Joint Tenancy & Undisclosed Defects

I see three issues in your message.

Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship

When you write “joint tenancy WRS” I assume you mean joint tenancy with right of survivorship. This is a manner of titling real estate that contains specific rights and liabilities for each concurrent owner. Under common law, a joint tenancy with right of survivorship must be created at the same time with identical interests by the same instrument with the same right of possession.

It is used often by married homeowners for their family home. However, joint tenancy with right of survivorship can be used by unrelated people on the title for any real estate. This form of concurrent ownership is hundreds of years old and has its roots in English common law. Despite its age and common origin, each US jurisdiction is free to alter the rights and liabilities of co-owners of property titled as joint tenants with right of survivorship.

This is an especially important point for you because there are conflicting manners that jurisdictions address the issue of each tenant's responsibility for paying for repairs to property in a joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Some jurisdictions take the stance that joint tenants have no obligation to contribute to the costs of repairing or improving the property. Other jurisdictions take the stance that a tenant who pays more than his or her pro-rata share of necessary repairs is entitled to a contribution from the other tenants provided he or she has notified the other co-tenants of the need for the repairs.

Your co-tenants have advised you that you alone are responsible for the repairs to the property. Obviously, they have a self-interest in offering that opinion. It may or may not be accurate. Therefore, consult with an attorney in your state who has experience in property law who can review the title of the property, how the joint tenancy was created, study the statutory and case law in your state, and advise your accordingly as to your rights and liabilities.

Duty to Disclose

Under most state's laws, the seller has a duty to disclose all material defects he, she, or they are aware of in the residence.

The facts surrounding your purchase of the property are unclear to me. Specifically, I would be interested to learn the circumstances under which your parents purchased or inherited your grandmother's home, how much they knew about the property and its defects, and how the joint tenancy with right of survivorship was created.

If your parents knew that the property had latent or hidden defects and did not disclose them, then they may be in violation of your state's laws. Violation of these laws may result in money damages or your right to void the joint tenancy. Again, you need to explore this option with an attorney in your state who has experience in property law.

Mortgage

You do not mention the structure of your mortgage. I will assume that you and the co-tenants are mortgagors. Generally speaking, the mortgagors are jointly and severally liable for paying the mortgage. If one mortgagor stops paying his or her share of the mortgage, the mortgagee (i.e., the bank) has the right to collect the unpaid balance from the other mortgagors.

In other words, if you stopped paying the mortgage (regardless of your paying the bank a large lump-sum for your fraction of the mortgage) and the other tenants do not step up to pay your share, the bank can continue to try to collect the unpaid amount from all tenants, including you. Your idea of volunteering a lump-sum to the bank as a means to extract yourself from the mortgage will not be successful.

Conclusion

Given the facts of your situation, I strongly urge you to consult with an attorney to advise you of your rights and liabilities for each of the three issues I mentioned. It would be unfortunate if you were forced to use the courts to resolve this situation. Perhaps the attorney would agree to act as a mediator, which would be a much cheaper means to reach a settlement without the expense of going to court.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

Bills.com