Owning a vacation property can be a dream come true for owners of real property. That dream can quickly devolve into a nightmare if you own that vacation home with an uncooperative co-owner, however.
Indeed, many families buy a vacation property together. However, as the years go by, relationships can become strained through life, death, divorce, personality conflicts, shared living issues, and other challenges. One common challenge is how to share the vacation property throughout the year.
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 872.210 allows a co-owner to sell co-owned property, even if the other co-owner does not consent to the sale using the legal process known as a partition action. This is true whether the property is co-owned vacation property or the parties’ primary residence.
Having a co-owned vacation property in which all co-owners are in unanimous agreement of what to do with the property is certainly the easiest situation. However, it is not uncommon for co-owners to disagree on whether to keep or sell a vacation property.
A common scenario is when one party wants to sell while the other wants to keep the vacation property. So, does a co-owner who wants to sell a property need the consent of the other co-owner? The short answer is no – California courts have established that consent by co-owners is not required to force the sale of a vacation property because the right to partition is absolute.
Miller & Starr, the leading California real estate law treatise, explains that “each cotenant has an ‘absolute’ right to partition the common property.” Right of partition—In general, 4 Cal. Real Est. (4th ed.) § 11:14.
A vacation property can pose unique complications in the partition process. Contacting an experienced partition attorney can help.
Talkov Law’s Partition Attorneys Can Help
If you want to end your co-ownership relationship, but your co-owner won’t agree, a partition action is your only option. With six, full time partition lawyers, Talkov Law is the #1 law firm for partition actions in California. Our expertise is in ending co-ownership disputes and we’ve mastered efficiency in forcing the sale of jointly owned property. This is why we can offer you unbeatable prices without compromising on quality. Most importantly, we have developed techniques to end your co-ownership disputes faster – usually within just 3 to 9 months.
Best of all, we can help you unlock the equity in your property with no retainer and no monthly billing for qualified cases. Our normal hourly rates will be paid when we succeed at getting your property sold, putting money in your pocket! For a free, 15-minute consultation with an experienced partition attorney at Talkov Law, call (844) 4-TALKOV (825568), email us at info(at)talkovlaw.com, or fill out a contact form online.