Fellow Deed holder refuses to sell

TBagpuss

jonjon100 wrote: »

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?

You can e-mail him initially if you want, but a formal letter before action has to follow specific guidelines and failing to get it right may affect what happens with costs etc if you go to court.

2. If i need to get a solicitor will he take a % of the final agreed asking price or just a fee?

I'd expect it to be an hourly rate but you'd need to ask them.

3. In my situation would i have a good chance of the judge coming down on my side?

I don't know. You'd need to get proper advice. As a first step I'd suggest chatting with the current agent an a couple of others - your first step is to be able to show that your brother is being unreasonable.
If the agents tell you that the market is simply very slow and that the price is right, you'd obviously have less chance of succeeding than if they all say it is overpriced, for instance

4. If i lost the case what could Court costs be?
Thanks

I don't know, but thousands rather than hundreds.

It might be worth your while to have an initial meeting with a solicitor who can give you proper advice, but I'd suggest trying to discuss it directly with your brother first.
Why is he so reluctant to lower the price? Does he have more of an emotional feeling about the house? Is he aware that you need it to sell?

StumpyPumpy

A bit underhand I know however, if I were the one with the relationship with the EA I'd be tempted to brief him that I was prepared to consider all reasonable offers, that I didn't want that fact to be formally entered onto the sale listing but he was free to mention it to any prospective purchasers.

That might induce a low offer from someone and often people's intransigence on price melts at the sight of actual money being waved at them. If brother stands firm then you could offer to take less than your 50% share, to get him the amount he wants.


SP

xylophone

You say that your brother is well off.

Your brother wants to keep the house.

Your brother thinks that the current price represents fair value.

Ask him to "put his money where his mouth is" and pay you half the current valuation as he considers that it is fair and has consistently refused to lower the price.


If he refuses, then it seems to me you would have a good case for forcing a sale on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour?

jonjon100

Thanks for replys and info, alot of info which i appreciate, will think about this and post again, Cheers