tenants in common, real estate laws in WA state, filing a quit claim deed

Snoqualmie, WA Viewed 933 times. Posted about 1 year ago in Real Estate

Real estate: My girlfriend and I purchased a home together almost a year ago. We do not have a contract of any sort. She put $10,000.00 down and I put $13,000.00 down. Our mortgage payment is $3500.00. I have been paying $2500.00 of the mortgage and she has been paying $1,000.00. We are both on the loan. She has decided to move out of the house because we are not getting along. She is still on the loan, do I owe her any money for leaving? Now, I'm responsible for the entire loan; can the courts make me sell the home? We refinanced the home recently and only have an equity position of 3%. If we sold the home we would both have to pay $20,000.00 each because the home has lost some of it's value. If I keep the home and make the payments even though she is gone, can she come back two years later and have financial interest in the home?

Answers (2)

Thuong-Tri Nguyen

This attorney is licensed in Washington. Posted about 1 year ago.

"Do I need an attorney moving forward?" Do you know the answers to the questions you asked? if not, are you willing to spend the time and effort to learn the law so that you can answer the questions?

If not, then you likely will need an attorney to help you.

While there is no formation of a common law marriage in WA, if two persons live together like husband and wife, they can form a meretricious relationship. Very briefly, with a meretricious relationship, the two persons have property right in properties that would have been community properties had they been married.

Whether a court would find that there is a meretricious relationship between the two of you depends on the specific facts of your relationship.

Even without a meretricious relationship, since the girlfriend did put something into the house, she likely has some interest in the house.

You may want to review your facts and options with an attorney.

April L Anderson

This attorney is licensed in Washington. Posted about 1 year ago.

You and your girlfriend are presumed to own the property as tenants in common in Washington (unless your deed specifically states otherwise). Your girlfriend has an ownership interest in the property, so yes, she does have a finacial interest that she may assert at any time in the future. This may present issues for you when you try to sell the property or refinance the property because you will need your girlfriend's consent. You have a couple of options: (i) you can offer to buy her interest in the property (probably in the amount of her down payment and contribution to the mortgage payments, you should try to negotiate this amount and offset for any taxes and other amounts you have taken care of yourself since she moved out) and require her to execute a quit claim deed transferring her interest in the property to you; (ii) if she refuses to cooperate, you can bring a partition action in court and the court will sort this out for you. Note, you must work with the current lender on this because her transfer of interest in the property to you may actually violate the terms of your mortgage, and the lender may or may not release her from the loan. I would suggest contacting a real estate attorney and requesting him or her to prepare a letter to your girlfriend offering to buy out her interest. Good luck.