Sell or rent ?

Android07

My mum owns our family home ( it's in her name ) .

My dad paid the initial  £10k deposit 20 years ago when the house was bought. Over the years, Dad has suffered depression and despite taking meds, he did not improve. He has turned toxic and vengeful and was 80% responsible for the breakup of my marriage, resulting in my wife leaving with our toddler as a result of brainwashing he has done to her over the years.

The house now is a source of bad memories for us. Neither me or my mum wants to live in this house as we find it painful.

My dad has just gone for a long term holiday abroad. This gives us the perfect opportunity to sell the house. However, we have been advised that my dad can come back at anytime in the future and can claim for 50% of the sale through courts. We obviously don;t want to give him a penny. Mum and me have done work around the house for years and paid the mortgage.

So, the question is do I still sell or rent it  out ? If renting, do I consider estate agents, private tenants or private tenants who get Housing/Universal credit ?

Amixo3032

Sell it , and your better off renting and you haven’t got problems of maintaince of a boiler if it breaks but with mortgage you do.. 

thstd what I done I sold up and got £ xx

TripleH

Where does your father live when he's in the UK?

Are your parents divorced?

How is the property owned?

Think about it this way, your father comes back from his holiday goes to the house walks in to find other people living there. That won't end well and isn't fair on the buyers plus you might need your father's authorisation on paperwork.

Also, if he is a co-owner of the property, he has a right to his share, by taking the money and running, it could be construed as theft by you and your mother.

If you are wanting a clean break, you need to do it properly and legally, otherwise you'll forever be looking over your shoulders.

Take the opportunity now, whilst he's away to get your plan in place for a fresh start, then when he comes back, it's ultimatum time, here is the paperwork, sign it and never darken our doors again type scenario.

Android07

TripleH said:

Where does your father live when he's in the UK?

Are your parents divorced?

How is the property owned?

Think about it this way, your father comes back from his holiday goes to the house walks in to find other people living there. That won't end well and isn't fair on the buyers plus you might need your father's authorisation on paperwork.

Also, if he is a co-owner of the property, he has a right to his share, by taking the money and running, it could be construed as theft by you and your mother.

If you are wanting a clean break, you need to do it properly and legally, otherwise you'll forever be looking over your shoulders.

Take the opportunity now, whilst he's away to get your plan in place for a fresh start, then when he comes back, it's ultimatum time, here is the paperwork, sign it and never darken our doors again type scenario.

Where does your father live when he's in the UK? In our family home

Are your parents divorced? No

How is the property owned? Only mum owns it. Dad is not a co-owner.

Dad has cleaned up and taken everything of his from what we can see. We are not sure if he will come back in 6 months or he may not come back at all.

RAS

The starting point is that although your dad is not on the deeds, he has a beneficial interest in the property.  And divorce normally assumes that the financial settlement will split assets between the couple "fairly" if not equally, based on need not input.

The house is an asset of the marriage and if mum were to sell and move, or even just rent and have savings, he can still apply for his share.

Matters are complicated by the fact that I don't think mum can even serve divorce papers if she doesn't know where he is. So it may be worth enquiring through the extended family.

Mum needs to speak to a family lawyer:

Check whether a legal separation is possible in his absence to protect future assets.
Make a will very carefully, as she may be able to leave some of her assets to people other than her husband.

Slithery

Android07 said:

So, the question is do I still sell or rent it  out ?

It makes no difference. If he is entitled to a share of the value of the property then he can possibly force a sale if she still owns it or just get the cash if it's been sold. Either way he ends up with the same amount.

Android07

RAS said:

The starting point is that although your dad is not on the deeds, he has a beneficial interest in the property.  And divorce normally assumes that the financial settlement will split assets between the couple "fairly" if not equally, based on need not input.

The house is an asset of the marriage and if mum were to sell and move, or even just rent and have savings, he can still apply for his share.

Matters are complicated by the fact that I don't think mum can even serve divorce papers if she doesn't know where he is. So it may be worth enquiring through the extended family.

Mum needs to speak to a family lawyer:

Check whether a legal separation is possible in his absence to protect future assets.
Make a will very carefully, as she may be able to leave some of her assets to people other than her husband.

Mum does not want a divorce. We know where he is. If something happens to mum, I am to inherit the property according to her will.

If we ignore my dad and sell the property, and he finds out and comes after us, can we not give him the £10k that he had deposited years ago and wish him good riddance? Why do we have to part with half the value of the property ( about £200k ) when he did not spend a penny beyond the £10k?

RAS

If mum doesn't want a divorce then legal separation offers her some protection without the divorce but she needs to talk to a good lawyer versed in the subject not just any old divorce lawyer.

Of course you can offer dad £10K and hope he burgers off. But my betting is that he, some of his family or his mates will realise the legal situation and he will come for half the assets, which is the starting point. 

And she also needs to have a good chat with the lawyer about her will, as he may be able to challenge the will if there is no provision for him.

Android07

RAS said:

If mum doesn't want a divorce then legal separation offers her some protection without the divorce but she needs to talk to a good lawyer versed in the subject not just any old divorce lawyer.

Of course you can offer dad £10K and hope he burgers off. But my betting is that he, some of his family or his mates will realise the legal situation and he will come for half the assets, which is the starting point. 

And she also needs to have a good chat with the lawyer about her will, as he may be able to challenge the will if there is no provision for him.

Before he left. he did a valuation and left the report in the living room for our eyes. lol

TripleH

How is the house recorded as being owned at the land registry? Is it just your mum's name or both parents'?

Sadly, whether it's is fair or not, the law will place emphasis on what the legal paperwork says even if its very old. This is why, without your father being there, it might make sense to see a solicitor's opinion.

Get the deeds from the house from Land registry before you go.

Android07

TripleH said:

How is the house recorded as being owned at the land registry? Is it just your mum's name or both parents'?

Sadly, whether it's is fair or not, the law will place emphasis on what the legal paperwork says even if its very old. This is why, without your father being there, it might make sense to see a solicitor's opinion.

Get the deeds from the house from Land registry before you go.

Land registry lists my mum's name only.