Selling a half share in a house

Ames

paddy's_mum wrote: »

Ask your Dad the date on which he is going to die.

Do the two of them realise that if your dad snuffs it in the interval, then no sale will be taking place. What happens to all the fancy plans then? One of myy worries is similar to that. The idea is that dad sells his house which is in top condition, does mum's up and then when he goes that's in top condition. So rather than in the long run having one house in top condition and one in poor condition, we get two that are at the top of their values. My worry though is that if dad lives another 20 years, he's not going to keep on top of it, so when he goes the house will be in pretty much the same state it's in now. The other concern is that if he goes into a care home and the house has to be sold to pay for it, I've mentioned that but neither him or sister think it'll happen. And then there's the problem if he dies in the next five years, if he's bought this house for more than it's worth, or bought it at the right value and gifted us the rest of the profit from his house, then that'll cause inheritance tax problems.

I wish you luck, really I do, but I think the time is here for you to get some expert legal advice if only to protect your own position. Sadly, I'm starting to realise this. I'm going to try sending an email with all my problems and concerns - then they can't go in a huff and shut me up. If they still wont take my situation into account then it looks like I will have to get legal.

dancingfairy wrote: »

Things sound a bit of a mess in your family and you just don't need this :mad:.
Would your sister (and dad) believe the full facts if they were put in front of them - ie if you get house price values for the local area and present it to them? Sister was there when the estate agents said that there's no guarantees, that there's no logic to what is and isn't selling. But instead of seeing it as a warning, she saw it as 'don't worry this house will sell'. It's like when mum was ill and in the hospitce, even when the doctor phoned her and told her to get there asap she just heard what she wanted to, that it wasn't that bad. Would they believe it if you got it in writing that people are buying all year round? It would depend on the source, and I'd have to prove that people are buing and paying the same amount.
I still think a solicitor is your best option. Could you get them to write a strong warning letter to your sister pointing out that she can't prevent the sale or you will be forced to take legal action against her? See above, I'm starting to realise that's probably the only way forward. If you actually started legal action against her perhaps that would frighten her into some sense?
Unfortuntately something has to give and you really need to start looking after yourself in this as you are going to make yourself ill
Your sister and dad are the ones with a problem seeing logic and reasoning and you have to stand up to them somehow.
df

pinkteapot wrote: »

The value of the house will drop as it stands there empty. As soon as you walk into a house you can tell if it hasn't been lived in for a while. It won't put off developers but it will put off families. And if your relatives want top price then they need to sell to a family, not a developer. They seem to think that being empty for a few months will be good, mum was a smoker and they keep going on about the smell and how hard it is to get rid of. As for a family, don't you know that they're not buying? They're not upsizing to a 3/4 bed house, and it's only bungalows (like dad's, funnily enough) that are selling.

If your sister insists on believing in a spring bounce, point out that it means the house will be empty for six months longer than it needs to be (and over winter at that) before going on the market. This will knock off any extra value that it gains in the supposed bounce anyway. I think this is the crux of the problem, they only see things that'll increase the value, and not things that'll lose value.

Thanks for all the support x

Ames

GDB2222 wrote: »

Everything is saleable (almost). It's a question of value. The OP's half-share is probably saleable at about 30% of the value of the whole house to someone prepared to take the sister and dad on. That's a 40% discount, and that's the sort of discount HMRC have been known to accept for tax purposes in the past. That doesn't sound too bad, especially if I pro rata the debts too...

Unfortunately, if the OP sells her half-share for significantly less than half the vacant possession value of the house, there are likely to be ructions with the benefits people. Intentional deprivation of assets etc. There was a thread on here recently about a girl who spent £18k on her wedding and subsequently is being denied benefits. I doubt it because once it sells I wouldn't be eligible for benefits, so they'd probably be quite happy for a quick sale at less than value.

loubel wrote: »

You mentioned before that there are estate debts that haven't yet been paid. Is there enough money in the estate without the house to pay these off? Nope. All the money went on paying the funeral costs (which is legally right - that's the first claim on the estate). If not then you will likely find that these creditors are unhappy to wait until your dad is ready to buy the house and will expect you at the least to market it for sale once the Grant comes through. The debts are very small, about £800 (not including the mortgage), so I imagine sister and dad will be more than happy to pay those themselves in order to keep their plans for the house intact.

Thanks everyone. I think my plan is to send an email, and if that doesn't work then I'll have to see a solicitor. I assume I wont be able to get legal aid for a civil matter like this, so I'll have to wait for a few cheques to come through first.

GDB2222

Unfortunately, if the OP sells her half-share for significantly less than half the vacant possession value of the house, there are likely to be ructions with the benefits people. Intentional deprivation of assets etc. There was a thread on here recently about a girl who spent £18k on her wedding and subsequently is being denied benefits.

I doubt it because once it sells I wouldn't be eligible for benefits, so they'd probably be quite happy for a quick sale at less than value.

Ah, but once you've run through the house sale proceeds and are coming back for more benefits - that's when they'll get you.

Ames

So basically you're saying I'm screwed either way? I either have my income cut to a level I can't live off straight away, or in a few years time when I've used up my inheritance?

GDB2222

Ames wrote: »

So basically you're saying I'm screwed either way? I either have my income cut to a level I can't live off straight away, or in a few years time when I've used up my inheritance?

If you sell at what they consider an undervalue, they *may* refuse to pay you benefits later.

I don't know the benefits rules, but it seems that whilst the estate is still being administered and beneficiaries have not been paid out you should still be getting your benefits. Typically, estates take up to a year or so from date of death to the date teh beneficiaries get paid out. How long has it been so far?

Ames

Mum died in early April, the probate form went in yesterday. It'll take a few weeks for the grant to come through, at which point I'll have to advertise for creditors to come forward. Once that's done, the inheritance is shared out. It's at that point my benefits will be stopped as I'll have an asset worth more than the savings limit. Since I'm the one dealing with the estate I'll have to get on with it and stop dithering, or the benefits people could accuse me of dragging my feet just to stay entitled to benefits.

I've just sent the email to dad and sis putting forward my position (that I can't wait forever for them to decide it's the right time to sell), and pointing out all the issues around them doing work without any insurance, and reasons why their ideas of adding value and when to sell are wrong.

So now it's wait and see if I've got through to them, and in the meantime carry on with the probate stuff knowing that I'm putting in a lot of work and effort for something that will leave me so much worse off.

GDB2222

I don't see how the benefits people can accuse you of anything. They have no idea how complicated the estate is to administer. You, with your administrator hat on, can take just as long as it takes. Surely, you can engineer a dispute with one of the creditors for a few Pounds? Maybe you can dispute the paper bill? Anything to hold things up. If the estate decides to do up the property before sale, that will take time, and I don't see how that's anything to do with the benefits people.

I did wonder whether you should have refused to act as executor, and if you had said you were just about to send in the probate forms, I would have advised against it. Too late now.

GDB2222

On the kitchen/bathroom, how long would that work take to do? Can it be finished by end of August?

RAS

GDB2222 wrote: »

I did wonder whether you should have refused to act as executor, and if you had said you were just about to send in the probate forms, I would have advised against it. Too late now.

Not really, there is the little issue of the car that dear sis purloined.

And Ames needs to make a list of the expenses which she is entitled to reclaim as executor.

And to work out what the situation regaarding the mortgage, before she pays out.

And she needs to collect in the insurance policies, which could take a while.

Until all that is done everything belongs to the estate not Ames.

neverdespairgirl

GDB2222 wrote: »

There was a thread on here recently about a girl who spent £18k on her wedding and subsequently is being denied benefits.

So she should be!