How to Take Action Against the Co‐Owner of Your Property

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methods

1Buying Out the Other Owner

2Dividing the Property

3Using Adverse Possession

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You may have happily and voluntarily become co-owners of real estate with someone else, but now your relationship has become fraught and untenable – whether for personal reasons or because you each have different ideas of what should be done with the property you co-own. It also may be that the relationship was tense from the beginning, when you jointly inherited land with a relative you don't like. You have several options if you want to take action against the co-owner of your property, each of which has its own pros and cons.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Buying Out the Other Owner

1. 
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   Get an appraisal of the property. Before you talk to the other owner about the possibility of buying them out, you need to have a good idea of what the property is worth so you can quantify their ownership interest in the property.

   • Even if the property has previously been appraised, you typically want to get a new appraisal if the other one is several years old.
   • You may want to raise the issue with the other owner so they are at least aware that you are getting the property appraised and have the opportunity to hire their own appraiser to provide a second opinion.
2. 
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   Consult a real estate professional. It's a good idea to talk to an attorney or real estate broker before you start negotiating with the other owner so you can be sure that the exchange is conducted properly and any agreement entered satisfies legal requirements.

   • A real estate broker can give you insight into the potential market for the property – which may differ from its appraised value – and the key positives and negatives of it, from a real estate standpoint.
   • An experienced real estate attorney will be able to assess your legal options and let you know what steps you should take to resolve the dispute between you and the co-owner.
   • These professionals also may be able to give you other information depending on the differences between you and the co-owner.
   • For example, if you and the co-owner are at odds because the co-owner wants to develop the property and you do not, an attorney could advise you on zoning restrictions in the area that would make development expensive if not impossible.
3. 
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   Negotiate a price. You must sit down with the co-owner and any professionals hired to discuss the overall value of the property and the value of their interest in the property. Together you can work out a deal to buy them out.

   • You may want to suggest using a mediator if communications between you and the co-owner of your property are particularly tense. In most cases, the mediator goes back and forth between the two parties and they spend little time involved in face-to-face negotiations.
   • If you are able to sit down with the co-owner and discuss the situation in a civilized, professional manner, do your best to briefly summarize the dispute and the facts that have led to your decision to buy them out.
   • Sticking to the facts, describe the points that led to the valuation of the co-owner's interest in the property.
   • Present the appraisal and make an offer. Don't start with the maximum amount you're willing to pay the co-owner, because this will leave no room to negotiate.
   • At the same time, you don't want your initial offer to be so low that the co-owner is insulted.
4. 
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   Draft a written agreement. Any sell or transfer of an ownership interest in real property must be in writing to have any legal effect. If you hired an attorney or broker, they may draft the agreement for you.

   • The written agreement must identify the property specifically and indicate the ownership interest that is being transferred. Use the property description set out in the deed.
   • If you haven't been working with a professional up to this point, you may want to consider hiring someone to draft the agreement so you know it covers everything it needs to cover and will be legally enforceable.
   • Keep in mind that presumably, if you are buying out the other owner, a significant amount of money is changing hands. Protect that investment by making sure the written agreement is done right and the former co-owner can't cause you problems in the future.
5. 
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   Sign and record your written agreement. To finalize the ownership transfer, both you and the co-owner must sign the agreement using the procedure required by your state's property law, then record the document with the county recorder of the county where the property is located.

   • Typically both you and the co-owner must sign the documents in the presence of a notary public or other witnesses. The county clerk will have information on the required signing process.
   • One the agreement is signed, make two copies of it so both you and the co-owner have a copy for your records. If the agreement was notarized, you may want to sign three copies so they are all originals with the raised stamp of the notary.
   • Keep in mind that you will have to pay a small fee – typically under $100 – to have the agreement recorded.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Dividing the Property

1. 
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   Talk to the co-owner. The law provides two types of property division or "partition" – a voluntary partition, in which both co-owners agree to divide the property, or a compulsory partition, in which a judge orders the property divided.

   • Depending on how tense relations are between you and the other owner, they may not be willing to divide the property. However, when faced with the prospect of a lawsuit they may be more willing to compromise.
   • Send the other owner a written letter letting them know that you want to partition the property and would prefer to present a voluntary petition to the court.
   • Voluntary petitions typically are approved by judges, while compulsory partitions are much more difficult to obtain and may require significant time and expense on both sides.
   • Keep in mind that partition does not have to be 50/50. For example, suppose the co-owner is your brother, and the two of you inherited your parents' property. Your brother wants to build a strip mall on part of the several acres of land, while you want to keep your parents home and yard intact.
   • In that situation, you may be able to offer your brother a smaller portion of the land on which to develop the retail stores while still maintaining a significant buffer between the commercial property and the house for the sake of privacy and security.
2. 
   2
   Propose mediation. Particularly if you and the other owner don't get along very well or have trouble communicating, a neutral third-party mediator may be able to facilitate a discussion that leads to a voluntary partition of the property.

