Can my co-owners force an auction sale?

Q Some years ago I inherited 50% of a property and two other family members inherited the remaining 50%. I believe we own the property as tenants in common.

I have been living in this property since then and would like to buy out the other two owners. What is the best way to approach this? Can they force the house on to the open market in order to get the best price they can? Or can we appraise the house and offer them their relative percentage of the appraisal?

I fear they will be able to force an auction sale and I will lose the whole house in the process. However, can they really do this if I own 50% of it? GP

A To answer your last question first, yes your co-owners can force a sale of the property, but as this would involve getting a court to order the sale – and substantial legal fees – I doubt they would want to bother. I also doubt your relatives would be moved to force you to put the property up for auction, as those sold at auction typically sell for less than those sold to private buyers.

What I suggest you do is get three estate agents to value your home as if it were to be sold on the open market. You could then take an average of these figures and offer to pay your co-owners half that figure to buy out their share. You could also point out that selling to you would save money on estate agents' fees and other costs associated with selling on the open market.

Today's best video

Today in pictures
