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• Worker drowns in Woodbridge canal

• Bernel found guilty

• Battle for the board

• Man, 72, dies after Acampo crash

• Regional Roundup

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (165)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (70)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Public health care is a Christian option (29)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (17)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Home-equity split turns ugly

Is $150K payout justified by $20K down payment?

Q: My daughter bought a condo with a friend. She put down $40,000 and her friend put down $20,000. They are both on title to the home, but only my daughter is on the mortgage.

How much of the property would her friend be entitled to if she wants out of the deal? They bought the home for $300,000 with a $240,000 loan. Her friend never paid any money towards the mortgage or other expenses and is demanding $150,000. The home was bought four months ago.

A: It's unfortunate that your daughter is in this situation with a friend. But in this real estate market, it's also unlikely that the property has appreciated in value in four months. If the property is still worth $300,000, your daughter's friend should be happy to get her money back.

Your daughter's friend seems to feel that her $20,000 down payment towards the home should now be worth $150,000. She's confusing the fact that the value of the condo should be reduced by its debt. The equity in the home -- the difference between what the home is worth and the mortgage amount -- is what her share of the profits would be calculated on. So if the property is still worth $300,000, and the loan is $240,000, there is approximately $60,000 in equity.

But there have been expenses toward the upkeep and ownership of the property that the friend should have contributed to during the past four months, especially if she was living in the home.

While there may be other circumstances that affect their arrangement and you did not disclose whether they had any other understandings, it would seem that at the very most she should get her $20,000.

But you could easily go further and say that her $20,000 should be reduced by any amount she owes for expenses from the time they bought the place, the friend's share of the costs to purchase the place and the friend's share of any costs to take her name of the title to the home. This might include her share of real estate property taxes, monthly assessments, mortgage payment, any repairs that had to be done to the property, etc.

Your daughter and her friend should have asked a real estate attorney to draft an agreement that discussed ownership of the property and who would contribute what in terms of cash and sweat equity. Since she didn't do this at the outset, your daughter should find a good attorney now who can handle the separation of this asset.

Your daughter should not hand over a single dollar until her friend has drafted a quitclaim deed. You may wish to encourage her to have a real estate attorney oversee the arrangement and exchange to be sure she is protected.

If this issue comes up in the future, please have an attorney draft a partnership agreement that spells out the terms and conditions of the ownership and maintenance of the asset.

Q: A friend and I got together to buy a condo in San Diego. We decided that buying together would get us a better place to live closer to our jobs. Both of us are listed on the mortgage.

But now I want to remove him from the mortgage. He hasn't contributed financially to the condo at all. He is tearing up the place and being bothersome to neighbors and guests. He also has no secure job. How can I legally evict him and remove his name from the mortgage?

A: Your question isn't really about getting a person off a mortgage, but rather how to get rid of a co-owner of a property and also remove him from the home.

For couples that live in California or other community property states, you would first need to determine whether your relationship could be considered a common law marriage. If it were a common law marriage, your separation would either have to be amicable or similar to a divorce.

You describe your situation as that of two friends who purchased a home together. Your first option is to come to an amicable agreement to separate and go your own ways. He would quit claim his interest in the property to you, you would pay him whatever he is owed for his share of the property, if anything, and you would refinance the loan on the property to get his name off the loan.

In paying him for his share of the property, you would need to determine what you and he contributed to the property when it was purchased, what each of you were required to pay for the expenses of the home during the time you've owned it, and what the home is worth today. When you tally the numbers, you might find he owes you money, or it's possible that you owe him money.

If you've owned the property for some time and the property has appreciated in value and you both own equal shares of the property, he might claim that you owe him money due to the appreciated value of the home.

Another way to handle this is for both of you to agree to sell the home. You would split the proceeds from the sale in accordance to whatever method you and he agree to. If he hasn't paid his fair share of the expenses, you might be able to deduct those costs from his share of the equity, if there is any.

While we don't know the particular circumstances you face, what your arrangement was in deciding to own the property together or whether you are even on speaking terms, if you're unable to agree amicably to separate, your next option might be to force the issue with attorneys and even move to litigation.

This method would be the most expensive. But you could ask the court to decide the issue for you.

Keep in mind that he is still an owner of the home and you might not be able to evict him unless he has physically hurt you and you are entitled to a protective court order to keep him away from you. Otherwise, the separation might be compared to a quasi-divorce proceeding (a partition suit) where a judge would review the ownership of the home, recommend that each of you work out your differences, obtain appraisals for the home, or force the sale of the home. The judge could force your friend to sell to you, or could force both of you to sell and split the proceeds.

A partition suit can be quite expensive. The best thing would be for you and your friend to work out your differences and move on.

And next time, please seek the counsel of a real estate attorney before you decide to buy real property with a friend.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.

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