Do I owe any money from the sell of a house to a person who has abandoned the property?
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Do I owe any money from the sell of a house to a person who has abandoned the property?
I bought a house 10 years ago with a girlfriend. She left a year later and stopped paying anything towards the mortgage. The cops ordered her removed and banned from property. The house is now for sale and she wants money from it. I cannot sell the house without her signature because she is on
the note. Is there any legal stance on getting her removed from the note and/or is she entitled to any profit from the sale?
Asked on August 25, 2017 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
There is no legal obligation that a person live at property to be entitled to a share of the proceeds from selling it. If she is an owner of the property (e.g. on title or deed), she is entitled to a share of the money. There are grounds, if she has not been paying the mortgage, taxes, or other expenses, to reduce her share and give you more of the proceeds to compensate you for having paid more to support the property. For example, if the property is worth $300k and you paid $100k more than her for it over the years and there is $80k remaining in a mortgage, if you and she were to litigate over the payment, a court might first order the mortgage be paid, leaving $220k; then give you $100k to compensate you for all the expenses you paid alone, leaving $120k; then split the $120k between you, $60k to each--you would net out to $160k from the sale, she to $60k. But she would almost always, were this to go to court, get something. So working out some voluntary buyout, reflecting (more or less) your greater contributions, is the right way to go.
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