Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Re: selling a home

You should pull together information on the value of the house, loan amount, and title. Consider buying her out as an option, especially since the real estate market is softening. Other options exist. You will need to speak with a loan officer to determine your ratios and the amount of loan that you may qualify for. The credit market is tightening so I would not delay. Contact me for assistance.

Re: selling a home

Unless you can buy out your girlfriend's interest, she could file a lawsuit known as a partition action. A court would appoint a trustee to sell the property and divide the proceeds. You should figure out how much equity you have in the property, which is the difference between what the house would sell for now on the open market, minus selling expenses (realtor commission plus transfer tax and other items), and the balance you owe on your mortgage. Since you've only owned the property for a short period of time and the market is soft now, you probably don't have much equity unless you made a large down payment. So if you have good credit you might be able to get a home equity line for enough to buy her out.

The only problem with this scenario is that her name would still be on the mortgage, making it difficult for her to get another loan. But if she's not going to be looking to purchase her own property for a while, she might go along with this.