Family member living in property, supposed to be buying it, 18m on, going nowhere?!

FBaby

Surely THEY would have to take OP to court to stop the sale of the house and prove that they have a beneficial interest on the house? Similarly, THEY would have to take her to court and prove that they were evicted illegally. Would they be prepared to do that?

If I were you OP, I would give them notice to leave the property unless they sign a proper tenancy with you until such time as they buy the property or you evict them. If you sale, I would suggest you give them the £15K back they invested in the property.

What I find so sad is your financial arrangement with your OH. You say you have 3 children together yet YOU are struggling every month because of it. Did he give you or loan you that £5K. Surely YOU are his partner, mother of his children and it HIS family causing all that trouble. Shouldn't he be the one putting pressure on them and trying to sort it out?

paddy's_mum

FBaby wrote: »

Surely THEY would have to take OP to court to stop the sale of the house and prove that they have a beneficial interest on the house?



What I find so sad is your financial arrangement with your OH. You say you have 3 children together yet YOU are struggling every month because of it. Did he give you or loan you that £5K. Surely YOU are his partner, mother of his children and it HIS family causing all that trouble. Shouldn't he be the one putting pressure on them and trying to sort it out?

I don't believe that they would have to do anything except refuse to leave. A buyer's solicitor will demand vacant possession, as would any mortgage company involved. How could the OP offer any of that that if her 'tenants' decline to go.

I think I'm correct in recalling that on the SPIF you have to declare that vacant possession will be given and to lie on it leaves you wide open to a claim for damages/compensation. Some SPIF disputes have involved huge amounts of money eg Mcmeekin v Long.

As they are (it would seem) tenants she would have to take eviction proceedings and it would appear that OP is wildly unaware of current Landlord law and has contravened (albeit accidentally) several major requirements. I can't see a judge patting her on the head for that, which again puts the tenants in a position where OP is somewhat over a barrel.

I do, however, totally agree with your last paragraph. She is the mother of his children and expecting a 4th into the bargain. What a pity that he isn't supporting his wife and children - his own family -against his relatives.

FBaby

In the end, I assume neither of them would want to go to court, it is all about threats. Yes, she wouldn't look to good in front of a judge asking for an eviction, but that would still be more straight forward, and cheaper than them taking her to court to try to prove their interest in the house.

I would hope though that OH would intervene at this stage and manage to get them to either pay rent until they can buy or move out. After all, if they DID have the mortgage, they would be paying it, so why not paying rent?

Annisele

A_little_stressed!! wrote: »

Ok, I have a plan...
Part 1 now - I request £100wk rent (rentable value before work)...
Part 2 - Jan - I'll get all the legal info in Jan, so I have facts etc before I actually do anything.

I know I'm repeating what others have said, but I think it needs repeating.

Get proper paid-for legal advice before you do anything.

Don't make an offer to accept £x in rent; don't give any deadlines; don't say anything about your intentions. Go and see a solicitor.

Mojisola

A little stressed!! - have you seen Cuffey's thread -
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3762265

It's taken two years to get free of the situation.

A_little_stressed!!

FBaby wrote: »

If you sale, I would suggest you give them the £15K back they invested in the property.

I doubt there will be £15k over the agreed price for him left over, I mean it could sell for max £15k over what we agreed, but unlikely.

So from everyone's agreement here, I have been more than kind/reasonable for this time (yes stupid, but that is another issue!)
I have played fair, enough is enough and this needs to be dealt with NOW.

And there is next to no chance of this being resolved amicably by giving more time, and no reason why I should as I have well & truely been taken the pi$$ out of?

Ignore friendship/family, go forwards in a business like way & put myself first?

This is pretty much what I thought before posting, I just needed this push to know the sense I have been thinking is right, and as not one person has said that this is what you do for family, I now know for sure that this is not normal.

I really do appreciate the comments, even those who think I should be sectioned! As it is what I needed, and I would have judged myself the same if looking in from the outside.

It has been causing major arguments between myself and my OH, tears and stress I just did not need in my condition. I sympathise with OH for the fact that he is close to his family, but I can list 100 scenarios where he has been taken advantage over, and he just lets it happen.

I think sometimes the want to have a 'happy family' with parents/grandparents to children, brothers, in laws, whatever, can cloud judgement dramatically, as you want to do the right thing, and not cause massive arguments, which in turn mean no contact. The children miss out on that family life and you don't want to look back years down the line and think was it worth it? Losing everyone, being 'black sheep' of the family, but I guess it's not worth having family that lets this happen. And this could just be another thing on a list of situations that happen again and again over the years.

It just breaks my heart

dancingfairy

If you get it wrong you run the risk of being done for illegal eviction. Yes really and you could also be accused of harassing your 'poor tenants'.
Not only that but as a landlord you have legal responsibilities for things like gas safety certificates and you could potentially be prosecuted for lack of this.
They have cleverly got your tenants out and are now living virtually rent free in your house with no hope of getting a mortgage
They may even be able to make a claim on some equity in your house as they have spent money on it. Seriously you need to get some proper legal advice and fast.
I'm so sorry you are in this situation
df

FBaby

I doubt there will be £15k over the agreed price for him left over, I mean it could sell for max £15k over what we agreed, but unlikely.

If they claim they have an interest in the house and this interest is to the amount of £15K, even if what is left over doesn't come to this, you could still possibly have to pay that amount.

As EVEYONE had said, if you want to go the legal route now, you need advice. You've already made serious mistakes, some that won't be easy to undone, let alone doing it yourself who is prone to more mistakes.

How you could have agreed for them to invest in the house before it was them without any sort of legal paper, I don't understand. Even if it was still totally amicable, it was such a risky thing to do with anyone however much you trust them. It sounds like the type of people who would not stop to take you to the cleaners, and your OH doesn't sound like he is strong enough to support you in all this.

Don't send that letter now, go and get a free 1/2 hour appointment.

paddy's_mum

FBaby wrote: »

You've already made serious mistakes, some that won't be easy to undo

Don't send that letter now, go and get a free 1/2 hour appointment.

OP - I'd bet money that your mortgage terms and conditions state that if you wish to rent out your flat, you have to seek the permission of the lender. If they get whiff of all this jiggerypokery, they could foreclose on you.

They could also chase you for any losses they incur because you did not abide by the original conditions or if the property becomes devalued because of all these antics. Ever heard of a thing called mortgage fraud?

Ditto any insurance you have on the property. Insurers call stuff like this 'material facts' and should they find out, may well void your insurance.

That's without all the Rogue Landlord stuff for which your Local Authority could prosecute you.

Your tenants could well be planning to blow the whistle on you over many aspects of all this.

Now do you understand why so many of us gasped as the story unfolded?

When you see a solicitor, I suggest that you insist that your OH goes to that meeting with you - perhaps then he'll finally grasp that his efforts to keep the peace with his relatives may cause the complete collapse of his home life, his family, his relationship, his finances and his future.

Truly, I wish you well and can only imagine how upsetting it must be to get kicked in the teeth as reward for kindness. I am sorry for your trouble. Good luck.

A_little_stressed!!

Nice girls finish last eh?