There are five main types of title holdings or "methods" of owning a home:
Sole Ownership: The simplest form of ownership is when a single person owns the property. All responsibility for the mortgage and property taxes falls on this one person. This may make sense in a situation where one person is the primary earner for the family, but it limits the ability of a partner or spouse to take over the mortgage if the sole owner dies or is otherwise unable to make the mortgage payments. Joint Tenancy: In a joint tenancy, each tenant owns an equal share of the property. If there are two joint tenants, each owns 50%. If there are three, each owns 33.3%, and so on. Tenants by Entirety: This is a joint tenancy between spouses only. It's only available to married couples and, in some states, registered domestic partners. Tenancy in Common: Two or more people own the property together in this arrangement. Unlike joint tenancy, each owner in a tenancy in common arrangement owns a specific percentage of the property. For example, one person may own 60% while another owns 40%. This ownership can be equal or unequal. Community property: A special type of ownership that applies to married couples in certain states. In community property states, any property (real estate or otherwise) acquired during the marriage is owned equally by both spouses. Community property states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.