Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Re: Joint Ownership of House

You can do that if you can find a third party who is willing to buy. That may be hard unless you are willing to take a substantial discount even below what you think is the market value.

What frequently happens when one owner wants to sell and the other does not is a suit for partition. Contrary to its name, a partition action is not about dividing the property; it is a suit to have the property sold and then the proceeds divided. If one party does not want to sell, they have the choice of either settling the suit before a judgment or bidding in what they think is half the value at the sale (plus costs of sale). Settlement before a sale is the usual result because it is most economical.

What a buyer would likely do is to sue your sister for partition. So, the buyer would have to reduce the price paid to you by the costs of suit plus an discount for the risk and trouble involved.

It is also possible that you can sell your half interest to your sister for what you think it is worth. If you do that, use caution and be sure to involve your lawyer in the transation. If you don't do this correctly, you could wind up with nothing.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm