LOANER vs. OWNER OF RESIDENCE? Can they be different people?

if the "loan" to which you refer is the mortgage then the bank will require that your dad's name be on the deed.  I have done this for all my daughters so it is not unusual.

If your dad takes a personal loan or say a 401k loan and pays cash for the house then done deal and you certainly can be on the only name on the deed.

You should also have the deed recorded in such a way so that in the event of your dad's death, his ownership interest in the home will revert to you.  that way there will be no issues in court with his ownership in the home going to someone else.

No, his name must be on the property if the loan is secured by the property.  

If he is on the loan then he will have to be on the title too.  The lender will insist on that.

Absolutely not. All lenders require the borrower to be on the deed, so they can take back the property through foreclosure if the loan goes into default. You can be on the deed, but not as the sole owner.

No, you cannot be the sole owner while he is the only borrower on the loan.

The bank would probably allow you to to be the sole owner while BOTH you and your father are listed on the loan as co-borrowers. This effectively makes him a co-signer (but on a mortgage its called co-borrower) where you are buying a house and he is "guaranteeing" the loan.

Your Dad would be 100% liable for the debt but would have no ownership claim on the house. Even if you never paid a dime and he paid off the entire mortgage he would not be able to claim ownership rights on the house.

But this also means you will be on the mortgage and any/all activity on the mortgage will be reported against your credit report. Even if your agreement is for your Dad to pay the bill, if he doesn't pay it will show as late payment on your credit. If something happened to your Dad physically or financially that left him unable to pay - you'd be on the hook for the entire mortgage and the bank would foreclose if you don't pay.

So if your Dad wants to buy you a house by covering mortgage payments he certainly can, but it won't be a complete "no strings attached" deal for you.

Reality is until the loan ( mortgage) is fully paid off regardless of who is paying it and whose name is on the deeds, the lender 'owns' it s the property ha a mortgage on it and that mortgage is a lien. You can be the only name on the deed of property and your father could be the one paying the mortgage