Buying half a house: what to expect as a potential owner

How do shares arise?

Before buying half (or another part) of the house, you need to find out why exactly the part is being sold, and the history of the rights. A frequent case is when several people inherit a house, for example, in equal shares, and one of the heirs sells their share.

Also, shared ownership can arise as a result of the division of property between former spouses, the construction of a common house by agreement for several families, etc. The owner of a share has the right to own, use and dispose of his property in accordance with the law. That is, part of the house can be sold, donated or used for personal residence.

It is important to understand: if a share in kind is not allocated, disputes and disagreements will inevitably arise with neighboring co-owners. In such cases, the procedure for using shares in common property can be determined with the involvement of judicial authorities.

It is better to allocate a share physically, but this is not always possible: the allocated premises must be isolated, have independent communications and a separate entrance. This usually entails redevelopment, which is subject to official registration.

Without going to court, you can allocate a share in the common property. For this:

1. Agree with co-owners on the allocation of shares.
2. Rebuild the house so that it can be divided taking into account the requirements of all residents.
3. Get a new registration certificate by ordering it through the Cadastral Chamber.

The concept of shared ownership

Common property usually arises in marriage (as jointly acquired property), during inheritance, donation, and in the case of privatization of residential premises.

The right of common property, in turn, is divided into joint and shared:

• joint does not provide for the division of property between co-owners;
• equity is formed after the allocation or distribution of parts of the object between the right holders in the established ratio.

Participants in shared ownership are responsible and receive profits only within the limits of their share. And if desired, each of them can sell it, donate it or pass it on as an inheritance.

Share allocation

The size of the shares is determined:

• agreement of co-owners;
• legislation (for example, regarding the common property of spouses, privatized living space or inheritance passed to successors by law);
• by the will of the previous owner (in a will, gift agreement, etc.);
• by a court decision (at the request of a person who has made a significant and inseparable contribution to the improvement of common property).

With an application and a document indicating the size of the share, the owner will need to contact the state real estate registration authority at the location of the property and secure his rights to its part.

After this, joint ownership becomes shared ownership. Its participants have the right to alienate (sell, donate, etc.) their parts and independently dispose of them.

Transactions with shares

Transactions for the purchase and sale of a part of a house are subject to the general rules for transactions with shares. A special feature of such transactions is the primary right of purchase by the co-owner. In practice, this means that when selling a share, the owner of the share must first offer to buy it out to his neighbors. Their refusal to purchase must be documented. If within 30 days there is no statement from them about their readiness to buy the share at the proposed price, the owner has the right to sell his property to anyone.

It must be taken into account that the owner can sell the share only at the price offered to the owner of the second part of the house. If the price changes, you will have to go through the cancellation process again. Otherwise, the second co-owner will be able to challenge the deal through the court.

Documents for purchasing part of a house

Since when purchasing country real estate we are talking about two objects of law (house, land), documents must be provided for both objects.

The package of documents should include:

1. Certificate of registration of ownership of the house (part of the house). It is necessary to thoroughly study the reasons for the emergence of law. This could be a contract of purchase and sale, exchange, gift, certificate of inheritance, etc. Or it will be an act of acceptance of housing if the owner built this house. The act must indicate that the construction of the property has been completed and the house is completely ready for use, and also that it was built by the seller.
2. Technical passport of the land plot and certificate of verification of its boundaries. To do this, home owners must first carry out land surveying to actually establish boundaries. You can sell a plot without land surveying, but in this case the price of the plot will be lower than the market price, and such an object will not be suitable for buyers with a mortgage and maternal capital under the terms of the bank and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (PFR).

To check the accuracy of the boundaries, there is a special service provided by cadastral specialists - mapping out points. It can only be done when a surveyor or engineer visits the site using special equipment.

The boundary plan of the site will allow you to find out whether the boundaries with the neighbors are correctly established, since the land surveying act must have their signatures so that problems do not arise in the future.

