Can I Quitclaim My Half Interest in a Land Contract to My Buyer Partner?

In most cases concerning Land Contracts, title to real property does not pass to the purchaser until all or a certain percentage of the land contract installment payments are made.

Until such time, the purchaser (or a partner-purchaser) does not hold any title or ownership in the property.

As such, if the purchaser does not hold ownership, he/she has no ownership interest in the property that can be transferred by way of a Quitclaim Deed.  In essence, a drafted Quitclaim Deed would be meaningless because a person cannot “transfer ownership” of something he or she does not own.

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What Legal Options Do I Have on a Land Contract Balloon Payment if I Can’t Get Financing?

The crash of the housing market has left a number of Land Contract holders facing balloon payments on amounts that are equal to or greater than the current market value of the property. Mortgage companies will not lend money to borrowers for such an over-valued purchase, even if the buyer has made several years of payments against the Land Contract.

So what options are available to the buyer and seller who find themselves in such a situation in a Land Contract?

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