me and my friend bought a house together and now i want out but she dont want to sell or buy me out

If you and your friend are both on title, you generally can't simply take your "half" of the house back without addressing the co-ownership. The good news is that you may have legal options even if your friend refuses to sell or buy you out. The first step is to review the deed to confirm exactly how you both hold title and what your ownership percentages are. If you own 50%, you may be able to negotiate a buyout based on the home's current market value and the equity in the property. If your friend refuses to buy you out and won't agree to sell the property, you may have the option of pursuing a **partition action** through the court. Depending on your state's law and the circumstances, a court may order the property sold and the proceeds divided according to the owners' interests. Before going that route, I'd recommend getting an independent valuation and having a local real estate attorney review the deed, mortgage, and any agreement you made when you purchased the house together. There may also be expenses, liens, mortgage balances, and other factors that affect what your actual share would be. Don't sign over your ownership interest to your friend just to get out of the situation without understanding the financial consequences. A lawyer can help you determine the cleanest way to separate your ownership. Juan Picos Real Estate Agent JohnHart Real Estate

Talk to a lawyer. This would be a similar situation to a divorce. I had a sale like that. 2 people, not married, still had to get a lawyer and agree to how they split it.

Tatum, in Indiana your friend's refusal is not a veto, but there is one thing you should know before you spend a dollar on this: an Indiana court will not order her to buy you out. What it will do, if you file, is put the house on a track that ends in a sale. That distinction matters, and it is the opposite of what most people assume, so let me lay it out. Your right to force the issue is not in doubt. Indiana Code 32-17-4-1 says a person holding an interest as a joint tenant or tenant in common may compel partition, and the Court of Appeals has put it about as plainly as courts do: under Indiana law, the right of a tenant in common to compel partition is absolute. Her agreement is not required. But the same court has also held that a trial court does not have the power to order one tenant to sell his interest to the other while letting the tenant in possession keep the whole property. So "make her buy me out at appraised value" is not a remedy Indiana offers. What it offers is a process that pushes hard toward a sale of the entire house. Indiana rewrote this whole chapter in 2012, and most of what you will read online about Indiana partition describes the old law, including the commissioners and the old test about whether land can be divided without damage. All of that was repealed. Here is what actually happens now, under Indiana Code 32-17-4-2.5: Within thirty days of the court getting jurisdiction over everyone, it appoints a licensed real estate appraiser to value the property, unless all parties waive it. Within forty-five days the court refers the case to mediation, and mediation cannot start until the appraisal is filed. Someone above already mentioned mediation, and it is worth knowing that in Indiana this is not a suggestion or a strategy, it is statutory and automatic, and you both walk into it already knowing the appraised number. The court has to tell you both, in the referral order, that the property will be sold if you do not reach agreement within sixty days. If mediation fails, the court orders a sale by whatever method you both agree on. If you cannot agree, you get thirty days to jointly pick an auctioneer, and if you cannot manage that either, the court orders the sheriff to sell it the way property is sold at execution. Selling it normally, through a broker, requires all of you to agree in writing on the broker and on the listing price. One holdout kills the retail-sale option. Read that list from her side of the table, because that is where your leverage actually lives. If she does nothing, the likely end state is not that she keeps the house. It is that the house gets auctioned, which is usually the worst financial result available to either of you. Showing her that path, in writing, with the statute cited, is the single most effective thing you can do, and it costs you nothing. One useful wrinkle in your favor: if a sale happens and she is the buyer, the statute gives an owner who purchases a full credit for the percentage she already owns. So she can end up with the house through this process. She just cannot get there by refusing to engage. Now the money side, which is where people get surprised. If you have paid more than your half of the mortgage, taxes, or insurance, you can ask the court to adjust the equities. Indiana treats this as equitable rather than automatic, and the credit is proportionate, meaning a one-half contribution, not a full refund of everything you paid. Property taxes have their own statutory hook: anyone who paid a tax or special assessment on the property is entitled to pro rata reimbursement out of the sale proceeds. If either of you made improvements, they are valued by how much they increased the property's fair market value at partition, not by what they cost. In the leading case someone spent about eight thousand dollars and was credited about twenty-two hundred, because that was the value added. And here is the one that catches people. If she has been living there and she claims credits for what she paid, you are entitled to set off the fair rental value of her exclusive occupancy over that period. In that same case the rental-value set-off wiped out every credit and the court simply split the proceeds equally. So if she has been in the house alone, run that number before you get attached to any accounting argument, in either direction. I would also not count on recovering your legal fees. Indiana's old provision awarding the plaintiff's attorney fees out of the proceeds was repealed in 2012, so budget as if fees are yours. So, practically: Get your own valuation first, so you know what your half is worth before anyone else sets the number. Write her a short, unemotional letter proposing a buyout at that value, with a deadline, and attach the statute. Say plainly that if you cannot agree you will file, that the court will appoint an appraiser and order mediation, and that the default outcome is a sale. Offer her a real path to keep it: a broker sale where she buys, or a buyout with a realistic timeline to get financing. People dig in when the only option offered is losing the house. Only file if that fails. Filing is your leverage, not your first move. One honest caveat: I am a real estate professional, not an attorney, and how you hold title matters here (joint tenancy versus tenancy in common changes parts of the analysis), so have an Indiana real property attorney read your deed. Also, if you both signed the note, understand that partition divides ownership of the house. It does not release either of you from the loan, and that is a separate conversation with the lender. Last thing, for whoever reads this later rather than for you: Indiana courts strongly enforce written co-ownership agreements between unmarried buyers, and there is a case where such an agreement decided the outcome instead of the partition statute. Two friends buying a house together should sign one at the front end covering what happens if one wants out and how the buyout gets priced. It takes an afternoon and prevents exactly this. I work in California, in the South Bay and Palos Verdes part of Los Angeles, so I am not the person to value or list the Muncie house, and you want a local agent for that plus an Indiana attorney. If it would help to talk through how to price and word the buyout offer so it is fair to both of you and hard for her to just ignore, I am Zoltan Peresztegi and I am glad to. Zoltan

