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Original poster

Question about inheriting a house

40 replies

Qcng · 03/02/2019 21:46

Hello
Can one sibling force the other sibling to put the house on the market if one sibling does not want to, (sibling A wants to keep house and rent it out, sibling B wants nothing to do with the house but refuses to sell their half to sibling A, wants to sell to perfect stranger instead).

Does sibling A have any ground to stand on legally to keep the house/buy sibling B out)?

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 03/02/2019 21:48

A cant control who the house is sold to

B can get c to purchase house and then c can sell to b

ColdCottage · 03/02/2019 21:48

I'm no legal expert but I believe if you want you'd share of the value the house had to be sold and they can't stop it. Part of the will and the solicitors would put this in motion for you perhaps?

LunaLunitaLunera · 03/02/2019 21:51

DF had to move out of the house he lived with my grandmother. He cared for her for years until she passed away, he had actually bought the house for my grandmother many years ago but her name on the deeds.

The rest of the family turned really nasty, he had to move out pretty quickly. He came to live with me, he was told due to the house being for all three brothers in the will, he didn't have came leg to stand on.

LunaLunitaLunera · 03/02/2019 21:52

*a leg

TeacupDrama · 03/02/2019 22:00

a sale can be forced so sibling B can get their share if A wants to buy they need to get true market valuations and so A buys B out, why does B not want A to buy them out?
legally I think they need to agree on an offer they will accept so technically B can veto A's offer but then A could veto a strangers offer so you could end up with stalemate I am not sure legally but the whole house value could end up in legal fees
but I am sure that a sale can be forced rather than rented out and both getting 50% of rent as B is entitled to his share of capital now even if long term renting it out maybe better
who is the executor they have to realise the best value possible in a reasonable time and distribute according to will

Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 08:13

why does B not want A to buy them out?

This is the weird bit, because it makes no sense. Their relationship is tense (to say the least) and there has been all wishy washy teary talk about "but I just have such strong emotional ties to the house and need it to be out of the family" from B.
I suspect there's a deeper sort of maliciousness or envy going on. They basically want to make things hard for A.

A's situation (ok this is my husband!) is we are currently on £9k per year for a family of 3 (one is on the way) benefits are involved, inheriting the cash will mean our benefits will stop, we'd just end up living off the capital which won't last forever, having a rental income rather than cash would simply be far better all round (for us), and our income would go up to about £16k per year (£10k from house plus about £6k from income).

B already own about 4 houses incuding their own and live from the rental income plus other inheritance that pays for private schools etc for their kids, just to highlight the differences in circumstances.

I like the idea of finding a C to buy it then we buy it off them! - The thing is the loss in stamp duty and fees etc we may as well just buy another small flat to rent out after the sale but that's really stressful and wld rather avoid.

I think they need to agree on an offer they will accept so technically B can veto A's offer but then A could veto a strangers offer so you could end up with stalemate

I can see something like that happening.

Thanks for your thoughts anyway. Don't know much about this sort of thing!

OP posts:
Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 08:15

^ The "emotional ties" bit doesn't make much sense because B wouldn't have anything whatsoever to do with the house if they sold to DH, and we've explained this. I think they just don't want him to gain from it in any way or something.

OP posts:
WomanWithAltitude · 04/02/2019 08:21

Why would receiving the money from the sale of the house mean that you have to live off the capital? Why not buy a different house to rent out with that capital?

alreadytaken · 04/02/2019 08:26

A can not afford to "buy B out" as B does not have the money to do so and wont get a mortgage. B wants their money - harsh but legally they are entitled to it.

Who are the executors? They could send it to auction. If B had any chance of buying it that is the route I would suggest. B gets what can reasonably be defended as the best price, A gets their chance to buy.

alreadytaken · 04/02/2019 08:27

sorry that should say if A had a chance of buying it.

Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 08:30

That's exactly what B said! "Just get another flat or something" which yes could be an option we need to look into it, but DH is reluctant because at least we know this house inside out and know there's nothing wrong with it, it's a good location for renters, finding another place to rent out would be a lot more risky, costly and frankly a lot more hassle, seeing as there's already a house right there.

OP posts:
Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 08:32

A can not afford to "buy B out" as B does not have the money to do so and wont get a mortgage
As well as inheriting half the house, there's capital in cash that would cover the other half of the house. Sorry missed out that bit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 08:35

Who are the executors? They could send it to auction. If B had any chance of buying it that is the route I would suggest. B gets what can reasonably be defended as the best price, A gets their chance to buy

Ah thanks for that.
DH and B are joint executors.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 04/02/2019 08:37

I don't really understand, i assume A has the cash to buy it off B? Even though only earning 9k a year and on benefits? Is a offering full value and to pay like anyone else?

Bluntness100 · 04/02/2019 08:56

Sorry, cross posted,

I think A needs to be very wary, with this level of income they wlll possibly struggle to maintain the property if something goes wrong. Being a landlord can result in some big unexpected bills that need to be sorted immediately, and this is fine if you take it out your profit and manage your cash flow accordingly to allow for it'. It's not fine if you live off the money,

However this is not Bs problem, if A pays full market value.

Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 09:05

Bluntness, yeah that's exactly why we are not eager to use the inheritance to buy a different house/flat to rent out, but this house (DH grew up in) we at least know everything about it, how all the appliances work, how to fix them, familiar with the wiring, plumbing etc DH can do basic maintenance on this house but not a totally unfamiliar property.

OP posts:
mummmy2017 · 04/02/2019 09:12

But won't you need to declare that you own the house ?
How do you live on 9k.

SassitudeandSparkle · 04/02/2019 09:20

So you want the house as your entire inheritance and B to take all the cash instead? That doesn't sound like a good idea, if you own a house I am fairly sure that the benefit agency will expect you to live in it.

Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 09:26

So you want the house as your entire inheritance and B to take all the cash instead

B wants all the inheritance as cash, but wants to sell the house to a perfect stranger not her sibling.

But won't you need to declare that you own the house? Well, yes, and we would Confused

£9k p/a isn't forever. I'm not going into details about our outgoings etc if that's ok

OP posts:
Original poster
Qcng · 04/02/2019 09:28

if you own a house I am fairly sure that the benefit agency will expect you to live in it
Once the inheritance comes through our benefits will be stopped so we won't be on them anymore

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 04/02/2019 09:31

Hmm, ok, but the costs I was talking about are things like the boiler needing replacing, or the guttering, or a washing machine, these things all occur and tenants can cause more damage than owners,

Is your husband willing to pay full market value? I can't see how b can refuse if he is, but if he's not, then it is your husband who is being unreasonable.

KoraBora · 04/02/2019 09:34

You need specialist benefit advice as to your circumstances before even thinking about anything else. For most benefits large assets such as houses are considered as capital anyway (with the exception of your main home), although if necessary there may be a grace period for you to sell it. I would speak to CAB or Welfare Rights for proper advice.

WTFIsAGleepglorp · 04/02/2019 09:38

A would have to offer B the full market price.

If A is prepared to give B half the rent and then both pay CGT, that would be fair, but a hassle for both A and B as it involves tax returns and so forth.

It sounds like A and B have to sell to split the proceeds.

Bluntness100 · 04/02/2019 09:38

where do you live now op? Do you own your home, in private rented, or social housing? I also suspect if you own a home you'll be expected to live there, if it's private rented or social housing you're currently in? Either of those latter two options would likely see any housing benefit stopped or a loss of social housing.

KoraBora · 04/02/2019 09:38

Ah Ok so you are expecting them to stop anyway?

Remember that you cannot deduct expenses for tax purposes anymore. This will eat into your income. You need to ensure if, for example, the boiler breaks down in winter you can pay or it to be replaced in a hurry. Anyone who cannot do that has no place being a landlord. Renting is not an easy income and the returns are dwindling everyday.

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