When people own real estate together, it can sometimes lead to conflicts. One of the most common issues is when one person wants to sell the real estate and the other does not.
Technically, in many joint ownership situations, cooperation is necessary. If two people own a home together, one person can’t simply sell the house without the consent of the other party. So what happens if the other person refuses to sell?
Using a partition action
In some cases, people have to go to court and ask for a partition action. This is a legal action the court can take to divide the property. Once this has been done, the former co-owners each own a portion of the property, which they can sell or keep as they wish.
For instance, say that two siblings inherit a commercial property from their father as part of his will. At first, they rent out the retail spaces and see it as a source of income. But the value goes up, and one sibling wants to sell, while the other wants to continue renting out retail spaces.
By using a partition action, the ownership of the property could be divided in half. The sibling who wants to continue renting gets to keep half of the property and can keep using it as they wish, while the other sibling is free to sell their share to a third party so that they can get their money out of the real estate, viewing it as a valuable asset.
Partition actions are just one potential solution to real estate conflict. It’s very important to understand all the legal options you have.
