Selling a jointly owned inherited property

greenface

the poster above this one makes good sense , One thing though . If there is no house .Your brother want two thirds to do what exactly. If its to run it as a farm/ or anything else your entitled to some profit . If hes planning to buy your sis and then sell 2 thirds . you might be shafted or in a strong position depending >

xylophone

You say that your brother "wishes to stay on the farm".

Presumably you mean that he wishes to continue to farm the land/run a business from the property as you say that there is no dwelling house.

Is he able to obtain a mortgage for 2/3 of the value of the property so that he can buy you both out?

If he can't afford the mortgage on his own, can he find a business partner so that together they can buy out your and your sister's interest?

If this is not an option then your brother will need to accept that the property will have to be sold so that you can all take your cut?

Seanymph

Perhaps rather than looking at it as a physical thing, land, it may help you to think of it as a business.

Standing aside from the fact that I find it hard to believe, as a farmers daughter, you don't already grasp this.

You have been left a third of a business. Also a strange bequest in farming, but there you go.

It is not land, the land is merely an asset of the business. The business owns the land.

Your sister is selling your brother her third of the business, he then owns two thirds, and you own a third.

You will therefore get one third of the business profits, presumably after he has paid himself for doing the work.

If, as directors and owners, you and your brother wish to sell some assets (land), you can do that, and you would get a third and he would get two thirds of the money.

Now you may be able to 'trade' with him, he gives you ten acres to give up your third so he owns everything left. But you cannot physically slice up the land because what you have been left is a business that owns land. And to do that I strongly suggest you get legal advice.

But you don't own land, you own a share in a business that holds land.

dizzy4

thanks for all your comments, they have been really helpful, I now understand I own a third interest in a farm. I am now looking at the option to force a sale of the property if he cannot afford to buy me out as well as my sister. Can I do this...?

booksurr

dizzy4 wrote: »

I am now looking at the option to force a sale of the property if he cannot afford to buy me out as well as my sister. Can I do this...?

rather than have flights of fancy why not go and talk to a solicitor to find out what your real options are and how much they would cost

the only way to force a sale is to take your brother to court and present and argument to the judge as to why the farm should be sold. You may or may not win the case, but one thing is for sure, forced sales cases are notoriously expensive for legal fees so with farmland at what £7 - 10,000 per acre let us hope your 1/3 share is worth > £50k or you will end up broke

googler

dizzy4 wrote: »

I am now looking at the option to force a sale of the property if he cannot afford to buy me out as well as my sister. Can I do this...?

Can't you talk to your siblings and agree that since you wish to sell, and one of them isn't interested in keeping their share, that two-thirds of you (the majority) actively want to sell, and persuade the other to do so without incurring the legal fees that would go with forcing and defending the issue? Which, after all, will only line the pockets of solicitors....

However, your brother says he wants to stay 'on the farm' but you say there's no housing, only (farm) buildings and land .....

Is it a working farm at the moment? If so, who's running it day-to-day?

troubleinparadise

dizzy4 wrote: »

thanks for all your comments, they have been really helpful, I now understand I own a third interest in a farm. I am now looking at the option to force a sale of the property if he cannot afford to buy me out as well as my sister. Can I do this...?

Take specialist legal advice - it's very easy to find, and will not cost a great deal to have your options explained to you.

It is also worth thinking about your family dynamics in these situations - causing rifts because of hasty actions is very easy, but not so easily mended.

Land_Registry

dizzy4 wrote: »

I have inherited a farm with land along with my brother and sister equally. Can my sister sell her 3rd to my brother so that he then owns 2 thirds without my consent?

I think it may help to go back to the OP and ask the question are you all three now registered as the legal owners or has the deceased's estate yet to be dealt with by the executor as named in probate?

As others have mentioned your 1/3rd share is of the beneficial ownership within the deceased's estate. It is not in respect of a 1/3rd of the land/buildings in a bricks & mortar plus soil sense.

If the executor has transferred the legal estate to the three of you and your are now the legal owners of the registered title(s) then any sale would require all three of you to be involved.

I suspect however that your sister is looking to sell her 1/3rd share of her beneficial ownership to your brother. And that in doing so it is part of the dealing with the deceased's estate e.g. sister agrees brother can have her share for £x so the executor then transfers the legal ownership to just you and your brother.

The 2/3rds and 1/3rd shared in the beneficial ownership are then agreed upon in some way e.g. trust deed, declaration of trust etc so you know who has what share.

Is that what is happening here?

If you go down the route of a 'forced sale' whereby you agree to sell off a third of the land/property to match your beneficial share then that is likely to be complicated on the basis others have posted re business/value/opportunity.

If as beneficiaries you are unable to but the other shares for example then the route often taken is to sell the whole of the legal ownership and then split the proceeds as per your shares. Or transfer the legal ownership to one or two of you and the other beneficiary protects their interest in some way e.g. restriction/registered charge which means they get their share in the beneficial ownership at some later stage. Pretty sure though that these are not what you are referring to or expecting to happen

So as troubleinparadiseposts there is a lot to cover here not just the land/buildings but also the family relationships so legal advice for all to understand how the beneficial and legal ownerships are separate and how best to deal with them

greenface

If your bro buys your sis's third and has a business and gets in trouble are you liable for some of the debt ? asking hoping for answers from the clever people on here .