Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: real estate,rights controlling interest

In order to sell the property you need your co-tenants consent. If he or she will not consent then you need to file a petition for partition. Money expended for repairs should be reimbursed from proceeds of the sale. However, sweat equity is not necessarily subject to reimbursement.

I would suggest you contact an attorney to discuss your options as soon as possible.

Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

Re: real estate,rights controlling interest

If your co-owner will not consent to a sale you will need to file a petition for partition in which you can request contribution for necessary expenses to prepare it for sale. But you may have difficulty recovering all your sweat equity.

Retain an attorney to explore your specific options. Good Luck!

Re: real estate,rights controlling interest

Since you own the property with others, no one person has the power to take unilateral action as to the property. In the best case scenario, everyone would sit down (perhaps with their respective attorneys) and try to craft a plan to fix up and sell the property. If this is not possible, then partition is the only reasonable alternative. A partition proceeding can be lengthy and expensive but quite often the mere threat of it can get people to do what they would not otherwise do. For details concerning the partition process, please visit my web site (www.lawfang.com) and click on my blog. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss the matter in greater detail.