If you’re purchasing a home in Washington, the Purchase and Sales Agreement has a field defining how you will take title. There are several ways beyond just putting your name(s) down (single man/woman or married couple/community property, the two most common).

You can also own a home as a married person but as separate property, as a joint tenancy, where each owner owns an equal share. The most common result of this is that the share of the property owned by one of the people (the tenant) will pass to the other(s) upon death instead of to that person’s heir(s).

Another way is tenancy in common where owners may own unequal shares and their interest passes to their heir(s) upon death instead of to the other owners.

Finally, you may choose to have the property owned by an LLC or other corporation or a trust. This has the benefit of keeping your ownership private from public record. (People could probably track you down with enough work, but your name won’t be listed in the county title records so it will be much more difficult.) If in a trust, it also makes transfer of the property to your heirs upon your death much simpler, avoiding probate.

In Idaho, these forms of ownership are not listed on the Purchase and Sales Agreement but they can still be done with a simple addendum which is sent to the title company that eventually records your purchase with the county. Just make sure to make this decision as early in the process as possible as it becomes extra work once the transaction is underway. If you wait until after the transaction is closed, it will require even more paperwork. In the case of wanting your ownership to remain private in county records, if you wait until after it closes, while the new ownership form and name will eventually be recorded, your name will forever be associated with that property.

Here’s a more detailed description from our friends at First American Title.