Tatum, if you cannot get an agreement between the two of you, enlist the services of a real estate attorney. A forced sale and division of proceeds might need to occur. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

1. Clarify Ownership Structure Your leverage starts with the deed. There are only two possibilities: Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship: You both own equal shares, but neither can force a sale without legal action. Tenants in Common: You each own a defined percentage (often 50/50), and you can sell or transfer your interest independently. Pull the recorded deed from the county recorder or your closing documents. This determines whether you can act alone or need court intervention. 2. Document Your Equity Position Before you make any demands, build a defensible valuation: Purchase price and closing statement Current mortgage balance Improvements or payments you made separately Current market value (CMA or appraisal) This creates the factual baseline for negotiation or litigation. It’s your “equity story,” and you’ll need it if the situation escalates. 3. Attempt Mediation Before going legal, propose neutral mediation. It’s faster, cheaper, and often breaks the stalemate. A mediator can structure: A refinance-based buyout A sale timeline with agreed milestones A partition agreement dividing proceeds Frame mediation as protecting both parties’ equity and credit. It’s not about winning — it’s about resolution. 4. File a Partition Action If she refuses to sell or buy you out, this is the legal remedy. A partition action in Pennsylvania allows the court to: Order the property sold and divide proceeds fairly Allow one party to buy out the other at appraised value Force resolution when one owner is blocking all options You will recover your share minus legal fees. It’s the definitive path when cooperation is impossible. 5. Protect Credit and Liability If your name is on the mortgage, you are still financially responsible until the loan is refinanced or the home is sold. You should: Notify the lender of the dispute Ensure payments stay current Document every communication and payment This protects your credit while the dispute plays out. 6. Consult a Real Estate Attorney A local attorney can: Draft a formal demand letter File the partition action Negotiate a settlement or buyout This ensures your rights are enforced and your exposure minimized. Takeaway You cannot force her to agree — but you can force a legal resolution. The path is simple: document your equity, attempt mediation, and if she still refuses, file a partition action. That is how you get your half back when a co‑owner won’t cooperate.

1. Clarify Ownership Structure Your leverage starts with the deed. There are only two possibilities: Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship: You both own equal shares, but neither can force a sale without legal action. Tenants in Common: You each own a defined percentage (often 50/50), and you can sell or transfer your interest independently. Pull the recorded deed from the county recorder or your closing documents. This determines whether you can act alone or need court intervention. 2. Document Your Equity Position Before you make any demands, build a defensible valuation: Purchase price and closing statement Current mortgage balance Improvements or payments you made separately Current market value (CMA or appraisal) This creates the factual baseline for negotiation or litigation. It’s your “equity story,” and you’ll need it if the situation escalates. 3. Attempt Mediation Before going legal, propose neutral mediation. It’s faster, cheaper, and often breaks the stalemate. A mediator can structure: A refinance-based buyout A sale timeline with agreed milestones A partition agreement dividing proceeds Frame mediation as protecting both parties’ equity and credit. It’s not about winning — it’s about resolution. 4. File a Partition Action If she refuses to sell or buy you out, this is the legal remedy. A partition action in Pennsylvania allows the court to: Order the property sold and divide proceeds fairly Allow one party to buy out the other at appraised value Force resolution when one owner is blocking all options You will recover your share minus legal fees. It’s the definitive path when cooperation is impossible. 5. Protect Credit and Liability If your name is on the mortgage, you are still financially responsible until the loan is refinanced or the home is sold. You should: Notify the lender of the dispute Ensure payments stay current Document every communication and payment This protects your credit while the dispute plays out. 6. Consult a Real Estate Attorney A local attorney can: Draft a formal demand letter File the partition action Negotiate a settlement or buyout This ensures your rights are enforced and your exposure minimized. Takeaway You cannot force her to agree — but you can force a legal resolution. The path is simple: document your equity, attempt mediation, and if she still refuses, file a partition action. That is how you get your half back when a co‑owner won’t cooperate.