If the 60% owner makes every decision—where to hang the TV, whether to buy the expensive garbage disposal, when to host Thanksgiving—the 40% owner will eventually feel like a tenant who happens to have equity. Tenants leave. Tenants force partition sales.
Conversely, the 60% owner may cover the $12,000 special assessment for a new roof. Under standard Tenancy in Common (TIC) rules, that 60% owner just increased their stake to 62%, because they paid 100% of the assessment. The 40% owner now owes the 60% owner a proportional debt—unless the agreement says otherwise.
It demands more paperwork than a marriage. More spreadsheets than a small business. More honesty than most relationships can withstand.
If the 60% owner paid 100% of $18,000 in mortgage payments, they have bought an additional 3.6% of the equity (assuming a $500k value). The split is now 63.6/36.4. But does the deed change? No. That requires a re-recording . Most people never do it. They just stew in resentment. Chapter Four: The Co-Ownership Agreement – Your 10-Page Bible If you own a 40/60 condo without a signed, notarized, lawyer-reviewed Co-Ownership Agreement, you are not an owner. You are a hostage.
Just remember: Love writes the check. Math cashes it. And the 40/60 condo is math, down to the very last penny.
Example: You sell the condo for a $300,000 profit. The 60% owner’s share of the gain is $180,000. They exclude it entirely. The 40% owner’s share is $120,000. They also exclude it. Everyone’s happy.
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