Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Partition action of co-owned rental property
I own 50/50 ownership of a rental property along with, my partners, a married couple. The funds to acquire this house were paid solely by me in 2006. We have shared maintenance costs but I have been paying the $500 shortfall between the mortgage & rental income. Recently, after I demanded reimbursement of this shortfall on a monthly basis & required my coowners to pay their half of the delinquent tax bill, they have threatened to sell the property because they now do not want to be partners. There is little to no equity involved. I have asked them to give me until this coming Sept to accept a Quit Claim offer they have made as my future son-in-law wants to buy the house in Sept. I have stated that I will put this in writing. I do not want to continue paying the entire monthly shortfall. What should I be worried about? Can they unilaterally sell the house without my consent which will cause me to lose the entire down payment? Seems they filing some sort of partition action is their best shot at getting out from their monetary responsibility for half the shortfall. If they file, how much will it cost them and what are the litigation costs for them and myself if I choose to fight? How & where should I be seeking compromise?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Partition action of co-owned rental property
An accounting of your share from the other partners should be completed. Then, you can bring an action for these funds. The partition action should also be filed so that you may be able to avoid liability for any shortfalls.
Re: Partition action of co-owned rental property
Are all three of you on title? If so, they cannot legally sell without your signing a deed conveying your interest to them or a buyer. If you are owed money for this partnership, was the agreement between the three of you in writing? If so, what remedies does the agreement provide for? If there is no writing you can file suit for monies owed you and you can also record a lis pendens preventing the sale until the lawsuit is decided. If there is no equity it is highly unlikely that it can be sold in any event. The cost of suit is hard to predict and depends upon where you are located also. For instance, in Riverside County the filing fee is $335.00 to file suit and you are unlikely to get to trial anytime in the near future, as no civil suits are currently being tried due to the lack of court rooms. Your "partners"will each have to pay a similar fee and file a response to the suit within thirty days--and that is just the beginning of the expenses. You need to go to an attorney to get a more specific assessment of your remedies.
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