It can be a good decision to jointly own real estate with another person or even multiple people. You can share the expenses for maintenance, qualify for more financing and have the support of a co-owner for property repairs, unexpected expenses and lawn care.
Some people purchase a home with a sibling or friend, while others obtain joint ownership because of an inheritance. Whether you still own a house that you bought with your college roommate or inherited your grandmother’s run-down house to share with all of your siblings, a time may come when you and the other owners of the property disagree about what to do with it.
Typically, everyone on title for the property (and possibly their spouses) will need to approve the sale of the property. The other owners may not want to sell the property when you do. Filing a partition action can be a solution for those no longer in agreement with their co-owners about what to do with a property.
What is a partition action?
Regardless of whether you want to wash your hands of your responsibility for the property or need a financial boost, you may want to sell the property while the other owners would prefer to keep it. Initiating a partition action can help you sever joint ownership arrangements if the other owners won’t consent to sell the property.
A Florida partition action is a civil lawsuit that seeks to sever joint ownership arrangements. A judge will review the records of your ownership and the details of the property before potentially helping you end joint ownership arrangements. There are multiple ways that a judge could achieve this outcome.
They could order the other owners to buy you out of the property. They could order the sale of the property and allow you and your co-owners to split the proceeds. They could also divide the property into separate parcels in scenarios involving unimproved acreage rather than houses.
Going to court to force a change of ownership will potentially do damage to your relationship with the co-owner, especially if they resent the outcome of the court case. However, the alternative might be remaining perpetually trapped in the financial and maintenance responsibilities that come from the property and missing the best opportunity to sell.
Learning more about how Florida real estate laws protect you will make it easier to resolve disputes with your co-owners.