What is conveyancing?
Briefly, conveyancing refers to the selling and buying of property process.
What is a "Title to a property"?
Title to a property is broadly divided into two categories:-
- Freehold - This allows the owner to own the property forever until he chooses to transfer or assign it away.
- Leasehold - This allows the owner to own a property for a fixed period of time, which is also known as "lease". A lease can be for 99 years, 999 years or even 9999 years. At the end of the lease, the title reverts to the original owner.
What is the meaning of a "Joint Ownership"?
There are 2 types of joint ownership:-
- Joint Tenancy - A Joint-Tenancy means all co-owners have an equal share or interest in the property and regardless of how much each co-owner had contributed to the purchase price, the parties are presumed to own the property in equal shares.
- Tenancy-In-Common - It means that each co-owner holds a separate and definite share in the property.
What is the significance of owning a property under Joint-Tenancy?
In a Joint Tenancy, there is a "Right of Survivorship". Upon the death of any of the co-owners, his or her interest will be automatically passed to the remaining surviving co-owner(s). A joint tenant is unable to unilaterally dispose of his or her "interest" in the property whether by way of a will or any other form of disposition.
E.g. Both husband and wife own the property as joint tenants. When the husband dies, the property automatically passes to the wife.
What is the significance of owning a property under Tenancy-In-Common?
There is no "Right of Survivorship". The deceased co-owner’s interest in the property does not pass automatically to the remaining surviving co-owner(s). The co-owner's interest can be distributed in accordance with his will (if any) or the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act.
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