Jamestown, NY asked in Real Estate Law for New York

Q: Two borrowers (not married) on a Joint Mortgage - one moves out, other stays

Two borrowers on a Joint Mortgage (since 2016) - one borrower moves out over a year ago, other borrower stays in the house with their own kids. The borrower that moved out is now telling the borrower who still lives in the property, that they want to either get "paid their portion of the house" if the house is not going to be put up for sale or go to court to force the house to be put up for sale, because they want money. What legally can be done in this situation? If someone who is legally the borrower on the home and paying all the bills and has been by themselves for over a year & has their kids with them (so it's their family home), can they really be forced to move out and put the house up for sale? Or they will be forced to pay thousands of dollars out of their pocket, as a single mom, to the other borrower to be able to keep the home?

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3 Lawyer Answers
Elaine Shay
PREMIUM
Elaine Shay
Answered
  • New York, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: When co-owners of a property disagree about the use of property or payment of expenses, either party may commence a partition case to force a sale of the property. Whether one of the owners has children or is a single parent is not determinative of their rights.

Peter Klose , Steven Warren Smollens and Tim Akpinar agree with this answer

Carl Nelson
Carl Nelson
Answered

A: You've only used the term"borrower," which is distinct from any ownership interest in property, but because you refer to being on a mortgage, I would assume you both have an ownership interest. In that respect, it is possible for one co-owner of a piece of property to seek to partition a piece of real property in New York. If this is not possible, which it rarely would be for residential property, the property may be sold with the profits being distributed according to each party's ownership interest. You would be entitled to an accounting of the amounts paid on the mortgage, etc. and could also use that as a bargaining chip in trying to negotiate a settlement to avoid a sale.

Tim Akpinar and Steven Warren Smollens agree with this answer

1 user found this answer helpful

Steven Warren Smollens
Steven Warren Smollens
Answered
  • New York, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: One owner can force a partition action in Supreme Court.

Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer

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