Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Try to sell your half interest to her.

What you have is partnership that owns a house, so you should be able to sell your share on the open market.

Ultimately, a lawsuit for "partition" may do this. But what's the point of that? In this market do you know if it would sell for more than you two owe on it (assuming you have a mortgage together on it), or without a mortgage at a loss that your partner won't want to share in, and/or would either of you be able to finance it separately without the other's credit?

My thought is that if you don't know if it would sell for more than you two owe on it and/or neither of you could finance it separately, you have a problem unless you're willing to potentially take a loss.

1. You could move out and stop contributing to any mortgage, taxes, upkeep, etc. This will lead to other problems...acrimony between the two of you, most likely a lawsuit against you for your share of everything...and a possible foreclosure action that can lead to credit dings too.....Even if your partner COULD handle everything on her own, there is still the value to consider, and you will want to be released from any mortgage.

2. You can be up front and say that if you two can't work it out amicably then you might consider a partition lawsuit, but you don't know if it would sell at a loss or if you could finance it separately. So there are the same issues.

3. You could go right to a partition action and ask for a sale, but you wind up with the same questions.

4. So you might be able to work out an agreement that not only documents the "partnership" as Mr. Palmer says, but also a buyout arrangement. It is not unusual for people to agree to a buyout based on market or appraisal, but another way is to say "I'll buy you out at $XXX and if you don't like the price then you have to buy me out at that price" -- because if your offer is higher than your partner thinks it's worth, then your partner is getting a deal, and if your offer is lower than what your partner thinks it's worth, your partner theoretically would be happy to let you buy it out because you're paying a premium. But either way if there's a mortgage involved, your partner will want to be released and that usually means whoever is winding up with ownership will have to be able to finance the buyout alone, which is a credit issue, or if it winds up in partition but it would sell at a loss beyond the mortgage, that too would have to be covered.

Because there are many factors here, and options may be limited by value or credit, you should definitely consult with a real estate lawyer, and possibly a broker. In particular, as a "partnership", losses are normally shared equally, and do you want to have to cover your partner's half if that turns out to be the case? How you communicate with your "partner" about all of this can also be tricky; a lawyer may be able to help find a way through it.