Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
selling of a property
My mother wants to sell their property and her sister doesn't want to sell, how do we make her sell this property? My aunt wants to subdivide the lot instead and I don't know how to go about doing that if we don't sell. I heard it would take 6 months to a year and about $40k. We don't have that kind of money
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: selling of a property
A Partition action would be filed. My last two partition actions cost $2,500 and $3,000, plus costs. The time to resolve depends if an answer is filed. Please contact my office at 714 363 0220 to set up an appointment. I would like to review your written documentation including any letters. We handle cases throughout California. We can review your documentation by fax and speak with you by phone.
Re: selling of a property
Assuming the parties are co-owners and don't have some type of arrangement, the only way to force a sale is through a partition lawsuit. By filing the lawsuit, you may be able to negotiate a resolution without going through all of the expense. You may be able to find someone willing to work on contingency or deferred compensation basis. See a real estate attorney for further details.
Re: selling of a property
Are your mother and her sister cotenants, i.e. joint tenants or tenants in common? If so, a partition lawsuit is the usual way to "make" the other do something. However, a partition lawsuit doesn't always result in a sale and division of the net proceeds. Traditionally, and still sometimes today, partition was accomplished by dividing the real property into two (or more) parcels. This is still the preferred outcome, and judges will order "partition by physical division" in preference to "partition by sale" whenever the former is a practical possibility. Factors that limit partition by division include zoning laws, the Subdivision Map Act, and the tendency of modern real properties to be small and highly developed, making division into equal-value subparts impossible.
The point of telling you this is that even if you did file for, and win, a partition suit, the result might be subdivision, exactly what your aunt is offering to do now! So, you may be stuck with your aunt's concept.
In any event, you should continue to negotiate, and keep in mind that the threat of suit or the actual filing of a suit may cause the other side to cave in and make concessions in order to obtain a pre-trial (and low cost) settlement.
I recommend keeping the likely outcome of a partition suit in mind in conducting your negotiations; don't assume a suit will necessarily bring about the outright sale you want. Be prepared to compromise.
Re: selling of a property
Partition action. You may contact me.
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