Inherited property

Silvertabby

I'm convinced a dodged a bullet after what could have been a similar situation.

If, as I had expected, the house had been left to my sister and I, it would have gone this way..... my sister would have poo-pooed any suggestion that she should pay me rent for my half as 'mum and dad would be horrified'.  Not only that, I would have been expected to pay for all the utilities and essential repairs as it would have been my responsibility as well as hers.

As it happened, she coerced my dad into making a death bed will leaving the house to her alone because 'it was her home, and I was married with my own property'.

When her business went bankrupt, the house had to be sold to help cover her debts.  It was in such a bad state of repair (dad didn't believe in paying a tradesman to do a job that he could bodge himself) that it could only be sold at auction, and went for less than £30K (1990s).

Even then, she tried to guilt trip ME into buying the house for her to live in rent and bill free, because 'it was mum and dad's wish that she should live there'.

[Deleted User]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news 
but if you have inherited the property you are no longer a FTB 
even if your name isn’t on the deeds 
Just discovered this for my son who inherited my late parents property and even though he’s never been on the deeds or mortgage my solicitors informed us that he isn’t a FTB 

Mojisola

[Deleted User] said:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news 
but if you have inherited the property you are no longer a FTB 
even if your name isn’t on the deeds 
Just discovered this for my son who inherited my late parents property and even though he’s never been on the deeds or mortgage my solicitors informed us that he isn’t a FTB 

If the house was sold by the executors and cash passed on to your son, I don't think the solicitor is right on this.

p00hsticks

[Deleted User] said:

Just discovered this for my son who inherited my late parents property and even though he’s never been on the deeds or mortgage my solicitors informed us that he isn’t a FTB 

I think we need a bit of clarification here

Was he specifically bequeathed the property or was he just a beneficiary of an estate that inlcuded a property ?

When the solicitor has told them that they no longer count as an FTB, in what context is this ? For mortgage purposes ? and/or for SDLT ? and/or for the purposes of some Help to Buy scheme ? 

Keep_pedalling

[Deleted User] said:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news 
but if you have inherited the property you are no longer a FTB 
even if your name isn’t on the deeds 
Just discovered this for my son who inherited my late parents property and even though he’s never been on the deeds or mortgage my solicitors informed us that he isn’t a FTB 

Solicitors are not tax experts, and this one is talking rubbish. Your son does not lose his FTB status unless the property was transferred to his ownership from the estate.

Ratkin007

I strongly suggest you do not purchase your siblings half unless you are prepared to have them live in the prooerty rent free and you be responsible for your mortgage payments, upkeep etc as others have said. The difficulty is your sibling will always see it as the family home even if you own it outright and is unlikely to accept they should pay you rent. I am aware of a similar situation with brothers. One has remained in the property for 8 years and will not discuss selling the property. Other brother does not want a fallout so has let it lie. A totally different situation with sisters. One purchased a property and after some time moved in with partner and let the property to her sister who after not paying rent for months finally made a payment but deducted a payment she had made for a gas safety certificate.  Then failed to pay rent again.  She was very surprised when her sister said she wanted her property back.  And as for them needing a larger property soon, chances are they would be reluctant to take on responsibility of housing costs when they can live rent/mortgage free.

[Deleted User]

I’ve spoken to a few other in previous months and they all said the same . 

I was enquiring as my son will need to get a mortgage despite having a big deposit and he’s is using part / buy rent scheme but that wouldn’t matter as long as he doesn’t own a property when buying the new property .  

He was named as a beneficiary in my late parents will . And he inherited half of the house which I sold and then transferred the cash to him as one of the beneficiaries  

The house was never transferred into his name 

Also my mums half was in a lifetime interest possession trust for my son & sister as beneficiaries 

When my dad passed away my that’s when we sold the house and I gave my son his share 

When I asked the solicitors would he be a FTB due to inheriting the property even though I sold it through the estate and he was never named on the property 

This was their answer   

YES or NO: (first-time owner) have you ever owned or part owned another residential property, or property that has both residential and non-residential use; this includes freehold property, or leasehold property of at least 21 years; reply yes if you have previously either bought a property, or inherited a property or are or have been a beneficiary of a trust that owns a property?

In answering that last question, note that:
1. Ownership of residential property anywhere in the world is counted when determining whether someone is a first-time owner. 

Savvy_Sue

But he didn't inherit a property, did he? Surely he inherited the cash you gave him? 

Unless ... 

RoseBerni said:

He was named as a beneficiary in my late parents will . And he inherited half of the house which I sold and then transferred the cash to him as one of the beneficiaries  

The house was never transferred into his name 

Also my mums half was in a lifetime interest possession trust for my son & sister as beneficiaries 

I don't know enough about trusts: did he effectively part-own the house before your mum died? 

Annisele

[Deleted User] said:

Also my mums half was in a lifetime interest possession trust for my son & sister as beneficiaries 

Ah - that sounds as though your son had a beneficial interest in the property even before your second parent died. I think the solicitor is right, your son isn't an FTB for the purposes of the stamp duty rules. But the reason is the trust, not the cash inheritance from the sale of the property.

Sundaymorning6

Sorry for the delay in responding. Thank you all for your comments and for the really detailed advice.

I sought legal advice previously and was advised that if they would not agree to selling or a buy out then I could apply to a court to force the sale. The probate is in my name from when my parent died, I can only assume this would be for an up to date judgement (?) I'm not in the best position to do that right now as (again want to avoid outing) I am working way way out of the area. There are children in the property so would be expensive and I don't know if would go in my favour. 

They did make a mortgage application previously, but obviously realised that buying a house is expensive so didn't continue with it when track record of never paying rent. Apparently this was a remortgage application to buy out my share. 

I have looked at remortgaging my half as an option for me to buy my own house, but there is a lot of contradicting information on the internet. I have read that I would need their permission and as they may also be responsible for the payments? (tenants in common). I am wondering now, had their remortgage application gone through, would I have had some responsibly to that debt...