Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: deed transfer

Your cousin probably cannot transfer the property back to you after obtaining a mortage, without subjecting the mortgage/property to a foreclosure action or consent of the Mortgagee/Lender.

Which consent is unlikely to be granted.

You should have consulted with an/YOUR attorney before involving yourself in this scheme. You may have very well lost your property forever.

Good luck,

Re: deed transfer

You should contact an attorney immediately to discuss your situation. The lender probably requires that you at least obtain its consent to, and may altogether prohibit, such a transfer. What you are considering may be viewed in the nature of fraud, so you should be extremely careful. Possible consequences include acceleration of the loan principal, penalty fees, and civil or even criminal liability.

Re: deed transfer

It's not clear how you would want to take back something that you gave away to your cousin as a gift. In any event, this may not be possible without the new lender's consent. The new mortgage documents (Security Agreement) should be reviewed to see what the bank requires for a transfer of the property (adding you to the deed as a co-owner) and satisfying the bank, if that is what you want. This would involve preparing a deed from your cousin to himself and you. Joint ownership of real property has certain "quirks" you should consider and is very different from sole ownership.

Consult a real estate attorney to avoid surprises.