I don't trust my family. Am I being paranoid?

Nanako

RAS said:

Nanako

Are you living in the house? If not, consider moving in.

I won't be doing this.

Aside from the fact that we're selling the house, and that i have my own (larger) house just 200 metres down the street, there's also a seemingly unwashable stain of corpse rot in the bedroom carpet. The house stinks even now, nine days later

Currently trying to figure out how to deal with it, the undertakers recommend cutting out the carpet entirely and just selling the house with that room having bare floorboards

Nanako

Aranyani said:

Mojisola said:

Aranyani said:

I think OP is fairly young, and was still living with her mother, she may be vulnerable in some way we don't know so may benefit from some help and the relatives are looking out for her. 

She says in the first post "I'm an able bodied, sane minded adult".

If the relatives did think that she would need support to deal with the estate, it would be easy for them to offer their help - going into the house and removing documents isn't a good look.

The fact that she felt the need to say that concerns me somewhat. 

I felt the need to say it because i felt like my relatives were not treating me as such. I have no mental health conditions and only some minor physical problems (asthma and allergies)

Mojisola

Nanako said:

Changing the locks shouldn't be necessary, there are only two keys and I now control them both. Unfortunately, until a few days ago, one of those keyrings also held the only key to the car. That key was stolen and illegally sold by my uncle, though the rest of the keys were left behind

Can you guarantee that he didn't copy the other keys?

Nanako

Manxman_in_exile said:

Having said that, I see that 5 years ago the OP started a thread about advice to help her 55 year old mother buying a house and seemed to be asking sensible questions there.

I did! The very same house we're now selling, thanks to everyone who helped then x

We really expected that house to last longer than this, i thought my mother would live for another 20-30 years. The fact that the time gap between these two threads is so (relatively) short, is kind of poignant. thank you for pointing it out!

I've read everything and caught up on replies, thank you guys! I could still do with some advice, especially regarding the uncle mentioned here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77745681/#Comment_77745681

Nanako

Mojisola said:

Nanako said:

Changing the locks shouldn't be necessary, there are only two keys and I now control them both. Unfortunately, until a few days ago, one of those keyrings also held the only key to the car. That key was stolen and illegally sold by my uncle, though the rest of the keys were left behind

Can you guarantee that he didn't copy the other keys?

you have a good point, I don't think i can guarantee that perhaps changing the lock is needed after all.

All of the doors around here are standard issue, heavy security doors, made from a combination of metal and plastic. The local authorities fitted them all enmasse a few years back. I'm not quite sure if i'd need someone special to be able to change the locks, or if the entire door might need replaced to accomplish that.

I had a quick look in google, but couldn't find the model of door that we have.  i'll have a look at it tomorrow for labels and such

MoneySeeker1

Re the practical matters - I'm guessing a good locksmith could point you in the right direction re what needs doing re securing that door. They must have come across doors like this before and will know whether they can deal with it or, if not, point you in the direction of who could deal with it.

As for the state of cleanliness/etc of the house - it could be as well to send in a good firm of cleaners to give the house a thorough clean. Also - yes - get rid of the carpet and just leave bare floorboards instead. At least bare floorboards would have the advantage of indicating to prospective buyers that "Oh good - the floor is made of wooden floorboards - and not a concrete floor". I've had both - last house was wooden floorboards, current house is in an area of concrete floors. I'd choose wooden floorboards any day personally (even if they weren't good condition/could be sanded and left visible ones).

mobileron

Take a photo of the locks,put them on here someone will help you.

Nanako

Hello again all. Things are going from bad to worse.

My cousin lied to me. Just after agreeing to bring the car back, she blocked me.  The car is somewhere in perth, 60 miles away, but i have no exact address. I've confirmed via a third party that she intends to keep it, apparently my uncle convinced her that there would be no legal repercussions.

I went to see the police abouit it, but they won't start an investigation yet. I need to first gain legal ownership of the car through the probate lawyer before i can report it stolen. I imagine this is going to be tricky without the physical vehicle in posession. Any idea what documents i'll need?

I took a knife to the rot stain, and the carpet has been excised, smell in the room is gone now, that's something at least. In all the frustration of today i forgot to look at the doors, i'll get that info soon

RAS

Check with the vehicle licensing authorities initially. And take some extra advice re the car ownership as the police don't seem yo know the law round a lot of things. 

Nanako

I plan to consult with the lawyer about the car, if they ever respond. Which is another problem.

It has now been three working days since I emailed a local solicitor looking to become a client, and they have not responded. I've called their office, and spoken to a secretary who assures me that they recieved the email and will reply asap, but they've just been too busy. Right now i'm sitting in limbo without a lawyer, and as the issues pile up, it's getting a bit awkward.

Not being well versed in legal matters, i don't know what is reasonable here. 3 days feels too long, it's actually 5 in total, i emailed them saturday morning, but i guess people camn't be expected to work weekends

Still,  my instincts are telling me to take my business elsewhere. But maybe thats normal in this industry? I could definitely do with some advice