Fellow Deed holder refuses to sell

jonjon100

Looking for some advice.

I own a property with my brother. It has been on the Market since April 2015 with little interest and just a couple of viewings with no offers.

The Deeds say we are 'Joint Tenants' so i think that means either name on the Deeds can force a Sale?

My brother and his wife are well off and i believe my brother is happy to leave the property on the Market for several years if necessary. I do not want this i would like to sell tomorrow.

I have given it over a year with very little interest in the property and i dont want to wait any longer. Ive tried to persuade my brother to lower the price with no success.

Do i force a sale? If so how do i do this? Or ask my brother to buy me out? How do we come to an agreeable figure?
Any info appreciated

G_M

Both joint owners must sign any sale contract, so you need to agree.

There IS a way to force a sale, but it involves getting a court order. This is dificult and may be costly. If you were a divorcing couple, a court would often order the sale as part of the divorce settlement, but in your case? Much harder to convince a court it is necessary.

* who lives there?
* is there a (joint) mortgage?
* who pays the mortgage?
* who pays the maintenance costs?

* and how did you come to joint own? Was it an inheritance, and if so who was the Executer?
* or was it a joint purchase, in which case why on earth did you not agree at the time what would happen if one of you wished to sell (got married, went bankrupt, moved in a cult, etc)

agrinnall

Can you not sell your half to your brother at a low price so that you get your cash then he can sell it at whatever price he wants to achieve at his leisure?

Grenage

agrinnall wrote: »

Can you not sell your half to your brother at a low price so that you get your cash then he can sell it at whatever price he wants to achieve at his leisure?

This would seem to be the most sensible option.

TBagpuss

If you cannot reach an agreement with your brither then you an force a sale - the process would be unerthe Trust of Landand Appoijtment of trustees Act (TOLATA).

You wold need, before atarting the court process, to ensure that you had followed correct proceedure in sending a formal letter before action etc.

The court can then determine (i) what each of you owns (likely to be 50% each) and can then order a sale.

Obviously taking your brother to ct is not going to do anything for sibling relationships and will be time consuming and expensive, so it is worth looking at other options.

If there has been little interest and no offers then it sounds as though the proepty may be over-priced for what it is. As a frst step, I'd suggest that you get in contact with the agents and ask them to write to you both with their views and recommendation. If their advice is to reduce the price then ask them to confirm this, and to be specifc about what they suiggest it is reduced to.

If you can, speak to another agent or teo, get them to view the proprty and provide some up to date marketing advice.

Once you know what you think is a realistic price youcould approach your brother and ofer him wo options:

1 - you reduce the price in line with the recommendations and remarket the property (possibly with a different agent)
2 - you will sell your share in the property to him for 50% of the price that the agents are recommending.

If he thinks that the property will sell for the higher price then this would be a good deal for him, as he will benefit from the whole of the difference in price.

if you can't get hom t oagree then be aware that going to court, you'll need more than just you opinion, you'd pobably be looking at getting a formal expert report from a surveyor which would cost several hundred pounds (more if your brother doesn't accept it and the surveyor has to come to court to give evidence)

If you take him to court and are sucessful then it's likely he would be ordered to pay your costs, but only if you have got all of the steps right, so it is worth seeing a litigation solicitor and getting proper advice before you start.

FBaby

If you cannot reach an agreement with your brither then you an force a sale - the process would be unerthe Trust of Landand Appoijtment of trustees Act (TOLATA).

But the house is already for sale. Can this order say that OP can make the decisions about the sale solely (including deciding on the price), or can a judge make the order of the price at which it should be sold?

nkkingston

You can't force a sale without a buyer! This isn't about getting the house on the market, it's about how the OP feels it ought to be marketed. I don't think a judge is going to feel particularly inclined to get involved at this stage.

jonjon100

Thanks for info all, appreciate that. Heres some more details-
1. no one lives in property, its the old family home, both parents are now dead
2. There is no mortgage
3. Maintenance shared
My parents put the property in our names in 1986 i think to avoid inheritance Tax.

TBagpuss- i have a few questions, excuse my ignorance-
1. 'Send a formal letter', is this offer to buy me out or after he rejects my offer or both? do i need a solicitor to do this or could it be just an email or letter to my brother?
2. If i need to get a solicitor will he take a % of the final agreed asking price or just a fee?
3. In my situation would i have a good chance of the judge coming down on my side?
4. If i lost the case what could Court costs be?
Thanks

jonjon100

no i think your wrong i believe i can force a sale at a more reasonable price (a judge could decide if im being fair) or force my other Deed holder to buy me out?

TBagpuss

FBaby wrote: »

But the house is already for sale. Can this order say that OP can make the decisions about the sale solely (including deciding on the price), or can a judge make the order of the price at which it should be sold?

It would be open to the court to make an order specifying a price (e.g. property shall be marketed at an asking price of £xx and sold for a sum not less than £xx)

SO if the issue is that brother won't agree to market it at a realistic price.

It would also be possible, I believe, for the order to specify who has conduct of the sale and to include provision for the asking price to be further amended on agents advice.

Thrugelmir

jonjon100 wrote: »

no i think your wrong i believe i can force a sale at a more reasonable price (a judge could decide if im being fair) or force my other Deed holder to buy me out?

Courts don't arbitrate. They rule on points of law.