tenancy--what you should know when purchasing property

[Paniolo Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by cynmkolohe

Good luck, Cowgirl, with your situation. Family situations can be very tricky. Hope that works out smoothly for you...

After a couple of months of wrangling I mentioned the possibility of a partition lawsuit to my brother and lo and behold, we were all able to work out an agreement. My brother and sister have agreed to buy my part of the house from me. We are in escrow now.

Whew! I still have my fingers crossed and hope we make it.

[cynmkolohe]

Glad to hear it...!

[kani-lehua]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Cowgirl

After a couple of months of wrangling I mentioned the possibility of a partition lawsuit to my brother and lo and behold, we were all able to work out an agreement. My brother and sister have agreed to buy my part of the house from me. We are in escrow now.

Whew! I still have my fingers crossed and hope we make it.

right on, pcg! got my fingers and toes crossed for you!

[kani-lehua]

kailuan residents move out: Kailuan dispute comes to quiet end | starbulletin.com | Business | /2008/02/16/

"former lessess at the kailuan cooperative yesterday became the first multi-family tenants in the state to be evicted at the end of their ground lease term."

[TrappedMD]

Please forgive me for bringing this thread back from the dead but I a similar question.

I live in Maryland and I own a house as a joint tenant with my ex-fiancee. We are about to split and I want to keep the house. I can get a mortgage but she can't. If she does not agree to buy me out, can I force a sale so that I can get a mortgage and keep the house. We have only been in the house 1 year. I paid the entire down payment ($15,000) and all of the repairs ($30,000). Her investment is half of the mortgage and bills during the year. I don't want split any equity because we can't sell in this market anyway.

Thanks,

TrappedMD

[kani-lehua]

maybe try and post the same questions in the mortgage and/or real estate forums?

[TrappedMD]

Thanks. I posted it in real estate.

Trapped

[collegechristian]

A partition lawsuit is a suit that is filed by a co-owner listed on one of two types of deeds -- a Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS) deed or a Tenants in Common (TIC) deed. Partition is a right of each co-owner on the deed, and nothing can be done to stop the process once it is filed. This is something that all persons should be aware of when puchasing joint property and preparing deeds. Any one person on the deed can commence a partition lawsuit to dissolve the relationship and force a division of the property.

When a petition to partion has been filed by a co-owner and acknowledged by a judge, all property owners lose control of the property and they must follow their state's real estate partition laws. Real estate partition law varies from state to state, but the two types of deeds normally mean the same across the board.

Partition means that the property will be physically divided up, if possible, to give each owner a physical, equal share. If a physical division is not possible without spoiling the whole, then the property will be ordered sold and the proceeds divided according the each owner's share. Some states allow an owner the opportunity to buy out the other owners before the property is offered at public sale which is usually a public auction (and usually at a substantially lower cost) Some states also allow multiple owners to combine their shares to form a majority ownership to avoid a public sale.

A JTWROS deed always means that all owners automatically have equal shares in the property, so proceeds must be divided equally among the tenants during a sale or during a partition of the property. So if four tenants are listed on the deed, each tenant owns a 25% share of the property. There is no way to change that regardless of any one tenant's contribution to the purchase price. During the partition process, credits may be issued for payments made to utilities or maintenance, but no credit would be issued for any one tenant's contribution to purchase price.

If the deed is a TIC deed, then shares could be unequal which may result in an unequal distribution during a sale or partition. Just as with a JTWROS deed, credits may be given for utilities or maintenance payments made in excess of one tenant's share. In both instances, credit may be given for rennovation and upgrades only if such actions resulted in an increase in property value.

After the partition process is over, the tenants will be responsible for the costs of partition according each tenant's share of ownership. Costs may include attorney fees, court fees, court master fees, appraisal fees, etc.

Needless to say, the way you take title to a property can affect your future and your finances. Be very careful when taking deed to jointly owned property. One owner can force all others out into the street and create financial turmoil.

[Sweetbeet]

Beware legal advice obtained from unknown persons over the internet. If you need advice about taking title to property or partition actions, see a lawyer licensed in the state where your property is. 'nuff said.