Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
I had a serious lapse in judgment a few years ago and bought a home with the guy I was dating. He couldn't obtain a mortgage without me and cannot afford to keep the home without me now. We split over two years ago and I got married to someone else in June. My husband wants me off the mortgage because it's a financial disaster for us. I have paid all the taxes, insurance and differences between the mortgage and tenants we've rented it to in the last 2 years. The co-owner's current debt to me is $1500.00 and growing monthly.
He (co-owner) is now telling me that he wants to kick our tenants out and move back into the property himself. He's expecting me to pay "my half" of the mortgage while he's there. This will cost me another $400.00 a month, IF he pays his "half" at all.
He's two steps away from bankruptcy, has had his wages garnished by the IRS this year and is now holding his cash with some cash card so the government can't take anything else. His credit is non-existent and he's unemployed. If he moves back in, I will end up paying for him to live in "his" house but I've been told that I can't stop him from doing this??!!
I've also been told that suing for Partition can takes years, cost me $20,000 AND cost me the difference if the home is sold for less than the current mortgage.
I just want to keep renting it and paying what I can't collect from tenants until the market recovers enough to sell at a decent price, but the co-owner won't let me do this.
Can I sue him in small claims court for his "half" of the bills? If I win and he declares bankruptcy, is that good for me or not? Would suing for Partition really take me years and cost me that much money? I feel like an idiot for continuing to support his investment and potential life style like this.
HELP!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately in not seeking legal help before jumping into things, absent a contract with him giving you any other rights,
Your way out, absent an agreement with the other owner, is a partition. You are correct that it is expensive and will take time.
The bottom line, as you apparently know, is that if payments are not made by someone your credit it trashed. If he wants to move back in and is in financial trouble, you probably know what will happen. If you refuse, there is a chance he'll quit paying anyway. If he has no money and is headed toward BR, suing him won't help you at all. Your best option is to buy him out - the lure of a few thousand dollars cash may be attractive to him, and cheaper to you than partition or your trashed credit for 7 years. If he files a Ch. 7, you might buy out the Trustee's interest for the same cash. Put it up for sale and take a small loss to get rid of the risk. Otherwise, even a single late payment will harm you. You, and only you, need to make sure payments are made. The risk of the above, along with the expense of getting out of this if you can, is just the cost of this decision.
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