Calculate Proportional Property Payout Between Co-Owners

Published on June 15, 2026

Word-Problem

Determine the fair payout for co-owner B based on their ownership percentage and co-owner A's desired sale price in a real estate scenario.

Question

Owner A owns 55.5% of 2.482 acres. He wants a flat $20,000 to sell but there is another owner with interest in the property. Owner B owns 44.5%. What amount do I pay to owner B to make him have same pay?

Answer

To solve this problem, we need to determine how much Owner B should receive so that the “payout per percentage of ownership” is equal for both owners.

1. Identify the given values

Owner A’s ownership share:
Owner A’s desired payout:
Owner B’s ownership share:
Owner B’s payout: (This is what we need to find)

Note: The total acreage (2.482 acres) is extra information and does not affect the calculation of the proportional payout.

2. Set up the proportion

For both owners to have the “same pay” relative to their interest, the ratio of the payout to the ownership percentage must be equal. This means the payout per

of ownership should be the same for both parties.

The formula is:

3. Solve for

Substitute the known values into the equation:

To isolate

, multiply both sides by

4. Perform the calculation

First, calculate the numerator:

Next, divide by the denominator:

Final Answer:

To ensure Owner B receives a proportional amount relative to Owner A, you should pay Owner B:

Theorems

• Proportionality Theorem

If two ratios are equal, then the ratio of the numerators is equal to the ratio of the denominators. Mathematically, if

, then

and

implies

(assuming

and

• Rule of Three (Direct Proportion)

Used to find an unknown value (

) when there is a direct proportional relationship between two known pairs of values. If

corresponds to

, and