My sister wants to move into my fathers house.... but hasn't put her house up for sale

Zecis

My final reply here for a while - and seriously thank you for all your help and advice folks. I'm sorry I haven't been "on this" as some of you would have obviously liked.... I am at work most days and this forum doesn't appear to email me when one of you replies (or, more likely, I didn't find the setting).
COVID is an issue because the wife's sister has a  husband and child who are in a very high risk group, they are already in a Tier 4 area - and to even suggest they should be allowing people into their house to view at the moment would be plain wrong.
My takeaways from all your responses are:

• Many of you agree with my original thoughts - my wife as Executor holds all the legal cards - and if she employed and briefed a solicitor to deal with it all could be sorted legally - in a typically ruthless legal way, but the solicitor's bill would run into thousands - more than the cost of leaving the house empty for a year or so.
• Morally though that is wrong imo. Both sisters are really heavily mourning the unexpected loss of their father (remember their mother went the year before), and my wife is anxious to avoid risking falling out with her only remaining direct family member.
• In this instance I think patience has to be the route - COVID has realistically stopped sister-in-law selling her house, and therefore buying her parents property, which her husband needs to live in. The parents property is a bungalow, and sister-in-law's husband is recently (last 5 years) disabled and cant get upstairs in their house (+ no room to install stair lift). 

Sister-in-law also has a lot on her plate, she is the sole earner in the house - as a cleaner (starts work at 4am each day!!), her home hairdressing business has more or less closed thanks to her clients dying, and/or not wanting people in their homes due to COVID, she is also principle carer for her husband and one of her children as well as mourning the loss of both parents - who she used to care for as she was local to them.
At the end of the day the bungalow is costing a couple of hundred pounds a month to stand there empty which we have agreed will come off the sister-in-law's inheritance after we pass the first anniversary of the death. While the other beneficiaries would like their part of the estate, that is going to have to wait. Father-in-Law's death was totally unexpected so its not as if we all expected an inheritance by the end of 2020, so we can all wait, till things work out. - When probate is granted some of the estate can be sorted for beneficiaries other than the sister-in-law - but the final thing may take a while to put to bed.
Again, thank you for your 5 -6 pages of input, I was not sure if I was missing some magic bullet solution, and you have all proved to me that I wasn't.
Regards to you all and all the very best for a safe 2021
Adam

getmore4less

If you are resigned that will have the house whatever it takes just takes time. 

What about letting them move in and then they can sell their empty house. 

Keep_pedalling

getmore4less said:

If you are resigned that will have the house whatever it takes just takes time. 

What about letting them move in and then they can sell their empty house. 

That sounds a good solution. She could move in and put her house on the market. No issues COVID issues with viewings if her house is unoccupied. 

calleyw

Keep_pedalling said:

getmore4less said:

If you are resigned that will have the house whatever it takes just takes time. 

What about letting them move in and then they can sell their empty house. 

That sounds a good solution. She could move in and put her house on the market. No issues COVID issues with viewings if her house is unoccupied. 

But then you have to trust the SIL will sell her house and if she does not.  Then there is an even bigger mess to clear up.

Yours

Calley x

couriervanman

getmore4less said:

If you are resigned that will have the house whatever it takes just takes time. 

What about letting them move in and then they can sell their empty house. 

Good god don't do that......if you think it bad/complicated now it'll get worse as others have said give her a deadline to get her house on the market

getmore4less

couriervanman said:

getmore4less said:

If you are resigned that will have the house whatever it takes just takes time. 

What about letting them move in and then they can sell their empty house. 

Good god don't do that......if you think it bad/complicated now it'll get worse as others have said give her a deadline to get her house on the market

They have decided that is not an option.

It is now move forward or wait another 6 months to a year+ and they then change their minds and just move somewhere else.

I support the selling if they really needed a bungalow they would have moved by now.

I can't remember the finances, this thread has dragged on, maybe the real problem is they can't afford it.  

xylophone

Perhaps SIL could get her house on the market and then move in to her late father's bungalow?

It need not take much effort insofar as presumably the late father's bungalow is fully furnished and equipped so that all that would need moving immediately would be personal items and the disabled husband's necessary aids and equipment?

SIL need not do the viewings - the estate agent could be responsible for that?

getmore4less

There are option to force the situation 
remember 

should add the house is in on a very popular 1930s estate where houses sell incredibly quickly

get it on the market,  

open house over a weekend while they move out temporary.

stay out/clean 24/48hours.

move back to house

Wait for that offer. 

Morrigan_2020

Zecis said:

• Many of you agree with my original thoughts - my wife as Executor holds all the legal cards - and if she employed and briefed a solicitor to deal with it all could be sorted legally - in a typically ruthless legal way, but the solicitor's bill would run into thousands - more than the cost of leaving the house empty for a year or so.

If your wife is sole executor there would be no need to run up legal bills to sell the house, she could just do it.

If you've decided that its best for your family to wait for the sister to be ready though, that's fair enough, not everything is about money. 

calleyw

Morrigan_2020 said:

Zecis said:

• Many of you agree with my original thoughts - my wife as Executor holds all the legal cards - and if she employed and briefed a solicitor to deal with it all could be sorted legally - in a typically ruthless legal way, but the solicitor's bill would run into thousands - more than the cost of leaving the house empty for a year or so.

If your wife is sole executor there would be no need to run up legal bills to sell the house, she could just do it.

If you've decided that its best for your family to wait for the sister to be ready though, that's fair enough, not everything is about money. 

Nope its not all about the money. But did you miss the part where this is causing the OP's wife much distress and upset and has not been able to start to grieving with all this hanging over her head? Selfish much? Also I bet the other beneficiaries are not going to be happy to be made to wait.  Mind you this comes from some who had no idea they were one and after about 6 and half years after the person had died I got money they left me.

Also leaving the house empty for a year or so is not going to be doing it any good.  I assume the OP/someone has turned the water off left the heating on and someone is going back at least once a month to check on it and in the summer will be cutting the grass to make it look like its lived in.  And they also has the correct sort of insurance for it?

The OP's wife wants to keep a good relationship with her sister but her sister is not helping the matter and causing the OP's wife stress and upset which to me is very selfish. I know these are not normal times but there are ways around it.  Pretty sure that estate agents are use to this after months of covid and can find away around the sister selling her house.  After this amount of time I would no longer be messing about the house would be on the market now.  Once it sold then the money is passed on to the beneficiaries.  Job done no more stress and everyone can get on with their lives.

I think another question I would be asking is are they able to afford to buy the property. As the sister needs to find I assume 50% of the value.  Will selling her house cover it all or does she need a mortgage?  And if she is the only wage earner and I would assume low income from what has been said would she qualify for the required size mortgage?

To many ifs and buts for me. Also this too me proves that wills should be written a different way so not the property but the value of the property is left to the beneficiaries this would stop this sort of issue and the property would go on the open market. Get the best price and  everyone moves on.

Why people like to make it more complicated than it is I will never know.

Yours

Calley x