Niece sold family property

It’s only bricks and mortar so I’m guessing that you're annoyed because you think she’s done well out of your parents inheritance compared to you and your DS?

Is her father’s family wealthier than you too?

Yabu.

You are no longer really in contact with niece and have not really had anything to do with the property for years.

Selling was probably a stressful time for her, and she probably wanted to do it as simply as possible without potentially having family members arguing over who buys it or letting things get complicated

You have your memories, mementos and holiday home, which surely has lovely memories for you and your family

Sorry OP, I can see why you're upset but it was her property. She was grieving. She's entitled to put herself first.

i don’t understand the point about family furniture- why would you assume there was any in it, and even if there was, why would OP get it? Niece would empty the flat for sale and keep the furniture.

personally I wouldn’t/ wouldn’t have offered the flat to family as I would want maximum sale price and would assume they would low ball me.

OP I understand completely and I would have been upset too.
Perhaps, they should have been at least a talk with your sister, when she was still alive, that you wanted to keep the flat in the family and allow family members the first refusal if there was ever an intention to sell, and what were her thoughts about it. If she has agreed, she could have discussed it with your niece.

But what OP is saying is that she would have liked the opportunity to buy it which I think is very reasonable

You were left a holiday home. Would you expect to consult with every member of your extended family if you wished to sell it?

If the posters’ here saying “tough” found that their niece had sold their parents’ flat without telling them and without giving them the opportunity either to buy it, or even retrieve family furniture, you can bet they would have something to say about it. All they can think about is being the niece and cashing in.

I understand it’s very upsetting OP and it’s not something I would ever consider doing, I guess all you can do is try to make peace with it and count the blessings of your personal inheritance.

You're angry she didn't think of your feelings.

You don't give a crap about hers. A bit hypocritical, no?

It hasn't been yours since it was left to her Mum. You need to forget about it. It was your mum's wish it went to sister and from then onwards it's up to her.

I thought your thread was going to say it was left in part to several family members but she'd gone ahead and sold without your consent. But no, it's just straightforwardly her house to do exactly as she pleases.

You can have food memories of it but why should it stay in the family forever? The niece could just as easily rent it out to a stranger or just refuse to speak to you so you'd never be able to visit ever again anyway.

Be grateful you have a roof over your head plus a holiday home. That's way more than most people could ever wish for.

Your parents left it to your sister, not to you. You don’t even live in London, so you were never going to live there.

I got the holiday home and some savings they had but ultimately the flat was worth much more (central London location).

This is the crux of it isn’t it?

Your husband is right. My dad (and his cousins) sold a property that had been in our family for almost a hundred years. It's not practical to keep houses in families forever. Good on your niece, I hope the money has set her up nicely for her new life in her second home country.

You’re being totally unreasonable and irrational. That’s the way inheritance goes. Property gets passed to someone and it’s theirs to do with as they please. Over successive generations of your family living there I’m sure there might have been others that could stake a claim to the flat, but they didn’t inherit it and that benefitted your parents ultimately.

You need to edit your title - niece sold her own property.

Bloody hell your niece is what, 23,24? Just out of education and starting adult life without her mum.

How on earth has it come naturally to you to put 50 year old person emotions on her? It’s so unfair and unkind.

Tbh You should really reflect on the lack of emotional intelligence in your feelings.

The only people you can be annoyed with are your parents. It no longer belonged to you so your niece was free to sell and seems to have had good reason too

You’ve lost touched with your niece and didn’t even know what country she was living in.

yABU to think you have any say in her disposal of her property

Does your niece get a say in what you do with the "holiday home" and savings you inherited?
Of course not. I get that you have a sentimental attachment to the property but it was your niece's property.

Did you ever express to her that you would buy it if she ever wanted to sell?

YABU to refer to it as family property. It was her property.

On what she should've done with it, it's difficult and I understand the sadness, but equally it's either her feelings or yours. Doesn't seem there was a compromise option here. If she'd checked whether anyone wanted to buy it, clearly one of you might've said yes. I get why she prioritised her own sadness over yours.

Yabu your niece sold her property, it didn't belong to the family it belonged to her. You knew she didn't want to keep it, she told you that if it meant so much to you then you should have offered to buy it when she said that. What did you think she'd do with it when she said she didn't want it? You aren't entitled to notice of her selling her own property either.

Realistically could you have purchased the flat within 6-10 weeks? If not it makes no difference, plus there is no guarantee she would have taken your offer.

It is just a building, you don’t need a building to enjoy all the memories you have.

If it was so important how come you hadn’t been there in years or noticed it had been sold until you asked about it?

I would be miffed if my aunt who hadn’t even noticed I had left the country started asking about my property tbh.

Gosh your poor niece, it sounds like she's been through a lot. She lost her mother and of course the flat will be a sensitive topic for her. It was her flat and given you weren't in contact it probably didn't cross her mind to get in touch regarding it's sale. I really hope you apologised for how you spoke to her.

It has nothing at all to do with you. Your niece has no obligation to consult anyone else about selling it and if your relationship with her wasn’t solid in the first place then you’ve done yourself no favours by being harsh with her.
You will have lots of memories of the property over the years to keep close to you.