Sibling refusing to drop price.

ThisIsWeird

Grumpy_chap said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Doozergirl said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Albermarle said:

Seems as tho' if you are tic, you can sell your share to a 3rd party.

You can, but I do not think there would be a queue of buyers.

You are right. But possibly a good threat.

It isn't.  Have you ever seen half a house for sale?  I haven't.  

No, I haven't. But does it happen? Can it happen? Would the prospect of owning half the family house with a stranger be a welcome one to the sibling?
The OP has a few options, but none seem particularly easy if their sibling really refuses to budge, and solicitor's costs will almost certainly need to be borne should they try. So, the 'exasperated threat' of just selling their half could be persuasive.
Have you read my first post for context? As I said, "I'm not suggesting you do this, but..."

It really is not a "threat" or "persuasive".

The OP stated upthread that the sibling cannot afford to buy them out.
That, presumably, means buy them out at around half of the open market value for the property.

If the OP tries to sell the 50% share, the value realised will be a very small fraction of the true half open market value.
Maybe the sibling would buy out at that small fraction value, then sell the whole very quickly and turn a fantastic profit.
I have no idea what the sibling's character is, maybe that is the plan, to force the OP to sell the half undervalue to the sibling...

There could be a strategy here, if the sibling can buy out the OP at near (say 90%) of the value.  
Sibling values the property at more than the OP.
The OP could offer to sell the 50% to the sibling at 90% (of half) of the sibling's valuation.  The "discount" would reflect simple transaction, ne EA fees, etc...

Ooh, good point! :-)
I guess the OP could refuse to sell to the sib in that circumstance, but, yeah, not the persuasive idea I thought...

Skiddaw1

OP, I should cross-post to the 'Deaths, Funerals & Probate' board (a sub forum in the 'Life & Families' section). There's not infrequently similar posts on there and you may get a different perspective on potential options.

Hope it works out eventually....

Silvertabby

Any chance the sibling is just waiting to say "oh, well, if we can't sell the house then I may as well move in....." ? 

Jude57

If not already done, OP should ensure that the Council Tax department have BOTH their names as liable parties (Executors of deceased parent). If the sibling refuses to drop the sale price to achieve a quick sale, receiving a Council Tax demand in March, even without any unoccupied property premium, could focus their mind. If the relevant exemption expires and Council uses its discretionary powers to apply a 100%, 200% or higher unoccupied property premium, that's a massive amount of money to have to find and there's a limit to how patient the Council will be in waiting for a sale before going ahead with recovery. OP should be aware that joint and several liability for Council Tax means the Council will pursue all named liable parties for the entire amount due, it's not a case of each being liable for half and paying half won't prevent the Council coming after each of them for the outstanding balance. Hopefully, the initial demand in sibling's name will be enough of a shock to get them seeing sense.

ReadySteadyPop

Jude57 said:

If not already done, OP should ensure that the Council Tax department have BOTH their names as liable parties (Executors of deceased parent). If the sibling refuses to drop the sale price to achieve a quick sale, receiving a Council Tax demand in March, even without any unoccupied property premium, could focus their mind. If the relevant exemption expires and Council uses its discretionary powers to apply a 100%, 200% or higher unoccupied property premium, that's a massive amount of money to have to find and there's a limit to how patient the Council will be in waiting for a sale before going ahead with recovery. OP should be aware that joint and several liability for Council Tax means the Council will pursue all named liable parties for the entire amount due, it's not a case of each being liable for half and paying half won't prevent the Council coming after each of them for the outstanding balance. Hopefully, the initial demand in sibling's name will be enough of a shock to get them seeing sense.

Good point, focussing minds and liability on the costs involved in hanging on to the property is a good idea.

km1500

keep a running total of the costs spent on the property and send it monthly to the sibling saying that once the house is sold they will be liable for half of it out of the sale proceeds.

Baldytyke88

CottagePotager said:

We inherited an equal share in a house. We are both co executors. Probate was granted and the house has been on the market since March. Sibling insisted the house went on above it's valuation. I agreed just to get it on the market. Not surprisingly no offers were received. We dropped price to probate value after 3 months and then again after another month . Again no offers. Sibling is now refusing to drop price further. Unfortunately sibling has no funds to help maintain the house (bills, IHT) so I'm going to have to pay that 

Can I force sibling to drop price? The stress is making me ill 

UK property prices have risen by 1.5% compared to the previous month, and risen by 2.8% compared to the previous year. So the longer it goes on, the value of the house will increase, so there should not be a need to lower the asking price. Although house prices can be very volatile, winter is a difficult time to sell.

MSE_ForumTeam5

Skiddaw1 said:

OP, I should cross-post to the 'Deaths, Funerals & Probate' board (a sub forum in the 'Life & Families' section). There's not infrequently similar posts on there and you may get a different perspective on potential options.

Hope it works out eventually....

Just a note to say cross-posting isn't permitted. Threads can be moved from one board to another, but please don't create duplicates on more than one board.

TripleH

With the expenses, remember to keep receipts etc. If insurance is involved then ensure it is the minimum amount to cover the house.

Could you not clear out the house if not already done so?

Is there Amy cheap fixes you can do? Repaint walls, clean / remove carpets, anything to make it more presentable?

Could you not, in this instance of making the house suitable for sale, paint the walls an inoffensive colour that would offend your sibling?

If you are cleaning up the house / garden for sale, I don't think it unreasonable to claim the minimum wage for your work as long as you can document what you do if (and only if) you are trying to clean up the house for sale but sibling refuses to help out?

Edit: parents' house was on the market for ages but the moment the windows were replaced, it sold within days. Are there other reasonable tricks you can do? Or can you pull a similar type property and sold price to compare the 2 houses? Just because a 6 bed in your town sold for £1m doesn't mean your 8 bed on for £600K.

ReadySteadyPop

Baldytyke88 said:

CottagePotager said:

We inherited an equal share in a house. We are both co executors. Probate was granted and the house has been on the market since March. Sibling insisted the house went on above it's valuation. I agreed just to get it on the market. Not surprisingly no offers were received. We dropped price to probate value after 3 months and then again after another month . Again no offers. Sibling is now refusing to drop price further. Unfortunately sibling has no funds to help maintain the house (bills, IHT) so I'm going to have to pay that 

Can I force sibling to drop price? The stress is making me ill 

UK property prices have risen by 1.5% compared to the previous month, and risen by 2.8% compared to the previous year. So the longer it goes on, the value of the house will increase, so there should not be a need to lower the asking price. Although house prices can be very volatile, winter is a difficult time to sell.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/home-sellers-get-a-dose-of-reality-as-average-asking-price-drops/