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madlilwon · Aug 14, 2008, 10:53 PM

I own a house with my ex boyfriend. He left the relationship, the house (left on his own accord), moved away to another state and stopped paying anything for the house payment and HOA fees for the past 3 months. Technically, he has abandoned the property. The deed is Joint Tennants with Right of Survivorship. Each of us has a 50% interest/ownership. The loan is a Joint Loan. Can I sue him for a quit claim deed since he has stopped paying? Is there an amount of time that must go by before I can get him off the deed? I can't refinance because the equity in the house is less than what the loan balance is at this time.

rockinmommy · Aug 15, 2008, 05:44 AM

Originally Posted by madlilwon

I own a house with my ex boyfriend. He left the relationship, the house (left on his own accord), moved away to another state and stopped paying anything for the house payment and HOA fees for the past 3 months. Technically, he has abandoned the property. The deed is Joint Tennants with Right of Survivorship. Each of us has a 50% interest/ownership. The loan is a Joint Loan. Can I sue him for a quit claim deed since he has stopped paying? Is there an amount of time that must go by before I can get him off of the deed? I can't refinance because the equity in the house is less than what the loan balance is at this time.

Have you talked to the mortgage company? They are going to expect their full payment every month, as I'm sure you realize. Is the loan current, or has it fallen behind?

If it's current a quit claim deed might work. The catch is that technically, that's considered a change of ownership and the lender could call the note due under the due on sale clause. Chances are they won't if the loan is current, but just know that they COULD.

I would definitely recommend an attorney to navigate this.

ScottGem · Aug 15, 2008, 06:07 AM

You can sue him for his share of the payments. But I don't think you can get him off the deed unless you can refinance.

madlilwon · Aug 15, 2008, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by madlilwon

I own a house with my ex boyfriend. He left the relationship, the house (left on his own accord), moved away to another state and stopped paying anything for the house payment and HOA fees for the past 3 months. Technically, he has abandoned the property. The deed is Joint Tennants with Right of Survivorship. Each of us has a 50% interest/ownership. The loan is a Joint Loan. Can I sue him for a quit claim deed since he has stopped paying? Is there an amount of time that must go by before I can get him off of the deed? I can't refinance because the equity in the house is less than what the loan balance is at this time.

Yeah, I begged the bank to help me refi BUT the bank doesn't care as long as they get paid in full. I have kept the loan current by myself but the payment amount is over 2/3s of my monthly income so, I have had to really sacrifice to hold on and pay all of my bills. The bank won't let me refi because 2 borrowers is better than 1. I'd have to find a co-borrower to replace him in order to refi but right now, they won't even help me refi because we bought the house in 2005 and now we owe more than the house is worth. The refi is separate from the deed though, and I want him off the deed. I couldn't care less if he remains on the loan for now, he is taking advantage of improved credit on my dime.

Fr_Chuck · Aug 15, 2008, 07:55 PM

While you can try to sue for it, it is very possible that you will have to work out a buy out of his share This is one of the problems of joint ownerships without some buyout agreement ahead of time.

Talk to a attorney to find out your rights

ScottGem · Aug 16, 2008, 05:53 PM

But if you change the deed, the bank can call the loan.