I Want Out!!!

[marche]

New York

My cousin, his fiance, and I own a property in New York.

I have since married and moved to Pennsylvania. Prior to buying the home together, it was agreed upon that I would eventually move out and rent my portion of the property. This has not worked out as my cousin and his fiance have run into difficulties with every tenant I've rented my part of the house to. The apartment (my portion of the house) has remained vacant since May. He is outwardly rude to prospective tenants and real estate agents and no one will rent the apartment because quite frankly, they are intimidated by his attitude.

As a result, I've spoken to an attorney and I was planning file a partition action. Suddenly, my cousin states he agrees to sell the house. My instinct tells me that he is not going to be as cooperative as he projects, and is verbally agreeing to sell the property to get my attorney to back off.

Furthermore, my cousin's portion of the house has completely deteriorated, whereas my portion of the house is completely refurbished.

That being said, I have some questions, and hope someone here can assist.

1. Do I have any recourse if my cousin is uncooperative in showing the house?

2. Because of to the vast difference of my cousin's portion of the house and mine, is it possible for me to recouperate my financial losses due to a lowered property value? He has started renovations and not completed his projects. Example: The subfloor in the kitchen remains exposed, he ran out of money and didn't lay new tiles. His bathroom needs complete renovations.

3. Should I proceed to sell and try to follow through without taking legal action, or should I tell the attorney to follow through with the partition action?

4. What exactly is a partition action? How long does it take? I've been paying two mortgages since the apartment became vacant and my wallet is getting thinner and thinner.