Expert: Sue Bernstein - 10/11/2008

Question
Hello. I made a tragic mistake last year and bought a home with a boyfriend(of 10 years). We have now split and the mortgage as well as the title is in both our names. as you know, the market is not on our side. We now owe more than it is worth and he may not have the money to buy me out. What are my options if any? Is forcing the sale an option?

Answer
Rachel,

In order to sell a property all persons on title have to agree.  You can try selling the house as a short sale(getting the bank to agree to take less than mortgage) or better yet, you can look into renting out the house until the market improves.  Perhaps he can buy you out with payments over time. This is something you need to sit down with him and figure out.  Ideally, you should try to hold onto the house and wait out the bad market but you have to see what you are capable of handling.

Hope this helps.

Sue Bernstein