Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio
Property Dispute
My girlfriend and I bought a house together. We had only been together a few months.The house mortgage and deed are in both our names (I am the primary on the mortgage). About December of last year our relationship soured and I was kicked out of the house. I moved to an apartment and stopped making mortgage payments in December 2002.
In the last 6 months, My now girlfriend has been making regular payments on the house. In recent weeks she has told me she is moving out of the residence to move back home to Western Ohio. The house is up for sale, (She made most of the downpayment on the house) She has also told me she expects me to make 1/2 the payments on the Mortgage when she leaves in July. In addition she feels I am not entitled to half of any profit on the house since she put down most of the money for it. My questions are this:
1.) Am I still leagally responsible to make payments on the house if I am not living there and was kicked out?
2.) Am I leagally entitled to half the profits on the house since the residence is in both our names and the mortgage as well.
3.) Can she sue me for either non-payment of the mortgage or for her downpayment on the house if/when it sells?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Property Dispute
To answer your questions, (1) Yes, the mortgage company doesn't care if you ever lived there; you signed a contract to pay back the money you borrowed. (2) No, you are only entitled to a share of any profit on the sale in proportion to the amount you contributed to the down payment. Thus if you contributed 25% of the down payment, then you are entitled to 25% of any profit. You would also be entitled to a share of the equity in proportion to your contributions toward the mortgage payments. (3) Yes and no, if the two of you had an agreement to split the mortgage payment in some manner, then yes she can recover from you. She would have no reason to sue you for the down payment, as you are not in possession of those funds.
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