What is she up to?

[DontVisitCabotCove]

DB, his partner “Jane” & her 2 kids have been staying with me - in my house - after the house they were buying fell through. They had been looking at other properties to buy but have since decided to end their relationship so that’s no longer happening.

Yesterday while my DB and I were out and unbeknownst to me, Jane had an estate agent over to value my house & as he was leaving he told her he’d send her an email with the valuation & they were talking about viewings etc.

Today Jane asked me to give her a letter stating that my brother is living here but wouldn’t tell me why she wanted it & was really unhappy when I said I’d give her a letter saying they were both temporarily staying with me as that’s the actual truth.

What on earth could she be up to? I’m honestly baffled!

Should I tell her that I know about the valuation? Should I tell my DB about all of this?

On one hand I don’t want to get involved in their troubles or make things worse (things are bad enough between them already) but on the other hand I feel I’m being drawn into it as it’s my bloody house she had valued!

Why would he pay an ex gf for the upkeep of children who are not his?

More front than Woolworths!

Whatever it is, it won’t be good.
Ask her and then if it isn’t a satisfactory reason, ask her to leave.

How on earth can someone sell a property they don't own. That's wild

She's planning to inherit your house. If your brother inherits your house, as she is the mother of his children, she could have some claim to it in a separation. This is provided it is treated as the family home (regardless of ownership), as they all lived there together with you. That was why she wanted a letter from you stating that they lived there with you.

I may have watched too much true crime, but I'm worried she might be hoping you'll die. If claiming your brother's inheritance of your house is her plan - and I'm almost certain it is - it's beneficial to her that you die sooner rather than later. Definitely report this to the police, and ask what actions they can take to protect you.

The OP's brother is not the children's father, they are solely his ex-partner's and are in fact at their actual father's at the moment, according to subsequent posts by the OP.

@DontVisitCabotCove I am so sorry you are going through all this when you don't need it.

Glad you are taking steps though, to protect your property. What an absolute C**t she is

I agree with other posters though, I would want her out the house, now, today (or tomorrow morning really, at this time of night), because it does sound like she is hoping to get some money off your brother when he, sadly, inherits the house. Hopefully not for a long time yet. Makes no sense, because she won't be entitled to anything, but she sounds absolutely insane

She's planning to inherit your house. If your brother inherits your house, as she is the mother of his children, she could have some claim to it in a separation.

The OP has been really clear that the children aren't her brother's. He and Jane aren't married. Jane has no right to anything.

.

Definitely report to the police.
And if you have any local facebook pages for your area/town some of them will post anonymously for you and you could ask if anyone knows an estate agent by the name of X?

Make sure she doesn’t have access to anything that might have your signature on.
Hide all bills that could be used as proof of ownership. If she plans on pretending to be you.
Hide passports driving licences etc.
Phone all local estate agents and ask if they have done a valuation. Check rightmove to see who they all are in your area. If you have an image of the agent on your ring camera you can go through agents websites and see if he comes up.

An alert on Landregistry is great but will only alert you after the fact ie once it’s sold

This is all very dodgy.
People do sell peoples houses without their knowledge.
Change the locks

The audacity of this!!! I admire your composure op and so sorry you are going through all that you are x

What kind of ass leaves a parcel in a wheelie bin?

My postie, for starters.

A lot of people have pointed out this (no criticism of this or any other poster pointing this out - cos they are absolutely right).

But does Jane know that? Does she care? Or is she deluded enough to think she might get her mitts on a slice of the house because she's lived with OP's DB? If she has an "I want it, I deserve it, therefore the law will be on my side all the way" attitude she might give it a try and cause a shedload of grief.

We've seen CFs do less on Mumsnet. We've seen personal opinion and misinformation touted as gospel truth online. Bet you there's a site out there that backs Jane's (possible) point of view, even if it's cos she hasn't given an accurate account of the situation.

Personally, I would get the DB to tell his ex that you have left the house to charity, he's not getting it. Nice try, love. Better luck next time.

But still do all the stuff pps have recommended - if she feels that entitled, best be prepared for anything.

You've got this agent on tape, so you know their appearance and name. Get your brother to ring round the various real estate agents in the area until he finds the agent, and then inform them of her fraudulent activity with regards to your house. I wouldn't be letting you sit around, unwell, reliant on alerts.

This not rude. What is actually happening here is that she has valued your house to ask in court for most of the equity of the house they sold as your brother is properly housed in a house of the same standard.

If I were you, I would ask both to leave. Her, as she is abusing your welcome and using it to screw your brother; and your brother because if he stays in there, the courts are likely to agree with her and give him a smaller percentage of the assets if he is the main earner.

No need to waste time in agents, she is not selling your house, just using the valuations to show, at family court, the standard of living your brother enjoys while she is likely to be homeless with children.

If your brother wants to be left with at least some money for a small place of his own where his kids can have their own room to stay overnight, he needs to seek legal advice asap, as she seems to be way ahead of him already.

If you have not told DB about the valuations DO NOW, you would be really making things very difficult for him for years to come. My parents remained silent about something like that, I will never be able to forgive them. 20 years later I am still paying dearly for their bloody discretion! A simple comment would have saved me and their grandchild years from years of financial hardship.

Actually, this isn't what's happening here, as OP states they didn't have a property together and they are not married.

The children are not his.

My dn rents a property from her parents. About 8 years ago dn and her now ex had the property valued and went to look at new houses claiming they owned the property outright (her parents do) and they would be cash buyers.

Her parents found out when the vigilant estate agent rang my bil and bizarrely bil never mentioned it to his dd.
It hurt him terribly though.

Turns out her ex is a proper Walter Mitty. And my dn isn’t much better.

I really hope you manage to get to the bottom of this, OP. Such a shitty thing to do.

I think a "round robin" email to all the local estate agents, with your address in the subject line, is an excellent idea. Explain that an agent called (first name) has been and valued the property on the instruction of someone who was a guest in your home and who has no right to anything to do with your home. Also tell them that the house is solely in your name and not being sold, and that you suspect that they may be attempting to pass themselved off as the owner, or use the information to establish a ficititious guarantor for rental purposes.

Really sorry you're having to do this, especially on top of your health problems.

Some people really are utter conniving bastards.

Just to be on the safe side, you can register your house with the Land Registry (for free) who will inform you of any activity, e.g. if anyone was trying to sell it behind your back! It has been known to happen.

Dh has registered ours, and both of dds’.

Jane is not married to the DB.
The children are not his.

I understand that people don’t want to read the entire thread but at least re all the posts from the OP!

Also this, and she's probably got a thread in mn too..
Jane will be getting advised to 'go after him' because-
'Well he's brought the dc up so he has an obligation to finance them..'
'Well this is the standard of house they've been in ,he's now in, he needs to provide same for Jane and them'......🤨