Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Re: property

It depends on what you agreed on when you bought the house.

It would have been best to have a co-owners' agreement to start, so that interests and obligations would be clearly defined.

You should consult with a local real estate lawyer, who could review all of the documents relating to purchase and financing of the home and advise you of your options.

The most economical and quickest resolution is to have one of you buy out the other for the net value of the property, taking into consideration the amount left on your mortgage and how much each of you put in to buy it and to pay down the mortgage and other house expenses until now. The payment to buy out the other's interest may be financed by refinancing your existing mortgage. At the refinance closing, you will also record the deed from the person who is selling to the other.

The hard way to resolve co-ownership when you are separating is to file a Partition action, for which you will need assistance of a lawyer, and will probably result in a court-ordered sale. There will be heavy legal fees, Realtor commissions and other closing costs, that will probably eat up any equity you have in the house. The lawyer fees will have to be paid up front and as you go through the law suit. The Realtor commission and closing costs may be paid at settlement on the sale of the property, but by that time, you may not realize enough to pay off the mortgage and other closing costs.

You should consult with a real estate lawyer in your county to help with documenting the buy-out agreement, the transfer of title and the refinancing.