Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Stop Expenses

We are joint tenants with brother and wife for a lake home. They have controling issues so we have decided to let them buy us out of it. They are dragging their feet to get this done but are continuing to tell us we have to pay all expenses past present and future etc until this deal is finished. They have remodeled the cabin to be all theirs already and are making it so stressful that we have not gone there. We asked to split our weekends but they refused to do that too. Knowing we will not go there if they are there. What can we do so we do not have to keep paying these charges for a cabin we dont even use anymore? Would you recommend legal counsel to help represent us? What could an attorney do for us? We want to get out of this but feel we are getting screwed over the whole thing. They did not offer to us what we bought it for only 5 months ago so we will also be walking away with a mortgage payment. We also had an allowance from the sellers to fix the roof which our half of that was given to our co tenants but now they want to deduct that again too. Please help me with some kind of advice I just dont know what to do?


Asked on 3/12/08, 11:23 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Dutcher Law Office of Scott M. Dutcher, LLC

Re: Stop Expenses

You're in a bit of a tight spot. As long as you are owner of the lake home, you will need to pay for expenses like taxes and some minimal utilities. If you don't do that your brother and his wife can demand reimbursement. If your brother is asking for compensation for the remodel of the cabin, you are not required to pay for that unless the improvements were reasonably necessary to make the building usable.

Your best option is to close the sale as quickly as possible. Afterwards, you will not be responsible for any expenses. You can always sell your interest to a third-party, but that would be quite difficult considering your brother would still own an interest in the property.

Your other option is to begin using the property as much as possible. As owner, you have a right to use it as much as your brother.

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Answered on 3/12/08, 11:36 am
Joel Hilgendorf Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLC

Re: Stop Expenses

You should negotiate an agreement that includes the value of your respective interests and obligations (frozen as of the agreement) and a deadline for the buyout. If the deadline is missed, you have the option to sell the cabin on the open market. The agreement should be memorialized by an attorney. If they refuse to negotiate these terms, you can force a sale through a court partition lawsuit.

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Answered on 3/12/08, 11:40 am


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