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

popcornguess

Flugelhorn said:

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%. 

No he refused that deal and said he still wants to morgage our house but also keep half of my mothers house with me when she dies.

JGB1955

Are you joint tenants or tenants in common?  If joint tenants, change it to TIC as soon as possible.  He doesn't have to agree...

Keep_pedalling

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. 

Unfortunately your brother has taken advantage of you and it seems your mother’s naivety and now pushing to go even further. I think it very important that both you and your mother now take legal advice. I am sure she wants to make you secure in your own home after she has gone but she needs to make sure this is done by making a suitable will and perhaps make you a joint owner before then. 

In the mean time do not sign anything, the trump card in your hand in that he can’t raise cash against the house without your agreement.

housebuyer143

He can't mortgage that house without you, so do not agree until he agrees to raise enough to pay you a lump sum you are happy with. If he does that you can effectively sell your share to him and wash your hands of it.
If you do agree to take on the mortgage he sounds kind of like a person who might not pay, knowing you will have to foot the payments or risk your credit record being destroyed. 

I would be surprised if he didn't know what he was doing trying to take advantage of you. 

housebuyer143

To add, I feel like maybe you need to insist he buy you out. He might decide it's easier just to not mortgage it and then live there for free and might do so until he dies, so you basically are 50% owner in a house you can't sell without his agreement and get no benefit from. If you want to buy your own house you will then have to pay 3% additional stamp duty because you are named on this house. 

Him living there while you are on the deeds gives you 0 benefit.

pseudodox

Get help from a solicitor to not only sort out this jointly owned house, but also some advice about the situation regarding the future of your Mum's house.  Your brother sounds like mine - me, me, me.  There is a danger he will end up with far beyond his fair share when your Mum is no longer around.  You need to be clear on your long term future.  And you should make a will, to ensure anything you do have any share in is disposed of as you would wish.  Until things are sorted out you could simply leave your assets to a favoured charity.  Then when you are settled & have less pressure you can have a review.

silvercar

Rephrase it to your brother’s benefit. He’s going to do a lot of work on the place, so he should have the benefit of it. It also gives him more security if he owns 100% of the property he lives in. So he should get a mortgage to buy you out and do what he wants.

Alternatively, suggest that if he insists on getting a mortgage then you should have half the money raised- given you will be jointly liable for half the mortgage and own half the property.  That ,at give him pause for thought.