Can my house purchase be 'undone'?

Steph1962

I bought my nans house recently. it has completed. my uncle is now threatening to challenge this as he reckons my nan did not agree to sell it as she is not well, as mum (his sister) dealt with it. the money was for her to use to return abroad to see her last years out with my other uncle. he has had 3 months to do this before we completed but only now has he done so, we think someone has said something to him, as house prices have now gone up and he wants the current price for it not what was agreed in Feb.
my question is, can the house be taken away from us legally after completion? and if so what happens to deposits, our mortgage etc I'm a bit worried!?

phill99

No it can't. If the property has been legally conveyed to you and you are now the registered owner at the land registry, it cannot be taken off of you.

marlot

It probably can't stop him suing though, if he has grounds ...

loubel

When you say your nan is unwell and your mum dealt with the sale, what do you mean? Does nan have mental capacity? Did your mum sell the house to you as your nan's attorney? Did you pay full market price for the house?

Browntoa

Was the sale handled by a solicitor, does your mum have power of attorney ?

silvercar

Either, your nan was of sound mind and can do what she like with her property or she was not of sound mind and there was a power of attorney set up and enacted upon that allowed your mother to handle her affairs.

If neither of those was the case, then your uncle can challenge the sale.

Steph1962

my nan was admitted with a UTI a few weeks ago but her health has deteriorated very rapidly. She can have a discussion but as she now forgets recent things (she remembers the old times well), it is almost certain she has had dementia too, just to add to her woes. My uncle is now saying was she in a fit state of mind back at the start of the year to make such a decision. the plan then as she was just fit enough to travel, was to send her abroad into either a care-assisted apartment or care home near my other uncle. The money from the sale would have funded this. it was for her to spend as she wished. the house was valued around £230k but as it is in a state of disrepair, a value of around £210k was suggested to sell it quick. We could get a mortgage of £200k so went ahead as this meant we could also sell it private with no estate agent fees, and the house stayed 'in the family'. no one at the time said a word against it. it is also useful to keep the house "in the family". Now my uncle has raised these issues and is making legal threats. my mum is at her wits end and my other uncle/aunt are now obviously involved though we dont know what their thoughts are. the whole start of this was to sell the house for my nan to have money, not for me to get a cheap house. and just for the record, my uncle has basically neglected my nan for years, not contributing in any way to her care of upkeep of her house (my mum and dad have done it all (including her finances), and my uncle abroad has had her living with his a few times a year). my mum will have power of attorney but only after her death of course, and my uncle abroad the executor. my uncle here was omitted from the will in these respects (he is 2nd eldest my mum is the eldest, my uncle abroad the youngest of 4) hardly even went to visit her in hospital the last few times she has been in (3 times in the last 8 months) until now. now he has decided to 'care' about her. now it seems she wont come out of hospital and certainly cant travel abroad. it is very distressing and now this. The house now will obviously be worth more if sold now. i think this is what has started this off. I am naturally worried that this will affect our purchase. My uncle is quite aggressive and i know wont give up so i just want to have some peace in knowing that our house is safe, this all had nothing to do with us but now we are caught up in the row. We are 21 and 22 so very young and naive when it comes to this. my buying my nans house was supposed to be a memorial to her, now it is far from it. Our dream has turned into a nightmare. I will go to CAB as well, hopefully they can reassure us. thanks you to those that have tried to help. sorry this post is so long i hope its not against any rules!

loubel

You will need to clarify how your mum sold you nan's house without power of attorney? Or did nan sell you the property herself? You say she has dementia now, but was there any question of her capacity when she agreed to sell to you at an undervalue and when she signed the paperwork?

Steph1962

Well, mum spoke to nan. my uncle abroad was also aware as obviously of she went abroad it would be to him and my aunt was actually living with us at the time.
but even IF it were proved she was not of sound mind, can the house still be taken away from us now we have completed and are in the process of moving in - though slowly to try and show some respect, as you can imagine its very tetchy. what if the house were sold to someone else, would it be the case or is it just because we are family?

BigAunty

What do you mean your 'mum will have power of attorney but only after her death'? Do you mean 'until her death' and does she have it now? PoA is about making decisions on behalf of someone vulnerable while they are alive, managing their financial affairs.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/relationships_e/relationships_looking_after_people_e/managing_affairs_for_someone_else.htm

I doubt the CAB can help you much with a complex legal matter about a relative challenging a property sale.

Also, please use paragraphs and capital letters as it makes your post easier to read.

If you can afford to buy a property then you presumably have the means to appoint a solicitor. You need expert legal advice rather the general observations of forum members.

When did buying a property cheaply off a relative with possible dementia become a memorial gesture?

bouicca21

Power of attorney isn't something you get after death of the individual concerned it is a legal handover of the ability to act which requires a doctor to certify that the individual concerned is capable of understanding to what he or she is consenting. Sounds like your nan was not competent and so the court of protection should have been involved.

Further if your nan is not competent and nothing is in place about administering her estate on her behalf, then no one has the right to spend, invest or whatever, the proceeds of the house sale.

The question at the heart of this is whether you are all acting in her best interests, or whether your purchase of the house and the decision to send her abroad constitute an attempt to rip her off.

Sending a dementia patient abroad to be cared for by family might be in her best interests but looking after a dementia patient is exhausting and not to be taken on lightly. She may well be far better off in a care home, where more family can visit without having to cope with dementia, incontinence, mobility problems etc, all of which will get worse rather than better.

A care home will be expensive. Care in the family isn't, or even if you employ care assistants to help with the burden, at least will be cheaper.

Frankly if I were your uncle I'd be suspicious of what is going on. You may all have the best motives in the world but it can easily look as though you are all taking an unjustified pecuniary advantage of a vulnerable old lady. You need to be totally transparent or you will end up in court, possibly even in prison.