Joint tenancy

Joint tenancy refers to joint ownership. If a real estate investor and another person own a real estate property, the real estate investor is probably a joint tenant. The real estate investor and the other owner are joint tenants.

What does joint tenancy mean?

Joint tenancy means both or all the owners have undivided interest in the real estate property. All joint tenant owners are equal owners of the real estate property.

What does undivided interest mean?

Undivided interest means that each joint tenant owns the entire property and has equal rights to use all of the property. A joint tenant cannot sell their interest in the tenancy without destroying the joint tenancy.

Joint tenancy title restriction

Real estate property held as a joint tenancy cannot be seized easily. This is because there is ownership held by another tenant. However is it possible for the courts to change the way real estate title is held to another form of tenancy such as a tenant in common. Tenant in common interest are held separately so a creditor can then just take over a tenant in common 's individual ownership.