Hi,

I bought a investment property (lot) in Florida. I have a unofficial partner who contributes 50% of all payments. However, the deed and loan is solely under my name only. The reason being, my partner has bad credit and besides he could not afford to make payments. So, I got myself into this mess with a pure intention to help him financially. He went to an attorney to get a property agreement stating that he is a co-owner of this property and that all net proceeds & expenses will be divided between me and him. However, my signature is not in the property agreement paper. Is this paper still valid?

We agreed to sell the property after a year. However after the year, I insisted on selling the property but he declined because of his greed to want more money. I told him to buy me out at that time but he did not want to because he could not. He basically took my rights away to sell this property even though the deed is in my name.

My 2nd question: Can I sell this property without his concern since the deed is in my name even though he has this property agreement stating that he is a co-owner.


Thks
Shine

A "property agreement" is not a valid agreement unless it has the signatures of all parties to the agreement. If you did not sign this property agreement then all he has is an agreement with himself.

If the deed is solely in your name then you are the sole owner. Based on the information you've provided here, you have the right to sell the property at any time. However if he can prove that he provided you with any money towards the purchase or maintenance then he will be able to sue you for his share and probably win. So if you decide to sell the property then I strongly recommend that you give him his half of the proceeds after the loan and closing costs are paid off.

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Originally Posted by shine65

Hi,

I bought a investment property (lot) in Florida. I have a unofficial partner who contributes 50% of all payments. However, the deed and loan is solely under my name only. The reason being, my partner has bad credit and besides he could not afford to make payments. So, I got myself into this mess with a pure intention to help him financially. He went to an attorney to get a property agreement stating that he is a co-owner of this property and that all net proceeds & expenses will be divided between me and him. However, my signature is not in the property agreement paper. Is this paper still valid?

We agreed to sell the property after a year. However after the year, I insisted on selling the property but he declined because of his greed to want more money. I told him to buy me out at that time but he did not want to because he could not. He basically took my rights away to sell this property even though the deed is in my name.

My 2nd question: Can I sell this property without his concern since the deed is in my name even though he has this property agreement stating that he is a co-owner.


Thks
Shine

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Thks Lisa. Yes, I definitely will give him 50% of all net proceeds but the problem is, the deed is under my name only but he has declined to sell the property 3 different times when we had an offer. I wanted to get out. So now, I have decided to sell it on my own without his approval. If I loose or gain, I want him to share 50 % of the sales after all the expenses paid off. Is there any legal issues if I were to sell the property without his approval?

Shine65

He may try to sue you to stop the sale. If he files a lis pendens against the property that will prevent you from selling. (A lis pendens is a notice to the public that there is a lawsuit about to be filed concerning the property.)

But once his lawsuit proceeds he will have a very difficult time proving that you don't have the right to sell the property. Once that issue gets resolved the lis pendens will be lifted and you can go ahead with the sale.

Thks Lisa. Appreciate your speedy response!!

My pleasure. :) Good luck!

I am in the same situation also, but no document of partnership at all, beside I can't sell the property either, because the property is way underwater. Any my partner refuse to pay her share of the mortgage. Can I sue her for the lost when the property gets sell?