Can we be held responsible for lengthy house sale?

randomlife

Problem - 3 siblings have an inherited property which after a lot of work having to be done to it to get it even presentable now has sale agreed. (work and repairs were done by all three siblings in varying proportions).

Now, however, it has come to light that the chain has some problems and could possibly fall through.
In the meantime there are ongoing bills for upkeep of the property (oil, rates, electric, etc).

The brother is now refusing to pay his share of any of the bills claiming that the other two siblings (myself and sister) spent too long in getting it to market, (he had expected it to be ready and sold much earlier) and that we have as a result jeopardized the sale. He is starting to hint at legal action.

The bills are a struggle split only two ways instead of three. However despite the fact that no verbal or written agreement was ever done to state a time frame for selling the property, (and especially with the current property market downturn), what is more concerning is his claim against us . I have to question if he have a leg to stand on, or is he just chancing his arm in trying to get out of paying any bills?

Has anyone had experience of this, or have any advice on the legal standing of this argument?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

randomlife

I forgot to add, there is no mortgage owing on this property.

Thanks in advance of any advice!

patman99

Would the brother & other sibling agree to short-term rental of the property until the value increases significantly ?. That way, none of you would be responsible for the bills as they would be paid by the renter.

terrencetrentderby

How long have the siblings owned the property?

Have they all been in occupation?

What contributions have each of them made?

pinkshoes

On the basis that house prices are unlikely to rise (or fall, or do anything exciting) for quite a while, and given sibling 3 sounds like a t*sser, then they should do their best to pay the bills between the two of them, get the house sold ASAP, throw sibling 3 his 1/3 of the cash, then once the sale is done and dusted, tell him he's a t*sser for putting money ahead of family, and never speak to him again. the end.

randomlife

Thanks for your replies,

Nobody wants to rent out the property, relations are too strained to deal with that, everyone just wants to push for a sale.

The property is not occupied,and hasnt been since the death of the parent (about 3 years ago). While this may seem a long time, no repairs were really started until about 8/9 months after this, and it took a while as everyone was working and had to carry out any repairs around working hours .

Presently,one sibling works full time, the brother part/full time and myself part-time.

Each sibling has paid for materials that went over the set budget from funds set aside from the estate (for the repairs) from their own money, and it was agreed that these would then be paid back upon sale of the property.

My main issue is that that bills for the upkeep of the estate were always clearly communicated by the eldest (also the executor of the will), with amounts, due dates etc clearly stated, and that these were inherited along with the one third share of the property and therefore everyone should pay one third for he upkeep.

The expenditure on materials from each siblings own pocket however, were not communicated and I would have thought these feature separately. But perhaps not? Any labour carried out was also agreed on (verbally) as voluntary.

randomlife

Thanks Pink Shoes, I agree and think that course of action once the sale is complete is a forgone conclusion, I wouldnt want to deal with anyone (family or otherwise) who uses the death of a parent and the resulting inheritance as a way of bullying the other two siblings so they can get a bit more money!

thelem

randomlife wrote: »

Thanks Pink Shoes, I agree and think that course of action once the sale is complete is a forgone conclusion, I wouldnt want to deal with anyone (family or otherwise) who uses the death of a parent and the resulting inheritance as a way of bullying the other two siblings so they can get a bit more money!

That depends on why he is refusing to pay the bills. Maybe he has his own arrears or other money problems that he doesn't want to admit to his family. When he thought it was only going to be another month or so he might have been able to cope, but if it's going to drag out then it might have serious consequences for him.

Or he might just be a tight bum.

Can you pay the bills for now, and then take his share out of the proceeds of the sale? You might need to get your conveyancer to draft some form of agreement to hold him to that though, I'm not sure.

terrencetrentderby

Contributing to the cost of basic upkeep & repairs is not going to usurp the legal and beneficial interests of the 3 owners in the property. Assuming you each own the property in equal shares that will be what a Court would order should any party seek an Order for Sale under the Trusts of Land Act i.e. a split of the proceeds in 3 equal shares. It is ridiculous for him to suggest you might owe him money for taking your time getting the house on the market. He could have put it up for sale if he was that bothered. He didnt. By histwisted logic you have just as strong a claim against him for any loss caused by delay.

hcb42

drop the price and just sell it!

your sibling may have a point, sold my dads within 12 mo of his death, including six months where we did nothing, have close friends who are arguing thi very thing and holding out for 2007 rates(in the same town!), house on market five years now.

to contemplate cutting fanily off over such a disagreement is tragic.

phill99

Deaths and marriages. They really do bring out the worst in families.