Family home after a death

Sparky1966

I have just found this site/forum so I'm hoping for a bit of advice. I am in my mid forties and live in the home that belonged to my mother. I've lived here all my life and have spent the last few years caring for my mother, as well as working full time.
Sadly my mother passed away 3 weeks ago. This house is now paid for but it is left to me and my 4 siblings as it was in my mother's will which she made about 30 years ago
I stupidly thought my siblings (who all have their own bought houses)
would just let me stay in the house. How wrong was i? They've effectively given me notice and told my to get put into a one bedroom flat through social housing then the family home can be sold
As well as dealing with my mothers death i now have to go through the stresses of what I do regarding where I live. The obvious answer would be for me to buy them out and stay where I am but I only earn £15000 per year so it's not a huge amount. The house is an ex council house so would only be worth about £70000 which isn't a huge amount but probably still out of my reach. If I found a cheaper house I wouldn't be able to get it because I wouldn't have any deposit until this house sold and this house wouldn't sell unless I had somewhere to go.
I suppose what I'm asking for is any advice about my options. Because I've never had to have a mortgage or rent anywhere it's all a bit bewildering to me and seems such a huge problem.
Thank you anyone who trawls through all this and replies, I do appreciate it.

dotdash79

If you don't have any debts, and have a decent credit file (no defaults, CCJs, etc.) and using your 20% of the house as a deposit you might be able to get a mortgage to buy out the house if it's worth £70,000.

Might be worth while speaking to a mortgage broker. I know a couple of the ones on here would think they could do it.

Dan-Dan

I think you should post this over on the death board

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=217

it was invaluable to me at one time , lots of help on there

Mojisola

dotdash79 wrote: »

If you don't have any debts, and have a decent credit file (no defaults, CCJs, etc.) and using your 20% of the house as a deposit you might be able to get a mortgage to buy out the house if it's worth £70,000.

Might be worth while speaking to a mortgage broker. I know a couple of the ones on here would think they could do it.

Good advice.

Also - and this is so important after a death, especially if you've been the carer of the person who has died - nothing has to be done in a hurry.

Some estates don't get settled for six to twelve months and some even longer so ignore the pressure from your siblings in the short term.

Who are the executors of the will?

Sparky1966

Thanks everyone for your replies
In answer to who is the executor of the will- my mother left her will at her bank so currently they are the executor. They have said that because there is only the house to consider and no other assets, that they are happy to pass this responsibility over to the family, ie the five children.

RAS

Who are the executors?

Rather than going "woe is me", have you actually been to see a full market mortgage broker to see if you counld get a mortgage to cover the £60K as you might be able to stratch to this?

Are all 4 siblings determined to have their money immediately, or would one of them be prepared to wait a couple fo years for their pay-out or all their payout?

If you got a lodger, could you afford to run the home?

If none of the works, check what mortgage you can get, add about 10K as a deposit and see what you could buy in the area? Two beds are much more saleable and would allow you to take a lodger (probably within the tax-free rent a room limit).

EDIT - cross posted, could you offer to be the administrator then (as this would allow you some control over timing).

Mojisola

RAS wrote: »

Rather than going "woe is me", have you actually been to see a full market mortgage broker to see if you counld get a mortgage to cover the £60K as you might be able to stratch to this?

Are all 4 siblings determined to have their money immediately, or would one of them be prepared to wait a couple fo years for their pay-out or all their payout?

If you got a lodger, could you afford to run the home?

If none of the works, check what mortgage you can get, add about 10K as a deposit and see what you could buy in the area? Two beds are much more saleable and would allow you to take a lodger (probably within the tax-free rent a room limit)

It can be very hard after a death to cope with things that would come easily at other times, especially if dealing with grief is being made harder by the mercenary attitude of family who should be being supportive.

Other than that, RAS's advice is good.

Sparky - If you keep posting on here (or, even better, the board Dan linked to), you will get support and advice to help in this very difficult time. At the moment, you might not be able to see a happy future ahead of you but this is the start of a new phase in your life and there are lots of opportunities out there for you.

princeofpounds

Try not to get too resentful about this (not saying you are now, but it's a danger). Splitting a house between siblings evenly is a pretty fair distribution. It is also fair for them to want to monetise their share.

You may have been living in and caring for your mother, but that doesn't translate into a right over the house. Presumably you weren't paying any rent at the time, which could be considered a benefit you have already enjoyed. I don't say this to be rude, but so you are clear over how people will view this externally.

With an understanding attitude over such matters, communicated to your fellow siblings, you will increase your chances to get things sorted cleanly and without a rush. If you dig your heels in it will quickly become adversarial.

As stated you might be able to buy it. You will have a 20% share already, which can serve as a deposit. You then need to raise a mortgage of 3.8x your salary, plus pay for lawyers etc. This is not impossible.

ValHaller

Do you have any savings?

A quick calculation shows that with a 4% mortgage over 20 years, you would pay £350/month

Sparky1966

Thanks for replying ValHaller. Unfortunately I do not have any savings.

wannahouse

Sparky1966 wrote: »

Thanks for replying ValHaller. Unfortunately I do not have any savings.

but like someone above said, you effectively have a 20% deposit right there in the house, and would only need a 3.8x mortgage, so you should take their advice and see a mortgage broker to see what they can do for you...

and maybe tell your siblings you plan o looking into a mortgage to buy the house and pay them all out, so they know where they stand...