What is the name of your state?Washington 2 parties own single family home, one party left state and will not reveal address and rented out the house and i need to file a partition to sell the house. can i just file the papers at the court house?
You aren't trying to convince us that its literally impossible to locate the whereabouts of the joint owner that supposedly rented out the house, or are you? Because, although it is possible, it seems highly improbable that the renter is paying you the rent money. And if not, then you must demand that he do so! That should flush out the absent owner who may have that money earmarked for his or her own personal needs.
Now touching on this business of being turned down by a "
real estate lawyer". My guess is that it was because you were unwilling and/or understandably incapable of advancing him a sizeable retainer fee. Maybe not, but I doubt that you'll find a competent lawyer willing to tackle the case without a handsome, mid-size four (4) digit amount up front.
The good side is that these lawsuits are indefensible. The opposing party or parties cannot prevent them. The bad side is that they are lengthy (months), time consuming and paper eating headaches with the results seldom satisfactory. When played out the property will end up being sold by a court appointed referee at a public auction to the highest bidder (RCW 78.52.270) with the only people showing up being a pack of vultures looking to steal it. And unless there is ample equity no one is going to bid on it and you will still remain stuck with the court cost. appraiser and referee fees. Or at best half of them.
So, what is the alternative? The other option is that you track down the absent owner and explain the facts of life; a practical assessment of which - unless he or she is willing to cut off their nose to spite their face - just might result in an agreement to get the property listed on the open market.
In the meantime what is going on with the mortgage payments? (I assume it isn't owned Scot-free.) Is the other party paying their fair share? Is the rent money being used to pay any fair share? Are you stuck with both shares? There are implications here that you should know about.
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