as there is no reason to consider this as the home is naturally a part of your estate that is governed by law. More than one name means lots of grief down the road if anything should happen. I would advise against doing it for all the obvious reasons.

It doesn't matter what she wants or what you want. In the USA, property acquired after marriage is 50/50. Because she is your wife before you purchase the property, the law is already in her favor as far as 50% of the property belonging to her (if you both decide to get a divorce later). So there is little benefit in leaving her name off the title.

If her name is not on the title, then upon your death, she has to waste time and money on the legal system to claim what should have legally been hers in the first place. Make life easier for yourselves by having both of your names on the title. Don't let the government manage your finance or your estates. Take control of your life or life will take control of you.

I also agree with Zaphodbeeblebrox. His advice is good.

In the USA, property acquired after marriage is 50/50. Because she is your wife before you purchase the property, the law is already in her favor as far as 50% of the property belonging to her (if you both decide to get a divorce later). So there is little benefit in leaving her name off the title.

That's not quite accurate. There is a presumption property acquired during the marriage is common property. I stated above what steps need to be taken to keep the property the sole and separate property of one of the spouses. A good example is Cindy McCain, who is worth a lot more than her husband. John McCain, during his campaign, didn't need to disclose the property that his wife maintained as her sole and separate property, even though there were several homes and condos purchased during their marriage.

There are times when marital partners need to keep their property separate. For instance, an inheritance is separate property, not common property of the marriage. In Cindy McCain's case, it was business assets that were transferred to her by her family. The point is to label/identify the property as separate, document the separateness the property, and never co-mingle your separate property with your marital property.

@Zaphodbeeblebrox,

I once again agree with you and you are correct. Cindy had to take legal measures to maintain her asset in order to legally separate it from John. If she did not take the additional legal measures to do so, then the law presumed all the real properties acquired during the marriage are common properties. So, do nothing and the law presumed common property. An inheritance is not considered common property until you co-mingle it with your marital property. The act of co-mingling can be viewed as an intent to make it common property.

So in TheJoker12 case, if he did nothing, then the house is considered common property. If he intended for the house to be considered common property and not separate property, then it would be best for him to include her in the title. For him to legally declare the house separate from his wife, he had to take additional legal steps. I would advice him to get a separate lawyer for himself and a separate lawyer for his wife.