<prompt> Human: House was purchased one month prior to getting married; both names on the deed. We each put down 16 grand which was to reach the 20 down payment to avoid PMI.Down: 20Current Principal Balance: 122,000Purchased for: 165,000 appraised for 168,000Estimated price after renovations: 180,000Currently paying: 1,100moShe makes 40k per year and I make 70k and we have about 15 grand in savings. She does not want me to have the house, but I do not see how she can prevent me from buying it. Probably more of a rlegaladvice question.Can I afford to buy her out?  <response>: I know this is not rlegaladvice, but do you two have lawyers here? If she is not willing to part with the house, and neither are you, it might not matter if you can or cannot afford it. She can prevent you from buying it because as a person on deed she also needs to consent to the sale to youtransfer of title. Even if she is only refusing on principal...she has that right unless a court orders otherwise. One of you basically has to basically buckle and agree to be bought out assuming other can afford it, or you have to sell whether voluntarily or after you are forced to do so by the court, circumstances, etc.If she is willing to agree to sell you her share, you might be able to refinance in your own name, and get a HELOC to pay her cash for her part of the equity. You will also need to decide who would be responsible for the cost of an appraisal though this will also be part of bank refinancing, you and her might not agree given renos, what happens if one or both of you disagree with appraisal, how to decide between competing appraisals, etc.Do not cash out your retirement savings to do this. There are penalties and long term consequences of cashing those out just to put into a savings which is what the house is. You should NOT buy this house even if she agrees if it means over-extending yourself or putting yourself into a worse financial situation. It is just a house, at the end of the day. There are other many other places to live. Be honest with yourself as to whether you are trying to keep the house based on principal i.e. any bitterness, etc rather than because it is a sound financial decision. In my line of work I have seen many divorcingdivorced couples fight over a house they could not actually afford on their own, only to find themselves in foreclosure not far down the road. 