Buying out a sibling from house jointly inherited but still in estate.

Donury236

house is part of late parents estate.  It was valued in April 2018 - that amount was used for confirmation in Scotland. 
Confirmation was in Dec 2018.  Inherited house is still part of the estate and not transferred into our names.  I am now in a place to buy the property to keep it - so from the estate rather than my sibling as not in our names. 
The mortgage advisor says the property is likely to have come down in value.  Solicitor for the estate says that even if the value has gone down I still have to pay sibling 50% of the original valuation used for the Confirmation if I want to buy it from the estate.   If it was sold on the open market then it would be a 50/50 split. 
What might be a further issue is that I might not actually get on the mortgage as I am on a fixed term contract, so it would be my partner who would in theory be buying my siblings share of the property - and thus I would assume that should be considered as a sale the same as an open market sale. 

Has anyone navigated anything similar?  Obviously I have to say I find it very unfair having to pay more than 50% of the valuation, as then technically I will be inheriting less of the property.

getmore4less

Your mortgage lender will be wanting current market value for their LTV.
If you don't want to be on the mortgage but on the deeds that will limit your lenders.
What does your sibling expect from this?
SDLT(scotland equivilent)?
have you been living in the house?
Why has it sat for 18 months waiting for you to buy out the sibling

AnotherJoe

IANAL but that makes no sense to me. If there was a famous painting in the estate that had gone from £5k to £5 million because the artist just died, would you still be able to buy it for £2,500? I suspect not.

Get your partner to buy it on the open market in that case if your sibling wont sell at market price to you 

EDIT- That now makes total sense given what the OP omitted to disclose, eg their promise to buy at that price.

getmore4less

There are some legals round this but if the OP said at DOD(or near) I will have the house and took possession as if they had bought it and has lived in it for 18 month then going  back on that agreement is stitching up the sibling
Sibling could then  back out of their side of the agreement put me on the deeds I will wait for it to go up in value again and even move in to their house
if it sat there empty with no agreement the sibling agreed to wait then they took on the shared risk

AnotherJoe

Fair points, depends if sibling has been living there and what they agreed to when this started.

xylophone

Why has it sat for 18 months waiting for you to buy out the sibling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77047313#Comment_77047313

getmore4less

I see 
basket case finances
thinks credit score means something.
Messed about selling their house for over a year
Halifax as a lender known as one that does not do good follow on rates
No wonder the Sister is getting fed up
agreed to by the place 2 years ago and still not done it.
after reading that I thought  this had a familiar ring I don't hang out here as much since they messed up the site.

checked one of the old threads which had this in it
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5799872/inheriting-a-house-whilst-jointly-owning-another/p2

That I have the option to buy the dwellinghouse.
I direct my Executors to give my said daughter xxx, aforesaid, the option to buy the said dwellinghouse at XXX, aforesaid at the market value to be determined by a suitably qualified chartered surveyor appointed by my Executors, but only if the said xxx intimates her intention to buy the said dwellinghouse to my Executors within two months of the date of my death. Declaring that the net proceeds of Sale of the said property shall form part of the residue of my estate which is dealt with in Clause (FOUR) hereof.
(FOUR) I direct m executors to pay and make over the whole residue and remainder of my Estate equally between my two daughters, namely the said xxx, aforesaid and xxxxxx, aforesaid;"

Fairly clear they were to buy the place at the market value and make their intention known in 2 months, which they  did, 

AnotherJoe

getmore4less said:

I see 
basket case finances
thinks credit score means something.
Messed about selling their house for over a year
Halifax as a lender known as one that does not do good follow on rates
No wonder the Sister is getting fed up
agreed to by the place 2 years ago and still not done it.
after reading that I thought  this had a familiar ring I don't hang out here as much since they messed up the site.

checked one of the old threads which had this in it
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5799872/inheriting-a-house-whilst-jointly-owning-another/p2

That I have the option to buy the dwellinghouse.
I direct my Executors to give my said daughter xxx, aforesaid, the option to buy the said dwellinghouse at XXX, aforesaid at the market value to be determined by a suitably qualified chartered surveyor appointed by my Executors, but only if the said xxx intimates her intention to buy the said dwellinghouse to my Executors within two months of the date of my death. Declaring that the net proceeds of Sale of the said property shall form part of the residue of my estate which is dealt with in Clause (FOUR) hereof.
(FOUR) I direct m executors to pay and make over the whole residue and remainder of my Estate equally between my two daughters, namely the said xxx, aforesaid and xxxxxx, aforesaid;"

Fairly clear they were to buy the place at the market value and make their intention known in 2 months, which they  did, 

And now are complaining about what they (a) agreed to and (b) what the will stipulated anyway.

So now its clear why the lawyers said what they said. And disingenous to complain about having to buy at original price when they know why !

I suppose partner could buy it on the open market at the risk of further  damaging their relationship with sibling.

getmore4less

Should be straight forward, raise  the 50% of the agreed price with a joint mortgage with partner and pay off the sister.
The mortgage may be for more than 50% of current value but that's the risk they took on when they agreed to buy.
A decent broker should be able to find something
there is also this

 I am loathe to do anything else to the property or put anymore effort or funds into the place in case we dont get it. 

 That suggest they have been treating it as if they own it.
Hope they have been paying all the bills for the place and not trying to have the estate(=sister) pay for them 
In England that would include council tax by now(this looks like Scotland)