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Lady in distress.....inherited house 50/50

Hi everyone.
Very briefly.
Brother and I inherited each a half share in family home last year. The market slumped but we still agreed to sell the property. A couple "bought" the property 6 months ago but it seems they cannot complete the sale. It was not their fault as the husband lost his job due to the recession.
My brother and I are not close......there is a big age difference and he expected our father would have left him EVERYTHING! Naturally he was not amused when I inherited half.
So I am thinking of buying his share of the house at the market price that the young couple originally offered and which my brother and I had also agreed upon.
He would never agree to renting the property and waiting till things improved.
What would my position be if he refused to sell ME his half of the property?. (He would probably refuse to sell it to me out of spite/jealously.)
Can he be made to accept my offer and secondly, since the property was "sold" the valuation has gone down further.

Please advise.

Kind regards
Clare
Every penny is a prisoner.......
«13

Comments

  • spuds_2
    spuds_2 Posts: 874 Forumite
    Sorry to hear of your situation. I doubt that he could be made to accept any offer, including yours. I am assuming there are no outstanding mortgages or debts on the property and therefore it will never be the subject of repossession.

    The quickest solution would be for you to buy the property, though as you say he may not like this option. I think he would like it even less if you had the house revalued and wanted to pay less than the price you accepted from the couple. You could offer that he 'buy you out' of your share.

    The alternative is to drop the price and hope for a quick sale. Had you thought what you would do with the house if you did get it? Renting until the market picks up could end up taking quite a while. Good luck.
  • Clare11
    Clare11 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Hi Spuds.
    Thank you for your quick reply!
    The property is indeed mortgage and debt free.
    I was thinking of renting it out ....it needs to be lived in. Thankfully my husband and I are financially secure and think of the property as a future "investment"....smiles........possibly VERY long term.
    If my brother was willing to sell it at the price offered by the young couple why cant he sell it to me at the same amount? It was almost a 20% drop back then. Even I would refuse to take a another drop in the price.

    How would his refusal to sell be viewed by a solicitor?
    Have I any legal rights?
    Has anyone had similar problems?


    Kind regards
    Clare
    Every penny is a prisoner.......
  • rsykes2000
    rsykes2000 Posts: 2,494 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    His refusal to sell is his business, he can do so if he wants and legally is allowed to refuse to sell it to anyone including you if he wants to be stubborn.
  • TotallyBroke
    TotallyBroke Posts: 1,540 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Does he have to know it is you buying his half.
    Would it be an option to make it look like someone else was interested in the property? Then the solicitor just hands over his half of the cash to him.

    I'm not sure that it is possible but thought it could be something that you look into.
  • Clare11
    Clare11 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Hi Totallybroke

    To be honest.......we were thinking of doing what you suggest.
    But is it legal to do so?

    Kind regards
    Clare
    Every penny is a prisoner.......
  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 14,498 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Clare11 wrote: »
    Brother and I inherited each a half share in family home last year.

    A bit of a longshot, but did the will actually leave the house to be shared between you as you say, or did it say that the house should be sold and the proceeds split between you ? Because if it's the latter then I think that does imply some sort of time limit for the executors (is that also you and your brother ?) to get the house sold.
  • fishpond
    fishpond Posts: 1,022 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Inform him you will be expecting his half of the council tax to be paid every month.
    Might give him something to think about.
    I am a LandLord,(under review) so there!:p
  • Clare11
    Clare11 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Hi p00hsticks.
    In my fathers will there was no mention of selling the house and dividing the proceeds. I guess he was hoping that perhaps we could agree on something.
    The executor of the will is a person neither of us knew until I read the will.
    Every penny is a prisoner.......
  • Clare11
    Clare11 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Hi Fishpond.
    What a good idea......smiles.
    But seriously though.....I want things to be fair and sorted out. Its taken much too long to sort out our fathers estate.

    All I can say is "jealously is a terrible thing"

    Surely I cant be the only one going through this awkward situation?
    Every penny is a prisoner.......
  • paulsin
    paulsin Posts: 58 Forumite
    Put it to him and see what he says.

    If he refuses, then advise him that you will refuse every offer made on the house so the only way of him getting any part of it is to sell it to you. Not the best way but if he knows its the only way of getting the money then he may be a little more considerate.
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