Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

joint ownership

my boyfriend owns a house with an old friend, unfortunatly their friendship went sour. the house was bought when my boyfriend was 19, and his old friend was almost 30. my boyfriend has non of the paper work for the house and he no longer wants the house but the other owner is refusing to sell and has no means of buying him out. my boyfriend is at the point that he will let the house forclose, any information as to what he could do? i would really hate to see him ruin his credit.


Asked on 9/14/07, 11:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Chad Johnson Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLC

Re: joint ownership

Negotiation with the other owner is the most cost-effective means for dealing with the issue, but without knowing the financial circumstances of the situation (property value, mortgage balance(s) and income/assets of the parties), it is difficult to predict the success of negotiation.

The legal remedy is partition. One of the owners may commence a lawsuit to request that the court partition (split) the property between the two owners. In a single-family residence, it is often impractical to split the property into two, and the court may order that one party buy the other out. If this is not possible, the court may order that the property be sold and the net proceeds be divided between the two owners according to their respective ownership percentages.

Read more
Answered on 9/14/07, 12:07 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Minnesota