My house co-owner has refused to pay any more of the mortgage

[Mar]

I bought a house with a friend of mine a year ago and he has just become a total dick. So much so that I haven't lived in the house for the past 4 months because I can't take the harassment I get on a daily basis, my things thrown out the door and piles of dirt swept into my areas of the house. Now he tells me his plan is to simply stop paying the mortgage so that:
a) I pay it and he lives here for free
b) nobody pays it and the bank takes it so he's finally free of this situation

He has missed 2 mortgage payments already and hasn't paid any of the bills in over a month. I'm not into messing with his property but without wasting my money on a lawyer, does anyone have any suggestions for getting rid of this freeloader?

[dj_rice]

I have a friend who can take care of this situation for you. I'll PM you a meeting location.




But on the real, shitty deal, I would never even consider buying a house with a family member let alone a friend.

[Kloubek]

Wow. See... this is how buying a house with a friend can turn sideways.

I just wanted to throw that in there. I honestly don't know what to do in your situation. I'm sure there must be legal recourse, but it'll get messy. A lawyer is not required if you use small claims.

But with that said, I would consult a lawyer about the situation. They will often give you the initial consult for free.

[Rarasaurus]

Sell the house if you dont take too much of a hit?

[Weapon_R]

You can't use small claims to get out of this crappy situation. You will need to petition the court for an order for sale, or a partition order. The first will require you to list the home for sale and force the other guy to acquiesce to the sale, while the second will permit you (or him) to buy the other one out for the amount of (half) the equity in the home.

Either way, a lawyer is strongly recommended. You can also ask the court to take into account the months he hasn't paid and see if they will credit you for them.

[t-im]

Originally posted by Rarasaurus
Sell the house if you dont take too much of a hit?

It will be tough/nearly impossible to sell if the other part-owner of the house isn't exactly cooperative.

Lawyer up. Good luck!

[JfuckinC]

If you get a lawyer might as well smash his face in and get good use out of it.

[Dilmah]

Bust him up...
Lawyer up and see how they can help...
Or, be a bigger dick to him. Does he make more money then you? If so tell him you're going to start claiming a gay relationship with him and under the interdependent relationship act you're going to take him to court for abuse and he'll be paying support to you and paying the mortgage... Just a thought.
I like the idea of smashing his face in and dumping him out of town, if he comes back uncoopertive then do it again. That's a joke...

[jonnycat]

So he's cool with destroying his credit to screw you over!?

You're living elsewhere and still making payments on utilities? Are they in your name? If so turn it all off. But still, get a lawyer asap.

[Mar]

Originally posted by jonnycat
So he's cool with destroying his credit to screw you over!?

You're living elsewhere and still making payments on utilities? Are they in your name? If so turn it all off. But still, get a lawyer asap.

I've already thought about turning off the utilities, I'll probably do that in a week or so. Want to give some notice first so I don't look like a dick.

How much does a lawyer usually cost to go through this whole process? I don't really want to pay $3000 when I could just sell the house and maybe lose less than that. But owning it for a year means I'm pretty much out money anyway if I sell it. Probably 95% of my payments are on interest.

[project240]

Originally posted by Mar
I've already thought about turning off the utilities, I'll probably do that in a week or so. Want to give some notice first so I don't look like a dick.

How much does a lawyer usually cost to go through this whole process? I don't really want to pay $3000 when I could just sell the house and maybe lose less than that. But owning it for a year means I'm pretty much out money anyway if I sell it. Probably 95% of my payments are on interest.

Pretty sure you're going to lose more than 3K selling right now...

[bubbley]

Nice friend you have but try to sell asap and cut your losses

[barmanjay]

Originally posted by bubbley
Nice friend you have but try to sell asap and cut your losses

[gretz]

Originally posted by Mar
Want to give some notice first so I don't look like a dick.

lol... really? He is purposly screwing you over and is racking up your bills / destroying your credit...

All that BS and you are still worried about being a dick? Sounds like it may have been a relationship gone bad lol...

[bituerbo]

Fix it with fire.

[core_upt]

did the two of you sign any agreements before hand?
if not, I'm not sure what you can sue for? You're both on the mortgage, so even if one doesn't pay, the other has to.
The bank doesn't give two shits about how mean he is, or how much of a dick he's become, or if he spends all day jacking off to clown porn.... just doesn't matter to them.
no agreement saying you're each responsible for X and Y, then you're fucked - there is no lawyer that will take on breach of contract that doesn't exist.

[adidas]

Call a male escort to the house one day

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by adidas
Call a male escort to the house one day

And do what?

[lint]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
And do what?

meat spin daisy chain?

[qcp1]

wow. thats a shit deal. i would agree with the others though and not do anything until you at least find out what even a few lawyers will tell for during a free consultation.

The only way to have him removed forcefully from the property though is through the police for abuse/or threats hes made to you. if you go this route it will still take time and you will have to build a case with the police. sometimes a restraining order will take multiple charges and complaints and police visits. that is just one legal way to have a co-owner removed from a property.