Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Real Estate Law

Your parents can force the sell of the condo, through a partition action. It would be better for you to sell to your parents, however, as you will probably get a better price than through the probabte referee. In the alternative, you can buy the condo from them. Who gets to buy the condo? The one who offers the best price.

Re: Real Estate Law

Deed of trust? A deed of trust is an instrument used to secure a loan. It cannot be altered without an elaborate process requiring the consent of the lender and the borrower(s) as well, and in any event a deed of trust has no immediate impact upon or relationship to ownership of the property subject to the deed of trust.

More likely, you meant to ask whether there is any way your parents can remove you from TITLE. The answer is that, absent truly unusual circumstances, the ONLY way they can force a change in ownership (title) is by filing and prevailing in a partition lawsuit. Partition is the legal remedy by which unhappy co-owners of property can bring about an end of the co-ownership in court. The action gets its name from the former practice of carrying out termination of co-ownership by physical subdivision of the property. In modern times, this is either illegal or impractical 95% of the time, so now property is partitioned by sale and division of the net proceeds in accordance with percentage ownership and adjustments for excess payments a co-owner may have made for necessary expenses such as mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance and repairs.

In the meantime, if you are in sole possession, keep in mind that your co-owners have the same rights of possession you have, but cannot enforce them by lock-changing or other self-help. In theory, your parents could go to court and claim an "ouster" and ask to be placed in co-possession - but they probably don't want to be your roommates, so this type of court action is unlikely. A partition to end the co-ownership is also somewhat unlikely, but you know them better than I do!

Final comment: If there is any contract between the three of you, a court would likely enforce it to the extent it modifies or limits the rights any of you would have in its absence.

Re: Real Estate Law

Don't understand the question. If they coown the condo they can force a sale.

Re: Real Estate Law

Don't understand the question. If they coown the condo they can force a sale.

Re: Real Estate Law

A deed of trust has nothing to do with the vesting of title, it only relates to the loan encumbering the real property. The only way your parents can remove your name from title (without filing a lawsuit) is your signing a deed removing your name. Your parents can, however, file a partition action (a lawsuit) in which they ask the court to determine each owner's percentage of ownership. Typically after the court makes that determination, the property is sold and, after deduction of the costs of sale, the proceeds divided between the owners according to their interests in the property. Further, as a co-owner of the property, you have the right to possession of the property, just like your parents do and, unless they file some sort of lawsuit, your parents cannot simply kick you out of the property.