Inheriting shared ownership

tightasafish

My ex wife died recently and left her Housing 21 shared ownership flat to my two children. She only owned 35% of the property and my kids have been told that they must continue to pay the rent, service charge etc amounting to around £500 per month. These flats do not sell quickly and I am concerned that it will become a dead weight for them for years to come. I would presume that their liability for the rent is only enforceable if they sign to say that they are taking on the property? It seems to be a game of chance and bluff. A rough calculation on my part reveals that if they do not manage to sell the flat within four years, then any equity they may have inherited has been swallowed up and they are left with the responsibility of paying the rent ad infinitum.
Any advice thankfully received.

princeofpounds

Yes, they are only liable if they accept the inheritance. 

I'm not an expert in this area, but I suspect the best thing to do is for the executor of your wife's estate to agree to sell the property within the estate, and then disburse the proceeds instead. 

With adults it would be a simple case of agreeing a deed of variation. https://www.gov.uk/alter-a-will-after-a-death

But how that works with children I don't know.

But you're correct it is not usually wise for children to own property - they would lose potential FTB benefits, renting or selling would be problematic when minors can't technically sign contracts, they open themselves up to liabilities they can't understand or meet etc.

AdrianC

Has the property actually been transferred to their ownership by the executor of her will?
If not, it's still owned by her estate - who remain liable for the rent etc. Then it never comes into the children's ownership.

No, there's no easy paperwork route to avoid paying the rent and service charge. Of course there isn't. That's part of owning a shared ownership property.

Will the HA buy it back?

Are the children actually children, under 18? Or are they adults? Because if they're children, they can't own property anyway.

tightasafish

Thank you for your reply Adrian.
When I say 'children' they are actually in their thirties  .
I dont think it has been transferred to their ownership as yet. So am I right in thinking that her estate (which is essentially her share in the flat, a small amount of savings. and a small life insurance policy) will continue to pay the rent until it runs out at which point Housing 21 would repossess?
Would the HA buy it back? Dont know but I gather they dont have a great reputation in such matters.

tightasafish

Thank you princeofpounds.
Sorry that I seem to have confused everyone by calling them children.

tinytiddles

To achieve a quicker sale you could ask Housing21 if they would consider a sale at 100% and split the proceeds according to the share owned. Some HAs require you to try to sell at the lower share first for 6 weeks before they agree to it but often after that point they are happy to offload the property. The HA usually has the right of first refusal with a shared ownership unit but will rarely buy back unless they have buyers queuing up.

princeofpounds

Oh ok then - assuming the executor is co-operative (no reason they shouldn't be) then the route I suggested is probably the way ahead. Good suggestions from the others in terms of other ways the HA may approach the sale as well - SO is always that little bit complex.