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 often 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.