Inventory of disgustingly dirty house, should I apologise?!?

BlondeHeadOn

I have already posted on here about the strange situation I am in, as a 'Trustee' landlord for my deceased brother's house - Under the terms of the will the house is to be rented out to provide an income for the two children, but one of them wants to live in it so has to pay rent to the other. All !!!!!! and hassle for the executors (one of which is me), but anyway....

For some reason the niece who wants to rent insisted on having an inventory done before starting the rental. I did not visit the property as it is some distance away, and she said she'd clear it and sort it out ready for rental, bearing in mind she is going to be living in it anyway.

I received my copy of the inventory this morning, and I feel like emailing the person who had to carry it out to apologise! Some photos of the rooms are included, and it just looks such a complete sh!thole - and all the way through the inventory it keeps reporting "In need of cleaning." "Too dirty to assess condition." And the worst: "Could not access due to Landlord's effects" - :eek: :eek: :eek:

There is absolutely nothing in the house that is mine, so the "Landlord's effects" is actually stuff that either belonged to my brother and has not been cleared out, or belongs to my niece and has already been moved in! And believe me, from the photos it just looks like someone has upended a skip in some of the rooms.

There are not even any meter readings taken because the poor guy couldn't get access to them.

I don't know what to do now - I don't want to sign this inventory as it is because I feel so ashamed of it, but I can't rectify the situation as my niece has already moved in last week. I do feel like emailing the person who did the inventory and apologising - and probably offering to dry-clean their clothes for them as well, poor person! (I think my niece just lives like this anyway, so there is no point in offering any help there - although it is mostly her mess anyway, as far as I can see!)

I am also a bit concerned about whether this inventory will have any implications at a later stage - can anyone advise as to whether this could cause me problems later?

And finally - this was the most awful waste of money, as most of the inventory could not be completed because of the rubbish in the way. However, I don't have to pay for this as the cost will be taken from the rent - so I really can't see the point in having this inventory done in the first place. My nasty suspicious mind suggests that there must be some reason why my niece wanted this doing - is she trying to pull a fast one here? (and yes, unfortunately that is very likely....)



Any help gratefully accepted and sorry for the long and smutty story for a Friday afternoon....

:rotfl:

sooz

I 've read bits of your other thread. Poor you.

Was your niece living there before you started renting it to her (as trustee?)

And do you have 2 copies of the inventory to sign?

If so, i'd write on each page, ''inventory clerk couldn't complete inventory, due to tenant's name belongings, and the state the property was in, due to tenant's name already having lived there for x years/months etc''

Not really sure what she is hoping to achieve, but i'd guess at her not wanting you to keep any of her deposit for the mess and damage she makes/is making/has made

SquatNow

Is there anything of value in the house?

If not she probably wanted an inventory doing so she didn't get accused of making the mess!

BlondeHeadOn

That's what makes no sense to me - there is no deposit being taken as she's family (Gawd help us!), and there's nothing of value in the house that she won't have already snaffled anyway - she was doing the house clearance!

Unless she thought she'd embarass me when I turned up with the agent to do the inventory - but the agent told me not to bother going, as it would take a few hours and I didn't need to be there. My niece did though, so she could point out what was hers etc. So it had no impact on me at the time at all!
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

And as she moved in straight afterwards she would have to clean the mess up herself - or just live in it, probably!

I was so horrifed by the inventory and the photos earlier, but I am starting to see the funny side of it now ....

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Debt_Free_Chick

Who cleared the house after your brother's death?

BlondeHeadOn

SquatNow wrote: »

Is there anything of value in the house?

If not she probably wanted an inventory doing so she didn't get accused of making the mess!

But she did - I have looked more closely at the photos and it is mostly definitely her stuff!

Debt_Free_Chick

To be honest, I would draw out this renting business - to her.

Wait until you get advice from the Solicitor re what you can do as an executor, but I'm sure that you don't HAVE to let the house to her. I know the will was "silent" - but that doesn't mean you MUST let the house to her.

It's an option .... but you might get better rent on the open market. And a better tenant. There is a danger that she will stick two fingers up in the future and tell you "it's not your house" failing to understand that she is "only a tenant".

This has all the makings of a complete nightmare :eek:

BlondeHeadOn

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Who cleared the house after your brother's death?

She did, mostly, with help from other members of the family. I was not involved - I am disabled anyway, so not much use!

BlondeHeadOn

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

To be honest, I would draw out this renting business - to her.

Wait until you get advice from the Solicitor re what you can do as an executor, but I'm sure that you don't HAVE to let the house to her. I know the will was "silent" - but that doesn't mean you MUST let the house to her.

It's an option .... but you might get better rent on the open market. And a better tenant. There is a danger that she will stick two fingers up in the future and tell you "it's not your house" failing to understand that she is "only a tenant".

This has all the makings of a complete nightmare :eek:

I know, believe me I know!!

sooz

Do you have to be the exectutor?

Can you just resign from it, and make the 'trust' employ someone else to deal with all of this?

Debt_Free_Chick

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

I know, believe me I know!!

OK - be brave. You are the executor - you have all the power.

Here's my suggestion......


Get an agent. Instruct them to go to the property, secure it and change all the locks. They are to hold the keys and not release them to anyone, without your written authority (or email, or fax)

Next - the agents are to have the whole house cleared and then reassessed. Ask them what needs to be done to get a good market rent - not "top notch", but good.

Tell the niece you have to do this as executor. Sorry, it's not her property and you have legal responsibilities. It just "has to be done".

She can apply to be a tenant, but she will be vetted just like any other applicant.

I know this will be difficult, but if you don't nip this in the bud, she is going to cause you endless problems - as an executor, never mind as a relative!