Can They Force me to Sell my Lot??

[furo]

I had a builder come to my door the other day to say he's holding a meeting between himself and the homeowners on our street, to provide details on an offer he may make to us.

Here's the deal. When I bought my home, it came with a 1/4 share of the adjacent lot, right next to my home, to the left.

Here's a diagram:




Obviously, I'm in the worst position here, as I'm the one who would have to put up with construction and new property next to me if the lot does sell and is built on.

The question is, can the other three home owners to my right, all of which own 1/4 of the lot just like me, force me to sell my share?

The lot, on the deed, and when I bought the home, was sold as simply a "1/4" share, which did not have a specific outline of what part of that lot I specifically own. So in other words, there are no lines in the shared lot that cut it into specific quarters for each owner.

 

[Dakota rube]

Real estate lawyer.
Consult one.

The terms (and limits) of your ownership should've been delineated in the deed or at least in a supporting and also recorded document. You probably own a "one-fourth undivided interest" in the property which means neither you nor any of the other owners can stake out a claim to a specific piece of the lot in question.

That document should dictate how a sale agreement of the property can be reached: unanimous agreement, majority agreement, etc.

See the first two lines of my reply.

 

[Douglas]

oh, shut up rube. what's a lawyer going to do for $250/hour that we can't blindly speculate on for free?

 

[Dakota rube]

 

[Douglas]

seriously, how long did it take to draw that diagram?

longer than it would have taken to run to the file and pull out your contract?

 

[furo]



Real estate lawyer.
Consult one.
The terms (and limits) of your ownership should've been delineated in the deed or at least in a supporting and also recorded document. You probably own a "one-fourth undivided interest" in the property which means neither you nor any of the other owners can stake out a claim to a specific piece of the lot in question.
That document should dictate how a sale agreement of the property can be reached: unanimous agreement, majority agreement, etc.
See the first two lines of my reply.

So I'm not understanding why I'd need a lawyer to sort this out if it is as simple as knowing if the document says "unanimous agreement" or "majority agreement."

If it's majority agreement, I'm hosed, as the other owners could care less since it's money in their pocket and they don't have to put up with someone new moving in with construction and property next to them

Guess I'll try to find the document you're talking about, but I don't recall reading that information when I asked about it during the closing process.

 

[furo]



seriously, how long did it take to draw that diagram?
longer than it would have taken to run to the file and pull out your contract?

Took about 3 minutes, and like I said, I don't believe the terms of sale of this lot are outlined but I'll have to dig and see what I can find

 

[furo]

Well I pulled up the deed, and there's no mention of the terms of sale of that shared lot. Hopefully they can't force me to sell.

 

[Dakota rube]

^Look for a Declaration of Restrictive Covenants.
Also look for documents recorded simultaneously with your deed.

 

[mexicutioner]



Real estate lawyer.
Consult one.

+1

 

[Thomas]



oh, shut up rube. what's a lawyer going to do for $250/hour that we can't blindly speculate on for free?

you know, SF is kind of like a torrent for random bursts of intelligence / experience / insight / bullshit.

 

[Reevolving]

You post this on a CLOTHING forum? Really?

 

[Dakota rube]



You post this on a CLOTHING forum? Really?

Hey, at least its not gifs of a bear ******* on kids.

 

[sns23]

need to know what type of interest you own.

 

[mexicutioner]



You post this on a CLOTHING forum? Really?

to be fair, there seem to be a ton of lawyers on this forum.

to be realistic, none of them will (or should) help the OP.