3. Registration certificate for the house. It will be needed if the buyer uses a mortgage loan or maternity capital funds. The passport is issued by the Bureau of Technical Inventory (BTI) or a similar organization.
4. Technical plan of the house. Using it, you can compare whether the layout and actual position of the house on the land plot corresponds to what is indicated in the documents.
5. Certificate of absence of debts for utilities.
6. Consent of the second spouse to the transaction if the house was built or purchased during marriage.
7. An extract from the Unified State Register for the house and land would also be useful. It indicates the category of land, the year the house was built, the presence of encumbrances, a site plan with reference to the area, all owners and registered in the house.

In any case, it is better to buy a share allocated from the common shared property or with a definition of the procedure for using part of the house and land, buildings on the site, etc.

Ways in which it is possible to register ownership of a plot

Federal Law No. 93-FZ directly allows registration of ownership in a simplified manner of land plots leased before October 30, 2001. Land plots can be used for various purposes: from small farms to housing and communal construction. The time frame within which the above transition must be carried out is not limited.

The law only limits acquisitions. This is called the period of time during which the land plot had to be used under a leasehold right. She is 15 years old. The purpose of use cannot be impaired. There are several ways to obtain land ownership:

• To confirm your right to be on a residential plot, a house purchased before March 1990, but not properly registered;
• Buy a land plot for rent at an auction (the plot will be purchased at a price equal to the cadastral value);
• Purchase a plot of land without an auction. The lease agreement does not contain information about the obligation to lease the plot for a certain period. Prohibited items also include a prohibition on transferring ownership of the specified territory. When choosing this method, the land will be sold for 2-20% of the total cadastral value. What real estate prices in the region are used in this case does not matter;
• Construct a building or structure on leased land and register it as ownership.

The last point is the most popular. This is the simplest and cheapest solution. This will be analyzed in detail below.

What problems may arise

In addition to the difficulties common to the sale of shares, for example, challenging the transaction if the co-owner was not offered to buy out the share, when buying half of the house, others may arise, which can be conditionally divided into legal and “everyday”.

Legal problems include all issues with documents. Even if part of the house is allocated in kind and sold as a separate object, there is still the question of dividing the plot. To do this, the co-owners enter into an agreement, have it certified by a notary and register the new resulting plots with the cadastral register. After this, new land ownership certificates are obtained.

There are cases when owners have not properly registered their rights to land. The most common situations are when the seller owns the plot not by right of ownership, but by the right to inheritable ownership for life. Rosreestr will not register a transaction with such real estate, since the owner of the plot is the municipality. There is a way out of this situation: first, the plot of land is registered as the property, then part and a half of the house is sold.

A situation may arise when there is a house on the site, but there are no documents for it. Such a house will be considered an unauthorized construction, and it will be difficult to register it officially. It is better to refuse such a purchase, no matter how attractive it may be.

Before buying half of the house, you need to inquire about how to pay for utilities, repair and maintenance of common property and utility networks.

These questions can be classified as “everyday” questions. It is better if the personal accounts are separated, each of the owners has their own metering devices, and each of them pays their own receipts, and, for example, you will have to negotiate about the repair of a common roof or sewer system.

In any case, before buying a part of the house, you must make sure that what is being sold is: part of the joint shared ownership or a separate object of right. The contents of the package of documents for the transaction and the buyer’s further actions depend on this.

Buying real estate is not an easy, responsible step. It is better to enlist the professional support of realtors and lawyers than to try to independently understand the purpose of land, the rights of sellers, land surveying, geodetic issues, etc. Especially when it comes to the purchase and sale of shares. We, at the NAMOS agency, have extensive experience in conducting various real estate transactions, including the purchase and sale of shares. Contact us for a consultation and we will help you choose the appropriate option and correctly prepare all the documents.

What is a land share, part of a land plot?

A land share is a share (share) that is part of the common ownership of an allotment, the purpose of which is farming. Expressed in ballohectares.

