Sister wants to sell our jointly owned property aboard but I don't ??

[iwanttoholdyourhand]

I need some advice. I jointly own a property abroad with my sister. We are both in our late 40s. She does not work and is on benefits.

She now wants to sell her share of said property and I don't . This property was gifted to us by our mother. It is currently rented out.

The country the property is located in the economy is really bad at the moment and it's already lost £10k of its value. The total value is now around only £50k. I want to wait it out and have plans to eventually semi retire in the country the property is in. I also have very fond memories of spending summers at this place. I really don't want to sell.

However, she wants out now and would like the money. I cannot afford to pay her in excess of £25k. I have suggested given her a small lump sum of £5k and then monthly payments of £500 per month over 3 years. She is angry and is not happy with this suggestion. She would like the money in one lump sum.

AIBU. I work full time and also have a young family. The money I give her will be tax free for her and also I don't think she will declare it to her benefits office.

I really don't want to upset her but think she's being a little unfair.

That's a good point at the moment she wants half the value of the property I will also deduct taxes and costs first too.

Could you raid from your pension pot to help raise cash , OP. Not ideal but it is for retirement.

No I would never do that I have a good pension it's better to just try and get a loan

So she is fraudulently claiming UC whilst wanting you to sell this asset for fun spends?? How on earth is anyone defending the sister in this??

This. You could easily get an appropriate loan to buy her out. If she is unwaged then owning this property is a massive barrier to her recieving support which you are generally ineligible for if you have more than £6000ish assets.that means your nice little retirement plan is causing your sister immediate financial hardship. Yabu.

You don’t get to police what your sister does with the money, or her benefits claim. But I do think YABU not to sell. That is the only way for you both to benefit from the property. You can reinvest your part in another property, now while prices are low, if you like.

Did you miss the bit where OP said her DSis hasn't disclosed ownership of this house to DWP and she's been defrauding them for years?

And how would £25k landing in DSis' bank account improve her ability to get benefits?

You are being very unfair. She is entitled to her money. And she might not see your plan as a good one. Particularly if it's already loosing value.

Also I’d buy her out - if you plan to retire in the property might as well buy her out now in a cooler market and have your retirement home to yourself !!

Good for you OP. I hope you enjoy it in your Shirley valentine greek house!

She will lose her benefits if she received the money unless she gets a job........

https://www.gov.uk/benefit-fraud#:~:text=You%20commit%20benefit%20fraud%20by,providing%20false%20information

Why won't she work?

Yes, it'd be best to buy her out and be done with it.

If she recieves the money and instantly spends it on valid purchases to improve her long-term quality of life eg a car, white goods, furniture, she can easily get her remaining capital down to less than the savings threshold for benefits. That won't help the fact of her previous fraudulent claims but at least her future claims would no longer be fraudulent.

Is she declaring her half of the rental income? She should be doing a tax return annually?

If you can scrape together £5 get a loan for £20k. You can repay the loan from renting property out. If she gets this money she shouldn't be able to claim benefits.

you will need to put the money into her bank account, you need to do this so your money is traceable and shows you have paid her the money for house.

your sister is deluded if she thinks UC will not notice £25k deposit 💵 n her bank account. Seriously UC can suddenly ask for 3 years bank statements… it’s fraud and it’s so stupid

Op your sister’s decision’s in life are out of your control as well as her reactions once she has spent it all. If you can afford to buy her out whilst the value of property is low then it’s a no brainer.
You know your sister will blow the money and once it’s gone feel like she has been conned, she will feel jealous you still have the property especially if it goes up in value in the future. That’s her problem not your’s and if UC find out that’s on her too.

So she’s already on dodgy benefit grounds here, not even taking into consideration owning another property.

I would be finding money to buy her out properly, changing the ownership to you, making sure you’re declaring all income and doing everything above board.

when she gets caught it’s on her, silly greedy woman.

Your sister has the right to access her money op. It’s not down to you to decide when the market improves you can then sell, that could be decades away or may never happen.

Your sister is in a very poor financial position, you need to sell or come up with the full amount.

I am amazed you didn’t sell immediately given your sisters predicament. You are being unfair, not her. She needs her inheritance now.

Just to add benefit fraud carries a custodial sentence and 25K is a huge amount, but that’s on her op.

How much rental income does she get each month? She's really a short-term thinker isn't she?

Forcing your sister to remain financially entangled and refusing to allow her to realise her assets, is pretty immoral too. You have no room to talk.

You get a loan, give her her 25k and what she does with it is nobody's business but hers ffs.

If she gets caught that's on her, but it's really not up to you to judge her immortality or any of the other PP's poking their noses in.

She's a grown woman, entitled to cash in on her asset. What she does with her money is either here nor there and nobody elses business.

I would get a loan and buy her out. Do everything legitimately, it's her problem if she tries diddling HMRC. Eventually her chickens will come home to roost.

Doing anything with family is doomed - work / investments. Best to get her out of this.

Another possibility would be to sell the property on the open market, and to use your share of the proceeds either to invest or to buy another more suitable for your current or future needs. I know this isn't your first choice but it avoids the financial complications and the potential issues with your sister expecting to use or collect rent from the property in the future.