Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Well, first of all, it'll depend upon whether your co-owners are cooperative and have the funds. I assume since you had to ask the question, that there is a problem because either they don't want to buy you out, or they are willing but don't have the money. Let's start with a worst-case scenario -- the co-owners tell you "No way, we're not interested, you're stuck!" If that is the case, the proper legal remedy is for you to file a specialized kind of lawsuit called a "partition action," in which one owner asks the court to have a co-owned property either subdivided or sold and the net proceeds divided. In modern times, the latter is more common, since subdividing property between warring co-owners used to work when most properties were farms and there were no zoning laws, but nowadays partition is usually done by a court-ordered sale and a court-administered split of the net proceeds of sale. The court will take into account the existing financing (which will be paid off) and the parties' relative contributions to the purchase price and necessary payments for repairs, taxes, etc. in allocating the net proceeds.

I will add that probably 90% or more of partition suits that are brought result in an out-of-court settlement between the co-owners, where they agree either that one will buy out the other or that they'll jointly sell in a private, non-court-supervised sale.

If you and your co-owners can agree on a buy-out but the buying couple lacks the money, maybe you can accept a second deed of trust for whatever part of the buy-out can't be done with cash. I'd suggest talking to a lender, a licensed real-estate broker, and a lawyer in your neighborhood to see whether they have any sensible and situation-specific advice for you, and/or your co-owners.