Legally, you can transfer or sell a house for $1 to a family member, but doing so triggers significant legal, tax, and mortgage complications. Real estate and tax authorities do not recognize nominal transactions between related parties at face value; instead, they evaluate the transfer based on the property's fair market value. Selling a home far below market value is treated legally as a partial gift, which may require filing federal gift tax returns, triggering capital gains considerations, and impacting Medicaid eligibility look-back periods. Furthermore, if there is an existing mortgage, the lender's due-on-sale clause could complicate the transfer without full loan payoff.