Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Forced Sale

My Fiancee who I bought a house with is ending the relationship (she has been cheating and now she has a boyfriend). We are tenents in common. In the meantime the housing marking has gone down and we can't sell the house without taking a big hit. I could buy her out, but since the value has gone down, we would loose our equity, if we have to take her name off the title and mortgage and refinance the property. I am concerned she would invoke a forced sale and we would end up selling the property at a loss and I will incur huge financial loss in addition to everything I have already been through. What can I do?


Asked on 2/06/09, 12:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Forced Sale

Keep in mind that when a house goes down in value, you are losing money even though you haven't "realized" the loss by selling. If you paid $400,000 for a house in 2005 and it is now worth only $300,000, you've lost $100,000 whether you've sold it or still own it. True, it's only a "paper loss," and you can't write it off on your taxes, but nevertheless a loss that would have to be reflected on your personal net worth statement and in your financial thinking and planning.

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Answered on 2/07/09, 3:03 pm


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