Spouse has never been on the deed of our shared home as joint tenant. He signed a quit claim deed for refi. Any complications if I sell it?

So, your name is on the title of the house, and your husband's isn't. Do I have that correct?

When he signed the Quit Claim Deed, it meant he gave up any and all interest/ownership he had in the house. Since he didn't have any interest in the first place, the Quit Claim Deed probably was meant to re-affirm his non-interest. It shouldn't cause any complication in selling. If anything, it should reassure the buyer that you are the sole owner and can act without your husband.

I was a practicing licensed Real Estate agent for many years.

pronker - it sounds like you will have to decide if you want to do EVERYTHING in order to sell and downsize. You won't get him to lift a finger.

One way to do this: sell your house and buy a smaller one the same time. Make it a condition in your sale that you won't move out until you can move into your new place. Yes, this condition is very common.

Use the money from the sale to put your husband up in a motel for a few days. Hire movers to do all the packing and moving.
Move him back into his favorite chair/sofa in front of his favorite TV in the new place. He may not notice the difference. Haha.

This really is a Caregiver group. This may be a question for the company that finances your home. You may luck out, though, and one of the members may bee able to help.

Have you spoken with your spouse about moving? He may be agreeable and your fears may be groundless. I second JoAnn’s advice. Ask your mortgage company.

Based on your response to polarbear I hear your reasons for concern and wanting to be prepared, good for you. My mom too like most declining LO's I'm sure, becomes more and more resistant to change as time goes on and the emotional attachment to a house can be strong. I wonder if emotional attachments become stronger as memory declines... Back to my thought, you might think about ways to approach the moving idea with him in a way that helps him be on board if that's possible. Perhaps start with your concerns about how you (as a couple) are going to afford everything once you retire, without bringing up selling the house just yet. Start that discussion and who knows maybe he will come up with the move idea, maybe not but when you do eventually ask or say the only thin you have come up with is downsizing there might be some preparation. It depends of course on his cognitive abilities but I'm estimating that if he is cognizant enough to resist a move that much and express the reasons he might be there enough to process the reasons and need. I know in our case it can take mom several conversations, days or weeks sometimes to process a big or difficult new concept but typically if we approach it right so she feels she has some control, ownership and give her the time to process it all she typically comes around to the answer we want and like it or not is at least on board. It also sometimes takes bit's and pieces, small sections of the overall problem (I'm worried about finances, what happens when I retire, do you think we should consider downsizing...)

Give the county assessor and treasurer a call. There are often discounts on taxes for seniors. Some have requirements to volunteer time in the community to be eligible. But, worth a try.

I would not bother getting another house. Downsize to an apartment. Maybe get two bedrooms. Give him the larger. Put a twin bed or full in it. A nice recliner with his TV. Then u have one to urself and the living room. Proceeds from the house should help offset?

You will have no taxes. No water bills or upkeep of property. Just electric and cable.

pronker - I hope you will qualify for the refi.

Just to be on the safe side, YOU call the company, that way you're sure you reach and talk to the refi company and not some scammer pretending to be working for them. And do not pay anything over the phone, or give them your cc or bank account number. If they want your credit report, you can get that for free. Let us know of any development.

pronker - did you and the boarder sign any rental agreement? If it's steady income and can be documented, I don't see why the mortgage company doesn't include it.

As for you not having any credit history because you don't have credit cards, I know of one very reputable mortgage company that work with people with no credit history. Have you ever heard of Churchill Mortgage? They are highly recommended by Dave Ramsey, a financial adviser who has a very popular radio show. If you know Dave Ramsey, you'll know that he advocates no debt, and no credit cards. He always recommends people to live on a cash budget and not on credit cards. Anyhow, Churchill Mortgage works with people who don't use credit cards because they know the borrowers don't have debts. And not having debt is a big plus.

I agree with the suggestion to contact your county assessor - MIL pays no taxes on 5 acres and a house partly due to her hubby's veteran's benefits. Worth asking about if you or your spouse had military service??