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Buying Out a Sibling's Share of Real Estate: A Simple Guide

Use a quitclaim deed to transfer ownership from your sibling to yourself.

There are often times when siblings come to share property ownership without wishing to do so. When your sibling is looking to sell and you're looking to buy out your sibling's share, there's a simple way of doing so. With a quitclaim deed, your sibling can give up all ownership interest in the property, assigning ownership to you alone, or to you and anyone else with ownership rights to that particular piece of real estate. The quitclaim deed is quick to fill out, and with a witnessed signature, all of your sibling's rights over the property are relinquished. The hardest part of the entire process is agreeing to a price for the property.

Step 1

Have the property professionally appraised so that both you and your sibling have an idea of the market value of the piece of real estate.

Step 2

Negotiate a buyout price that's acceptable to both of you. Half of the appraised value could be an acceptable amount for the buyout.

Step 3

Exchange the agreed upon funds and fill out a quitclaim deed form that will remove your sibling from the property deed as an owner of the property. You can get a quitclaim form from your attorney's office or from an office supply store that carries legal forms.

Step 4

Fill out the quitclaim deed form in either black or blue ink for readability. Under property location, use the street address of the property or describe the property location as fully as possible. You want to make sure that someone cannot mistake the description for any other property location. The legal description used in the land survey works, as well as plot and subdivision numbers.

Step 5

List all owners of the property immediately before the transaction under the "Grantor" section. Your sibling's name will appear in this section as an owner before the completion of the deed.

Step 6

List all owners after the transaction is completed under the "Grantee" section. Your sibling's name will not appear under this section, divesting him of ownership rights over the property. Make certain your name does appear, however, as the buyer, along with any others retaining partial ownership of the property.

Step 7

Have all those listed under the "Grantor" section sign the form in front of a notary as a witness. This is all that's required in most states to change ownership; however, you may have to file the form with the county that the property resides in. Check with the county clerk to determine if this is a necessity and file accordingly.