I inherited half a house with my brother who wants to mortgage it

Sea_Shell

Let's talk turkey here...£££

How much is half the current value of the house?  £75k,  £100k, £200k ...

Do you know (roughly) if your brother is able to borrow half.  Can he afford it, at today's high rates?

If not, and he has no way of raising enough to buy you out, you're going to have to come to another arrangement, which should at least include him paying you for the privilege of living in your half.

Sea_Shell

popcornguess said:

silvercar said:

Add to my previous post,

Is he paying you rent on his half of the house? Or is he living rent free on your half, borrowing money against your equity and telling everyone he is paying all the mortgage, so you shouldn't complain.

No he is living there rent free, i dont mind that so much because i live with my mother and im sure i would live here rent free too if she died, but about the mortgage if it goes ahead he will be 100% responsible for paying it back.

How old are you?  Are you the (much) younger sibling? 

Obviously you're over 18 (if you've inherited outright), but you sound like you're getting pressure from your "elders" here as "they know best".   Do you have anyone on your side?


Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

popcornguess

Keep_pedalling said:

popcornguess said:

silvercar said:

Add to my previous post,

Is he paying you rent on his half of the house? Or is he living rent free on your half, borrowing money against your equity and telling everyone he is paying all the mortgage, so you shouldn't complain.

No he is living there rent free, i dont mind that so much because i live with my mother and im sure i would live here rent free too if she died, but about the mortgage if it goes ahead he will be 100% responsible for paying it back.

No he won’t be 100% responsible because he won’t get a mortgage on his own you as the other owner will need to be on the mortgage agreement and that will make you jointly responsible if you brother can’t keep up the repayments.

if you have any plans to buy your own place becoming a joint owner (rather than sell and split the proceeds) was a terrible mistake because a) you have lost your first time buyer status and b) while you remain a joint owner  any purchase you make will cost you an extra 3% in stamp duty.

If your mother is so keen on this and you plan to stay put, then you might like to suggest an alternative solution, you gift your share to your brother and in return she make you a joint tenant of her house. There may be capital gains tax to pay for you on any increase in value of your share since the death of the testator but at least you would own half a house that you are actually living in.

Thankyou, this is what i needed as a reason not to sign, also my mother offered him my ants house in return for me having my mothers but he refused, to be fair my mothers house is probably worth more but i figured years of rent free living plus i might not get my mothers house for a good 20 years would make it roughlyfair, but its irrelivent because he refused that deal ! thankyou very much, i am sad i wasnt informed out this when i was asked to sign. You have helped me a lot. 

popcornguess

Beetroot_24 said:

Just to add, if you just give away your half on a verbal agreement, and his marriage breaks down, would his wife not be entitled to half of the house, as a marital home/asset? If anything unfortunate should happen to your brother, would it not become his wife's house? 

If you don't understand any of this, you should not agree to anything until you have sought legal advice.

 Correct if my brother died she would own half of that house i dont know what would happen to my mothers house if i would get all of it or have to give her half. Do you know what would hapen with my mothers house ?

popcornguess

Sea_Shell said:

popcornguess said:

silvercar said:

Add to my previous post,

Is he paying you rent on his half of the house? Or is he living rent free on your half, borrowing money against your equity and telling everyone he is paying all the mortgage, so you shouldn't complain.

No he is living there rent free, i dont mind that so much because i live with my mother and im sure i would live here rent free too if she died, but about the mortgage if it goes ahead he will be 100% responsible for paying it back.

How old are you?  Are you the (much) younger sibling? 

Obviously you're over 18 (if you've inherited outright), but you sound like you're getting pressure from your "elders" here as "they know best".   Do you have anyone on your side?


Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

Im 43 and he is 47, im autistic though so i have a young mental age and i dont deal with pressure well, i did say i didnt want to sign but they insist it wownt affect me at all, but i dont believe that. I had no idea i would be responsible for paying the mortgage if he couldnt, that was the type of thing i was worried about, im sure there will be more problems too. 

Flugelhorn

I suspect becoming joint owner on your mother's house might be a good deal and to be honest it is up to your mother and if your brother doesn't like then tough .

One thing to consider for your brother is how you two currently own aunt's house. If you are joint tenants and he died suddenly then it would all be yours and his wife would have nothing, if you are tenants in common then you each genuinely do own 50%. 

pseudodox

Please see an independent solicitor asap and get professional advice as it sounds as though the family are exploiting your vulnerable status.  They may not intend to "scam" you long term - perhaps just trying unwisely to keep things simple for you - but this is a legal minefield and you need someone from outside the family to support you.  And well done for coming here for inital advice and support - that was probably quite a big step anyway to approach complete strangers - you are already aware that something is not right.  So don't be pressured into signing anything until you have taken legal advice.

Sea_Shell

popcornguess said:

Sea_Shell said:

popcornguess said:

silvercar said:

Add to my previous post,

Is he paying you rent on his half of the house? Or is he living rent free on your half, borrowing money against your equity and telling everyone he is paying all the mortgage, so you shouldn't complain.

No he is living there rent free, i dont mind that so much because i live with my mother and im sure i would live here rent free too if she died, but about the mortgage if it goes ahead he will be 100% responsible for paying it back.

How old are you?  Are you the (much) younger sibling? 

Obviously you're over 18 (if you've inherited outright), but you sound like you're getting pressure from your "elders" here as "they know best".   Do you have anyone on your side?


Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

Im 43 and he is 47, im autistic though so i have a young mental age and i dont deal with pressure well, i did say i didnt want to sign but they insist it wownt affect me at all, but i dont believe that. I had no idea i would be responsible for paying the mortgage if he couldnt, that was the type of thing i was worried about, im sure there will be more problems too. 

Ok.

Do you work?  Are you (were you) on any means tested benefits?

Brie

Unfortunately you have no way at this point of knowing you will get your mom's house.  She might promise it, it might be stated like that in her will, but until she dies nothing is certain.  She might change her mind, she might need to sell it to fund going into a care home.  So you can't count on that and it should be a reason to give up what you actually have (a half share in aunt's house) for what is just a promise that might not become a fact.

Beetroot_24

popcornguess said:

Beetroot_24 said:

Just to add, if you just give away your half on a verbal agreement, and his marriage breaks down, would his wife not be entitled to half of the house, as a marital home/asset? If anything unfortunate should happen to your brother, would it not become his wife's house? 

If you don't understand any of this, you should not agree to anything until you have sought legal advice.

 Correct if my brother died she would own half of that house i dont know what would happen to my mothers house if i would get all of it or have to give her half. Do you know what would hapen with my mothers house ?

If your brother took you off the title deeds and took out a mortgage for the whole of the property, they'd both own it. If he passed, she would own it outright. 

As for your mother's, if she's in your mother's will, possibly, or your brother's half may go to her grandchild. Or maybe none of you as your mum may go into care. Where would that leave you? Homeless?

They really should not be putting pressure on you, especially knowing you are autistic and do not cope well under pressure. 

What will happen should you refuse?

Edited to ask:

How much is hoping to borrow? A small amount solely for necessary repairs, or is he borrowing a larger amount to release equity?