My brother wants to sell his share in our parents home

Emily_Joy

Until July this year my brother owned (1) 50% of the house where we grew up - our parents currently live there; our father owns another 50%, there is no mortgage, the house is in Scotland.  (2) 3-bed semi-detached outright. In July he bought the house on the other side of the party wall, aiming to join the two houses. He got a mortgage at about 45% LTV. These are in England.

Now my brother wants to sell his share in the house where our parents live and to pay the mortgage off. Our father is over 80 and doesn't really want to move - he knows a half of the town and wants to stay in the house. Our mother is much younger and will stay with him. 

My question is - what are his legal options? Can my brother force our father to sell the family home?

Emmia

Emily_Joy said:

Until July this year my brother owned (1) 50% of the house where we grew up - our parents currently live there; our father owns another 50%, there is no mortgage, the house is in Scotland.  (2) 3-bed semi-detached outright. In July he bought the house on the other side of the party wall, aiming to join the two houses. He got a mortgage at about 45% LTV. These are in England.

Now my brother wants to sell his share in the house where our parents live and to pay the mortgage off. Our father is over 80 and doesn't really want to move - he knows a half of the town and wants to stay in the house. Our mother is much younger and will stay with him. 

My question is - what are his legal options? Can my brother force our father to sell the family home?

I'm going to presume your father doesn't have the finances to buy your brother out, which is the obvious solution.

Why does your brother own half a house he doesn't presumably live in?

user1977

Ultimately yes, any joint owner can require a sale.

elsien

Does beg  the question as to how and why this arrangement arose in the first place, And unfortunately, some of the consequences when people don’t think things through. 

Knowing that your father can’t afford to buy him out, is your brother genuinely expecting him to move? Ultimately, if your father declines, it would have to go to court. Is that a step your brother is willing to take? 

Is your mother working and is she in a position to help financially, given that you say she is much younger. 

Without the full picture, it does feel like your mum who is rather been left in the lurch with all this, having the marital home given away from under her. 

GDB2222

As @user1977 says. 

I assume that your brother has not been receiving rent on his half of the house your dad lives in. Now, because of this recent purchase, he is paying substantial interest on his mortgage. So, you can see that this must irk. With mother being so much younger, that situation could easily continue for many years. 

Maybe, the solution is for dad to start paying some notional rent on the half of dad's  house your brother owns. The fairness of that depends on how you got into this situation. I would suggest less than market rate rent, as your brother is not providing a full landlord service. 

Emily_Joy

Emmia said:

I'm going to presume your father doesn't have the finances to buy your brother out, which is the obvious solution.

Why does your brother own half a house he doesn't presumably live in?

We - my husband and I - would have the finances to buy my brother out (or to help my parents to buy it out). What I don't know is how to agree on a sensible price. Our mother gifted her share of the house to my brother over 10 years ago when he had health issues and my mother was worried sick he will never be able to work.

Emily_Joy

user1977 said:

Ultimately yes, any joint owner can require a sale.

When we were looking for a house to buy, we were advised to stay clear of the properties when there are family issues (such as divorce/separation) as any of the owners could stop the sale if they change their mind and it could go on forever. How exactly does one require a sale?

GDB2222

Emily_Joy said:

user1977 said:

Ultimately yes, any joint owner can require a sale.

When we were looking for a house to buy, we were advised to stay clear of the properties when there are family issues (such as divorce/separation) as any of the owners could stop the sale if they change their mind and it could go on forever. How exactly does one require a sale?

You get a court order. In the eyes of someone buying a home, the timescale is interminable, but it is probably actually around a year. 

Emily_Joy

Maybe, the solution is for dad to start paying some notional rent on the half of dad's  house your brother owns. The fairness of that depends on how you got into this situation. I would suggest less than market rate rent, as your brother is not providing a full landlord service. 

When our Dad learnt that my brother bought the second house, he gifted him about £10K "to contribute to renovations".  About a month later my brother announced that he wants his share in the family home sold. 

Albermarle

GDB2222 said:

As @user1977 says. 

I assume that your brother has not been receiving rent on his half of the house your dad lives in. Now, because of this recent purchase, he is paying substantial interest on his mortgage. So, you can see that this must irk. With mother being so much younger, that situation could easily continue for many years. 

Maybe, the solution is for dad to start paying some notional rent on the half of dad's  house your brother owns. The fairness of that depends on how you got into this situation. I would suggest less than market rate rent, as your brother is not providing a full landlord service. 

I suppose theoretically at least it is the Mother who should be paying rent, as she gave away her half of the house but still lives there.

sammyjammy

What a mess, I don't understand why gifting your brother half a home was going to help him if he never worked again, if the brother is now well and able to work, indeed by a house I would suggest he gift it back to your mother!

Assuming thats never going to happen the plan of pay brother rent on the 50% he owns would keep them in their home.