The concept of land share echoes the term common property, although it has a qualitative difference:

• A narrower concept. The share is part of the common property;
• The appearance of the share was preceded by privatization;
• The share received by a citizen may go to the municipality or household. to the subject only after the LLP, as a citizen alienates it;
• The size of the allotment is determined not by a simple correct share, but by hectares or ballohectares.

✨ Summary

To sum it up:

1. You can buy a share in a house only after the owner has offered to buy its square meters to other participants in shared ownership. Everything must be documented.
2. Purchasing a share of a house is only possible with notarization - since 2021, such transactions cannot be carried out in simple written form.
3. When purchasing a share of a house, legal difficulties may arise, mainly with the correct execution of documents for real estate and land, as well as everyday difficulties if the responsibilities for maintaining the property are not distributed among the owners.

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Technical inspection of half the house

The best time to inspect a country house is in the spring. When the snow melts, defects in the roof and foundations become visible.

Inspect the lower part of the house. The masonry must be smooth without cracks or flaws. Go down to the basement and assess the condition of the room, especially the corners. The walls must be dry.

Do the same with the roof; to do this, go up to the attic. The roof should not show through or leak.

Check the condition of the walls, windows, and doors. Use a level. Inspect communications. Ask the owner to turn on/off the lights, water, heating system.

Preemptive right when leasing a land plot

The process of leasing a land plot is regulated by the Land Code of the Russian Federation and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The object of lease can be any land, except land withdrawn from circulation. Organizations and individuals, including non-residents of the Russian Federation, act as tenants.

In 2015, adjustments were made to the RF Land Code, according to which provisions on pre-emptive rights were excluded from the normative act. However, these instructions have been preserved in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In Art. 621 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the tenant has a preemptive right to renew the lease agreement for a new term. A prerequisite is the full fulfillment of the obligations specified in the agreement.

If the tenant wishes to exercise his right, he must notify the landlord. When the landlord refuses to issue a new contract, he cannot rent the property to another person for a year. Otherwise, the previous tenant has the right to defend his rights in court.

The purchase of leased land is regulated by Art. 624 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The preemptive right is also established for the tenant.

Sale of land share: general rules and conditions

The plot can be not only individually owned, but also in common ownership - joint or shared. A joint form of ownership is observed, for example, when real estate is acquired by spouses. Their shares are not delimited, and, therefore, are not registered in official papers. If desired, the spouses can draw up a voluntary agreement or initiate legal proceedings to separate their specific parts from the common property, but until this moment they will have equal rights to the jointly acquired property (i.e. 50% to 50%).

In turn, shared ownership is characterized by the presence of a title document in which each individual owner is clearly assigned its fractional part (share).

Share allocation

First, the share being sold must be allocated in kind (demarcated by surveyors) and registered with the Cadastral Register. According to Art. 6 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, a plot as a real estate object must have a set of individual parameters that allow it to be unambiguously identified. Textual information alone about ½, ¼ or any other part of the total allotment will not be enough - the share will also need to be determined actually. This can be done either with voluntary consent from the other co-owners, or with an appropriate court order. Read more: How to survey a land plot in shared ownership

Sample contract for the sale and purchase of ½ share of a land plot

The territory can be divided into several equal or unequal segments. The owners of the plot use them on the basis of a mutual agreement (clause 1 of Article 247 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). If one of the co-owners wants to sell half of his share, he will have to carry out land surveying, register the plot in the cadastre and register the transaction.

Check out the template for the sale and purchase agreement for ½ land share:

Sources

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2. Insurance of expenses for legal assistance: comparative legal research: monograph. ; Prospect - M., 1996. - 597 p.
3. Bobkova, Oksana Civil law. Part 1. Cheat sheet / Oksana Bobkova. - M.: Scientific book, 2009. - 766 p.
4. Alexey, Ivanovich Rarog Criminal law of Russia. Parts General and Special. 2nd edition. Textbook for bachelors / Alexey Ivanovich Rarog. - M.: Prospekt, 1984. - 682 p.
5. Anti-competitive agreements and unfair competition. Textbook / Team of authors. - M.: Prospekt, 2000. - 353 p.