CONCURRENT OWNERSHIP OR CO-OWNERSHIP IN REAL ESTATE: TENANCY IN COMMON

Concurrent ownership or co-ownership involves two or more owners in real estate.

Co-Ownership or concurrent ownership may exist as:

• Tenancy in common
• Joint tenancy
• Tenancy by the entirety

Here, we will be discussing co-ownership or concurrent ownership in a parcel of real estate existing as a Tenancy in Common.

Tenancy in Common

When real estate is owned by co-owners (i.e. two or more people) as tenants in common, each of the owners holds an undivided interest in severalty; meaning that each owner’s fraction of the interest of the whole parcel of real estate is held just as though he or she were a sole owner. Several important key feature of tenancy in common include:

• Unity of Possession. First, there exists a unity of possession when a parcel of real estate is owned by two or more persons as tenants in common as each co-owner has an undivided ownership interest in the property. Put simply, this means that although a tenant in common may hold a different fractional interest than another tenant in common (i.e. one-half or one-third interest in the property), it is impossible to distinguish physically which specific fractional interest of the property he or she owns.

• Interest. The deed creating tenancy in common can either state the fractional interest held by each co-owner or not specifically state the fractional interest held by each co-owner. In the instance that the fractional interest of two co-owner is not specifically stated in the deed, the result defaults in each co-owner having an undivided one-half interest. Similarly, if three people were co-owners to a parcel of real estate, each would own an undivided one-third interest. Regardless of how many co-owners own a parcel of real estate as tenants in common or the fractional interest each co-owner has in the parcel of real estate, a unity of possession must exist in a tenancy in common.

• Severalty. Another important key feature of a tenancy in common is that each co-owner holds his or her undivided interest in severalty. Each co-owner has the right to sell, transfer, convey, or mortgage their fractional interest in the property without need for consent by the other co-owners that are part of the tenancy in common. When one co-owner passes away (i.e. upon death of one co-owner or tenant in common), his or her undivided fractional interest in the property passes to his or her heirs or is devised per the terms of his or her will through probate.

• Tenancy in Common by Operation of Law. At the time of the deed conveyance when two or more people acquire title to a parcel of real estate, if the deed of conveyance does not specifically state therein the type of tenancy that is being created, then the grantees of the property acquire title to the property as tenants in common by operation of law.

For more information on different types of Co-Ownership, contact us today by calling (410)- 919-9681!

KAITLYN TAUBER, ESQ.

Ms. Tauber is the President and Managing Attorney for CDeeds LLC. With a career spanning nearly a decade, Ms. Tauber demonstrates an extensive history of working in the real estate and legal services industry. She has assisted in over 1000+ mixed transactions She is skilled in Residential & Commercial Real Property/ Real Estate/ Title Law, Financial Services Regulatory Compliance, Trust & Estate Planning, Contracts, and Business Law. To contact Kaitlyn for more information, email KTauber@cdeeds.com or call (410)-919-9681.