Hi all, I have a unique situation and I’m wondering if anyone has been through this.
I’m currently in the middle of a divorce, and three people are on the deed to our house—myself, my soon-to-be ex-wife, and my father. Each of us owns 33.3% of the house. The house is worth around $825k, and we have a mortgage balance of $192k.
It’s a two-family house. I live downstairs with my 19 and 16-year-old kids, and my father lives upstairs.
Now, my ex-wife is asking for $211k for a buyout, but I can only afford to offer $125k. My question is: What could be the outcome here? Since my father isn’t part of the divorce, I assume they can’t force the sale of the house, right? I don’t want to displace my kids or my father.
Has anyone been through something similar, or does anyone have advice on how to approach this situation? I’m open to legal or financial strategies that might help.
This situation is quite common. Did your father help with money or sign on the house to get a better interest rate? If you live in a community property state, things can get tricky. Your father may need to answer questions during the legal process, and there’s no guarantee that ownership would be split 1/3 each. It might be better to negotiate a set amount instead of a percentage.
It’s a bit odd because, while married, you can’t sell the house without your dad’s involvement. But if it goes to court, a judge could order the sale.
Yes the 1/3rd owner can force the sale of the house. It sounds as if there’s plenty of equity in the house. You and your father take a HELOC on it and pay her out her share of the equity.
Do you have custody of the children, assuming she is their mother? If you do, shouldn’t she be paying child support for the younger child? You might want to negotiate delaying the sale of the house until the younger child turns 18 or finishes high school. While it’s not a long time, it would give you and your father a few years to save up enough money to buy her share of the house.
She can definitely force the sale of the property. Any joint ownership can be divided, and a court can order the sale. Since you and your father will need to refinance the mortgage anyway, I suggest finding another asset, like a retirement account or other property, or working out a financing plan with your father (using a different percentage split). This would help you make a fair payment to your ex.
It can get very costly if handled poorly, so make sure you have a good lawyer who is assertively protecting your and your kids’ interests and ensuring everything is done correctly.
You should research “tenants in common” and partition action in your state. If you and your father can’t buy your spouse out, they may be able to force you to sell. Then consult a lawyer.