Rights re: sale on death?

nebari

I've been reading around this evening and it looks like you are right, and I won't be able to get a mortgage due to my Uncle being related (obviously) and staying in the house. :-(

Franklee: Yes, that's the route I initially went down with a solicitor, however he informed me that I can not force a sale, only take her to court if she refuses, however it will be down to he judge to determine whether it can be sold or not, and he reckons there is no guarantee of that. :-(

That would mean I have a half share in a house I may never be able to release the capital from. And that would be on top of me paying a greatly increased mortgage for amendments to my house for my daughter.

getmore4less

If he took legal advice he would probably be advised to not sell without a life interest to stop you kicking them both out, they may also advise it for both of them if they are in a long term relationship.

Why not have them buy you out and let them get on with their lives as they see fit?

nebari

I think I mentioned earlier on, that I would be happy to get something written up that I could not sell the property until his death, however buying doesn't seem to be an option now. =(

I have asked her to buy me out (was my first avenue of action) - she is not interested.

Added to this there is some kind of extra pressure, as they have let the lease run down to 81 years, and have not been interested in renewing it.

Pixie5740

You can't get a residential mortgage because you won't be resident in the property, you can't get a BTL mortgage because you won't be letting the property. Is there the possibility of getting a Regulated BTL mortgage and charging a peppercorn rent?

Can your uncle afford to extend the lease or will you end up bearing the full cost of that yourself?

Do you own the property with your uncle as joint tenants or tenants in common? If it's the former then when your uncle dies you would end up owning the whole property. If it's the latter then I would adjust the shares if I was putting in more to extend the lease so it wasn't a straight 50/50 split.

I bet your uncle's GF doesn't want to buy you out. She probably knows that the chances of you getting her out upon your uncle's death are slim to none.

Nobbie1967

I think your only hope of getting any capital out of this is to go down the forced sale route when your uncle dies, but I'm not even sure if this would be possible, but certainly would be expensive.

If your uncle would agree, then buying him out, giving him the cash and then formally renting the house back at a market rent. You could probably get a BTL mortgage for this through a broker. When he dies, the partner can be evicted with an S21. However the Uncle would be ill advised to agree to this as he loses all security of tenure and then what happens once he's spent all the proceeds? Maybe an idea to discuss with the solicitor?

nebari

Pixie5740 - My uncle does not have the money to renew the lease and we own it as tenants in common.

I believe your last comment is what she intends (although not saying so).

Nobbie1967 - I don't believe buying the flat is a realistic option after everything I have read.

Surely, the law is there to protect people. How can I (and my mum, previously) own half the house for 20 years and get nothing from it, then half go to somebody else and prevent us from ever releasing money from it? :-(

My gran left half to my uncle and half to my mum 20 years ago with the wish that my uncle be allowed to live there, then he would will his half to my mum when he dies (he is 10 years older than my mum). He has gone back on that after meeting his partner, so my mum and I are left with half we can do nothing with. How is that fair? Surely there must be ways to mitigate this?

getmore4less

Looks like he may already have a life interest from Grans will you need to go back and check that will.

The life interest may mean you don't own the 1/2 yet only have a beneficial interest.

Annisele

nebari wrote: »

How can I (and my mum, previously) own half the house for 20 years and get nothing from it, then half go to somebody else and prevent us from ever releasing money from it? :-(

My gran left half to my uncle and half to my mum 20 years ago with the wish that my uncle be allowed to live there, then he would will his half to my mum when he dies (he is 10 years older than my mum). He has gone back on that after meeting his partner, so my mum and I are left with half we can do nothing with. How is that fair? Surely there must be ways to mitigate this?

What form, precisely, did these "wishes" take? "My gran said she hoped that is what would happen" is very different to "my gran's will leaves half the house to my mum, subject to my uncle's right to live in the house rent free for the rest of his life". In the first case, you might be able to charge your uncle a market rent for half the property, or move in yourself, and/or force a sale. In the second case, your options are much more limited.

I don't think you can blame your uncle for changing his mind about what he'd like to happen to the property. Prioritising your partner over a niece/nephew is I think what many people would do (including me). Prioritising a niece/nephew over a partner that doesn't exist yet is also pretty normal, but things change.

nebari

My grans wishes were not in a will - that is not a problem, am not contesting, just giving background info.

Likewise, I do not object to him leaving his half to his partner, although it goes against his mothers wishes (and he knows it). Not contesting this at all.

I own half - tenants in common. My other passed it to me, as she wanted me to be able to look after Heidi (my disabled daughter) as well as possible.

How can my mother and I own (half) a property for 20 years (currently) and never be able to see any benefit from it, yet my uncle has had the benefit of it for 20 years? Again, I am not worried about the past, but I am concerned about the future as his partner is closer to my age, which means I may never see any benefit from the property. How is that fair / lawful?

Anybody have any recommendations?

nebari

I've just read something (been googling this morning) and may have an idea - would the following be feasible?

If I arranged for my Uncle to transfer his share to his partner, at the same time getting a declaration of trust written that ensures the partner will sell the property (her and my halves) upon my uncles death?

The bit I read was that a DOT can be an instrument of transfer.