Q: can my ex fiance force a buyout if her name is on the deed but i am on the deed and mortgage.

A: Yes, your ex-fiancée could institute a partition action to force a sale. This is one example of the actions that could force a sale.

A: Your changed relationship status has no bearing on property ownership and what actions may be taken. Your ex-fiance may petition a court for sale of the house; she may need to do so at some point to qualify for a future mortgage of her own. She could also show back up at your door with a U-Haul saying she wants the master bedroom to herself as you are now roommates.

You should also want to get her name off the deed sooner rather than later for your own personal benefit and liability reasons. While her name remains on the deed, you two remain legally tied together at least as to the house. A future marriage partner may not be so keen on having a former lover having some say in things going forward. If a divorce were to happen, it would be her's, her's, and your's. And then there is the unexpected worst-case scenario: you and your ex both move on with life peacefully. You think she's out of your hair for good until one day you receive mail that a lein has been placed on your house for debt your ex fiance accrued either intentionally or by accident.

There are legal answers, but here's some practical advice that will probably best serve your long-term interest: take the current market value of your house and subtract your mortgage balance. Add her down payment, and subtract the mortgage payments you've made. Offer to write her a check for a number between those two figures in exchange for a quit claim deed. You may end up paying some more than what a true equitable split is, but you'll be saving an appraisal fee, and attorney fees for attorneys to itemize every nut, bolt, and receipt each of you has related to the house, and crunch the numbers for you.

Housing values are likely only going to keep going up and so while you can continue as you are - paying the mortgage and living as you are - eventually you're going to need to do this work, and your ex-fiance's piece of the pie is only going to get larger. So long as her name is on the deed, she will be entitled to a share of the equity eventually. Consider this "stupid tax"; pay it now, not later. Borrow the money if you have to. Don't buy property with someone you are not already married to or in a business relationship with a written agreement in place.