Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
repayment of downpayment
June 2004 I placed $7500.00 on a home construction. I got a friend to be a partner with me, but they had no money. I was not able to get the finance so my partner got the finance. Home went to settlement in March of 2005. We remained partners after the closing. I took care of the up keep of the house and paid the electic bill, they paid the mortgage. They said that they needed to pay thier part first to equal my 7500.00 before I would need to pay. In June I gave them a check to my half of the mortgage. They have not cashed the check not have they given the check back. In september my partner said that they have theirs and I have mine. Meaning I did not need the house. In October of 2005 my patners made me an offer of $14,000.00 to be my part of the project. This evening January 2nd they said they would give me $5000.00 Friday 6th January and $2500.00 later. I know that the house has a appraised for $125,000.00 more that we bought it and they are in the midst of refinacing to get equit out.
I would like to know what legal basis do I have to some of the equity in the home.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: repayment of downpayment
In order to answer your question, it is important to know who is on the title. If the title is in both of your names, you are legally entitled to half of the proceeds following the sale of the property. If your partner will not purchase your interest for what you believe is half of the proceeds, you can request that the Court force a sale of the property and supervise the distribution of the proceeds.
If your partner is the only name that is legally on the title but you can establish that you have a contract with him that you each will receive half of the proceeds, once the property is sold (but you cannot request that the Court sell the property), you can sue for half of the proceeds. You must continue, however, to tender your portion of payments to cover the mortgage and expenses as required under the contract. Otherwise, you have breached the contract and may be precluded from recovering under the contract.
If the property is in the name of a legal entity that you and your partner created, you will have to look at your rights as a shareholder/member/partner of that entity to see what you can do to recover your investment or realize your profits.
In order to give you solid advise about your exact rights, more information is needed. Feel free to call me to discuss the exact details further.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