   • You typically can find community mediation services that will conduct a mediation session at a relatively low fee, which can make mediation financially preferable to a lawsuit.
   • Since it is non-adversarial, mediation can be especially valuable if the co-owner is someone with whom you want to continue a relationship after the property dispute is settled.
   • Mediation also gives you the benefit of control. You and the other owner can decide how best to divide the property will accounting for any expenses either of you have made to maintain or improve it.
   • If you do reach an agreement through mediation, make sure it is put into writing and signed by both of you. That agreement also may need to be notarized and recorded with the county recorder where the property is located.
3. 
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   Consult an attorney. If you need to file a lawsuit for compulsory partition of the property, you should hire an experienced real estate lawyer to help you navigate the process and ensure that the transaction is completed as smoothly as possible.

   • There may be court-ordered conditions attached to the compulsory partition of the property. An attorney can predict these as well as provide advice on how to avoid them.
   • While you have an absolute right to a partition of property, you don't necessarily have the right to dictate how the property is divided, and a compulsory partition may result in a forced sale of the property.
   • If you prefer for there to be a partition in kind, in which you retain full ownership in a portion of the property and the other owner owns the rest of it, an attorney can help express this preference.
4. 
   4
   File your lawsuit. You must file a complaint or petition with the clerk of the court in the county where the property is located to initiate your lawsuit. This document asks the judge to split the property between you and the co-owner, and typically must be filed whether the petition is voluntary or compulsory.

   • Keep in mind that will you can request the property be divided in a particular way, the judge has discretion to divide the property as he or she sees fit to account for any expenditures made by either of the co-owners.
   • You will have to pay filing fees when you file your lawsuit, typically a few hundred dollars.
   • Once your petition is filed, the clerk typically issues a notice that will be recorded at the county recorder's office. This notice lets anyone with an interest in the property know that the property is currently the subject of a partition proceeding.
   • You also must have the other owner served with a copy of your petition and a summons to appear in court.
5. 
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   Wait for a response. After you file your petition, the other owner has a brief period of time to file an answer or other response with the clerk of the court indicating whether they agree with the partition of the property.

   • In cases where you've filed a petition for voluntary partition, this process may be much simpler. Typically you don't have to wait for a response from the other owner, and you may not even have to appear in court.
   • If the other owner decides not to fight the partition, they may not respond. On the other hand, they may prefer a different division of the property and file a response indicating their preference.
   • There also is a chance that the other owner will object to the property being partitioned. Your case will be more difficult in this situation and may result in forced sale of the property.
   • If a judge's decision is required, you both must appear in court with your attorneys and argue for or against the partition of the property.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Adverse Possession

1. 
   1
   Research your state's law. The requirements to oust a property owner through adverse possession are different from state to state, and typically are more difficult if you are trying to oust a co-owner of the property.

   • Generally, you must maintain actual and exclusive possession of the property. This possession must be "open and notorious," a legal phrase that essentially means everybody knows you and you alone possess the property.
   • Your possession must be hostile or adverse to the other owner, which typically means you've kept them from coming onto the property or refused to allow them to use it.
   • You also must pay all property taxes on the property as long as you are in possession of it.
2. 
   2
   Physically exclude the other owner. You cannot claim adverse possession if the other owner still has access to the property, so you must take action against them by changing locks, building a fence, or otherwise keeping them from the property.

   • Denial of title to the property – such as refusing to put the other owner's name on the deed – is another way to accomplish exclusion of the other owner from the property for the purposes of adverse possession.
   • Denial of title typically makes more sense if the other owner lives far away from the property and seldom visits the area.
3. 
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   Send written notice of your intent. You can bolster your adverse possession claim by sending the co-owner written notice that you intend to take complete ownership of the property by adverse possession.

   • Keep in mind that sending written notice may be inviting a lawsuit. However, the purpose of adverse possession law follows the purpose of statutes of limitations, in that after a significant period of time has passed claims are more difficult to prove.
   • Just as with a statute of limitations you lose your right to file a claim after a certain period of time has passed, if the co-owner allows you to maintain adverse possession of the property for many years without doing anything to assert their rights, the property becomes yours.
4. 
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   Remain on the property. Adverse possession runs in tandem with statutes of limitation in each state, but typically you must maintain complete possession of the property for several years before you can get rid of the other owner.

   • The length of time you must continuously maintain possession (and exclude the other owner in the process) varies greatly from state to state.
   • In some states you only have to maintain adverse possession for three to five years, while other states require at least 10 years.
   • After that period of time has elapsed, the other owner no longer has any legal right to the property.
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