Joint Tenancy disaster - removing joint owner

[jnwaco]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I purchase a house with my ex-wife. We were not married at the time and decided to try and work things out. The divorce had been final for 3 years prior to the purchase of the home.

We broke up and she moved out. I paid the down payment and have paid every monthly mortgage payment since we bought the house. She made no improvements and made no payments.

I wish to put in a swimming pool and have been approved for a loan. Before I can close on the loan, I need to remove her from the deed. Initially she asked me for money for her interest, even though she never paid a dime towards the home. Currently there is likely to be no equity in the home, so the value of her half would be zero anyway (as it's torn up and under construction). I have made improvements to the house since she left, to the tune of about $10,000. She paid for none of this. After some heated discussion, she e-mailed me and said that she didn't want any money and just wanted to get her name off the deed and be done with me (thank God). "Consideration" on my part was money paid for her car and cell phone after we broke up, as she acknowledged in her latest e-mail. I agreed and had a lawyer here draft a general warranty deed.

She agreed to come sign it today, but then "changed her mind" and had me fax it to a number that "was closer to where she works". BS. It was an attorney's office, as I later found out. I have no idea if her attorney is reviewing it, planning a lawsuit of some sort, plotting my demise, or just stalling to piss me off. I suspect the latter.

What can I do to speed up the process? What is my exposure to some sort of suit? Can I forcibly remove her from the tenancy?

My gut tells me she can take as long as she wants letting her attorney "review" the two page warranty deed just to make my life miserable and that there is nothing I can do about this. This will cause me to have to reapply for a pool loan at a later date, delay construction of the pool, etc., as she will not sign any papers whatsoever relating to the pool (which is good, I don't want her owning half of it, either, I suppose).

[tranquility]

You are making an offer to buy her 1/2 of the property. There is no way you can force this issue.

The only way to force her off title is through a partition lawsuit where the court will sell the property and divide the proceeds accordingly.

[jnwaco]

Originally Posted by tranquility

You are making an offer to buy her 1/2 of the property. There is no way you can force this issue.

The only way to force her off title is through a partition lawsuit where the court will sell the property and divide the proceeds accordingly.

Well, selling the house isn't really an option at this point. So she could basically screw me forever and there's nothing I can do but sell the house? I will not be able to make any major improvements with her on the deed. It seems like there is something wrong with that.

Can I put a lien on her half of the house for half of the improvements I've made? What about liens on other of her assets?

[moburkes]

No one is screwing you. This what happens when you purchase a house with another person. Yes, she can take her time. You can make improvements. You just can't get another mortgage to pay for them.

[tranquility]

Well, selling the house isn't really an option at this point. So she could basically screw me forever and there's nothing I can do but sell the house?

Since the house is 1/2 hers, anything she does screws you both equally. Only because you want things differently from the way she wants them does it hurt you more.

Can I put a lien on her half of the house for half of the improvements I've made? What about liens on other of her assets?

Do not even consider liens as you will be subject to a lawsuit for abuse of process. In reality, any money you put into the house so far may very well have 1/2 be considered a gift to her.

Jump through her hoops, sue for partition or walk away--those are your choices. You might want to consider severing the joint tenancy and own as tenants in common.