Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Buying my brother out of shared property

You have an agreement. He can't change it on a whim. You should move in and sue him for partition. That means you buy him out at the market rate. You may be able to argue for a reduced amount, if that is what your agreement was about. Good Luck.

Re: Buying my brother out of shared property

First, as a tenant in common, you have a right of possession of the entire coastal house...and so has your brother. That potentially makes you involuntary roommates, if he wants to live there too. Your question doesn't seem to say whether the house is vacant, the brother lives there, or possibly it is rented. (If your brother has rented his interest without your consent, you could theoretically move in with the tenants!)

Next, a partition suit is a possibility, but I would suggest at least coupling it with a suit to enforce the agreement of sale. Contracts for the sale of real property are among the few for which the remedy of "specific performance" is available, instead of just money damages.

The problem in enforcing the contract of sale at the agreed-upon price is that contracts for sale of an interest in real property "must" be in a writing, signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought. Under modern law, contracts created using electronic media such as e-mails and faxes can often be enforced; the main barrier, if there is one, being to authenticate the sender and contents to the satisfaction of judge or jury. There are also other theories upon which a real-property agreement can be enforced, including promissory estoppel and possibly fraud. It shouldn't be necessary to go so far into the well here.

You might want to mention your problem to the buyers of your Fresno house, or their agent, to see if there is a possibility that they would be willing to accommodate you with a short delay in closing escrow or a short post-closing rent-back period, but you probably don't want to, or need to, try to back out of that sale. The consequences could be pretty messy, as you'd be the one in breach.

So, preserve the e-mails carefully -- print them out, and also save the original electronic versions, as you may need to have them verified by an expert witness. Rely primarily on a suit for specific performance, maybe backed up by a demand for partition.

There are two problems with a pure partition action. The first is that the court would want the house sold, and the high bidder might not be you. You'd end up with a lot of cash, but not the house. The second problem is that even if you were the buyer, you'd probably end up paying a premium over your contract price. It's possible that the court would recognize your contract rights in setting your net price if you were the winning bidder, but I don't think that's assured.

I have a fair amount of specialized knowledge in these areas, and would be pleased to give you a more complete analysis, without charge; if you wish, contact me.

Re: Buying my brother out of shared property

i am not sure uou have an enforable agreement since it must be in writing and signed by both parties when dealing with real estate -- if toh you relied on the "to your detriment" you may hade a better chance to prevail -- get to an attorney who is expert in real estate/ probate estate planning law and bring all you documents and listen to his/her advice carefull --- do this immediatly, yesterday and move into the house as you have a half interest and have every right to live there --- to do so with you brother will not make for a comfrotable situation but he will understand you mean business and maybe he will settle for paying fair market value to him, or better yet the terms of the agreement which he is now trying to get out of if possible --- good luck to you