Can Creditors force us to sell our house with a lien?

Question

We own a house under 4 names, 3 brothers, 1 sister
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My mom put it into the
4 of us as equal owners of the house, since she does
not want to write a will. However, my 2nd brother,
who owns one quarter of the house, has $78,000
in credit card debt! If my brother is not able to pay
the $78,000, and the creditors put a lien on our house,
can they later force us to sell our house?
a) My brother only owns 1/4 of the house, so can
the creditors force the sale of the house without
notrifying the other 3 owners?
b) If a lien goes on the house, are we OK, until we try
to sell the house?
c) or can theyforce us to sell the house after 4 months
after the lien is put on the house?
Has anyone gone thru something similar?
What has your experince being?
I am looking for Canadian experince,
in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canda (ie Canadian law)
d) can we stay safely in the house & not sell it
even if there is a lien? ([e-mail])

Answer 1

The multiple ownership makes it complicated. If your brother pledged his quarter of the property as collateral for the debt, then they may "own" one quarter of the property.

This is too serious to rely on Yahoo for answers. You need to talk to an attorney with Real Estate expertise.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, a lien holder cannot force the sale of a residence...

you each have an undivided interest.

The only forced sale would be a foreclosure by the bank holding the mortgage.

However, a lien has to be cleared before title can be changed. If you sell the property down the road, your title agency will require that the lien be satisfied and recorded before any sale can be complete.

That USA, but it's very similar in Canada.

You bigger worry should be if title is currently held properly as joint owners because if not, you four will have major expenses in correcting title and tax consequences if not held properly....

That should be your worry, not your brother's irresponsibility. You really don't want to co own anything with a debt ridden person.

Answer 3

dont listen to who are you. no one can force u to sell your place of residence. when a lien is placed on your home it is just saying that the creditors who placed the lien on your home get's first dibs on the money owed to them. so if you sell your home for lets say 256,000.00 dollars than the first 78,000.00 will go to them. if others have a lien on your home it continues down the line and u get what's left after all the creditors get their money.
as long as u owe any amount to anybody wether it is a business or another person by law they have a right to place a lien on any asset you have to ensure they get their payment. you should have your brother sell his share of the house to the three of you for 1 dollar and have him removed off of the deed of trust. that way he can settle with the creditors and you guys can keep the house.

Answer 4

I am a contractor who has put leins on houses. The only way for someone to collect on a lein is for the owner/s to sell or borrow against the property. You will be required to pay the lein at that time but no they can not take your house.

Answer 5

first you go to court,you get a judgement,if you cantstick to that and pay that way,they can ,and somtimes do seize and sell your personal property to collect a debt

natzman has a good idea,,buying your brother out

Answer 6

a) no they cannot
b)yes you are
c)no they cannot
d)yes you can

but to also help your debted brother with his current situation, these leins and collectable debt can be reduced to a lower figure...lets suppose $78,000: he can save in the range of $25,000!!! let us show you how:

www.creditsolutionsfla.com

Answer 7

Contact a real estate attorney, this is far to serious question for this forum.

Answer 8

You need to ask your attourney - not stupid ppl on yahoo answers.