Hello Group-
My family owns a property in Floirda with 2 other people. One of them wants to sell and the other does not.
The party that does not want to sell is unfriendly. They own 25%.

The other good owner ( 37.5%) and I ( 37.5%) have discussed the possibility of filing a partition action. Their opinion is that it takes 3-7 visits to get some kind of a judgement and we can hire an attorney for about $5000.
According to an appraisal and a lawyer's opinion the court is likely NOT to recommend a partition, but request liquidation.
We would like to sell the property and split the proceeds. I am talking with some potential buyers and the outlook is good. I will be the agent for the sale, unless the court appoints someone to do it.
Of course we think it would be wise to avoid court and the possibility that we would not get the full market value if someone could bid on it.
The other 25% owner ought to agree to sell. After we threaten the lawsuit and they talk to their lawyer, we hope they realize we can force the sale. We hope they want to avoid the legal costs and know they cannot stop us from selling. They stand to gain a lot of money from the sale so it may be a big, happy surprise to them when they realize the value.


Questions?

1. Could there be a sale on the courthouse steps?
2. Can some bidder buy it from us? I do not want that...I just want to sell.
3. What are the dangerous parts to a forced sale? A lawyer told me we should be prepared to pay the value of the property or someone else could buy it at an auction.
4. The 2 good owners said they will pay me a commission. Can the other bad owner refuse to pay a commission?
5. Will the court recommend an appraisal? Will each owner have the opportunity to buy the other out?

Thank you very much for any advice! Please contact me if you have any experience or knowledge about partition actions. You can contact me at casey_key_man@yahoo.com

Why don't the two of you make a resonable offer in writing to buy out the other owner. If he refuses, then you can file for the sale. It is likely to take one to two years through the court system, if you are lucky. In a forced sale, the property will be sold at auction to the highest bidder.

I can only hope that the other owners who do not want to sell are not crazy.

If they know they are likely unable to force the sale, don't you think they would NOT want to waste money on lawyers and sell the property to the highest bidder.

A public auction sale is a very bad idea where someone else could be a low bidder and buy the property.

I'm going to post a new subject, but my case is similar to yours. My sister and I have owned a farm in Illinois together for 25 years. I want to sell. she has been mad at me for about 20 years and is being contrary. It is my understanding that I can force a partition of the land into two tracts and then be allowed to sell my tract. It is 190 acres, but is best divided into 110 and 80 acres. I am going to offer her to take her pick and then exchange money to make the values equal. I hope this is not too costly, but really want to get my 1/2 interest sold. Let me know how yours comes out!
Linda

consult an attorney; this sounds like 2 versus 1, so there may be enough leverage to order a sale if buying folks out cannot happen. Otherwise, your questions are very specific as it your situation, and this site answers general questions.