Co-Owned Property Buyout Agreement (Template and Helpful Info)

When co-owners of real estate located in Oklahoma want to terminate their co-ownership, the parties have a few options. For an overview of the options, see our article on partition and forcing a sale of co-owned property. 

A legally enforceable buyout agreement is a great option for getting one co-owner to commit to purchasing the rights of an exiting/selling co-owner. This allows one co-owner to buy out the other parties and keep the property. The process is simple – the parties have an agreement prepared, set a date and time for closing or deed signing, then record the deed with the county clerk when signed. 

Avenue Legal Group prepares custom buyout agreements for parties wishing to avoid a partition lawsuit or resolve a partition lawsuit, sells basic buyout agreement templates for parties wanting a basic form agreement, and handles closings at our office or remotely. 

What terms are required to be included in a real estate buyout agreement? 

• Define the parties, who is selling, and who is buying
• Describe the real estate by legal description and street address
• State the details of the transaction, including the purchase price and timing 

What other details should be considered when buying out a co-owner? 

• How is the title to the property currently held? Are the parties joint tenants with right of survivorship or tenants in common? 
• What are the financial realities of the ownership? If the co-owners have a mortgage on the property, approval from the lender may be required before any change in ownership occurs. 
• Does the buyer want title insurance? Will they be required to obtain title insurance under the terms of a mortgage? 

Other helpful information: 

• LLC’s are great vehicles for co-owning property and help protect the co-owners from legal liability. See our Oklahoma LLC Guide here. 
• If the co-ownership situation is between a husband and wife, or a right of survivorship exists, the surviving owner may need to prepare and file an affidavit of surviving joint tenant before having the ability to sell the property or transfer title. 
• If a title issue is never cured, a quiet title action may be required before the title ownership will be marketable or insurable by a title insurance company. 
• Buyout agreements are just one type of common real estate contract forms. Our firm regularly prepares custom agreements which are helpful for resolving unique issues in co-ownership situations. 
• The continuing owner (buying out the exiting owner) can likely feel confident enough to skip title insurance and complete a fast closing – because they are already an owner, they may not need a new title insurance policy.

Contact Avenue Legal Group to discuss a buyout agreement, partition action, or termination of joint tenancy or co-ownership. 

Basic Buyout Agreement Template: Want to purchase a buyout agreement template? Contact our firm to ask about pricing and other details.