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Original poster

I know this can't work but hear me out

134 replies

CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 14:43

My sister and I will inherit a 4 bed detached house on the edge of a village. Will go on the market for approx £400k.
The close that the house is in is occupied by 8 other houses. All lived there for 30 plus years.
This is a hypothetical situation currently but I want to sell it for £200k (approx) with caveats about not reselling in a certain amount of time, allowing a young family to move in to a house they couldn't thus afford. I may sound a complete twat- my sister and I would love the money but £100k each would change our lives immensely plus another family's life. What haven't I thought of? Am I a complete knobhead?

OP posts:
MerryChristmasToYou · 18/08/2023 14:45

A better solution would be to rent the house to a young family, charging an affordable rent.

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 14:46

Definitely don't want to be a landlord!

OP posts:
BringOnSummerHolidays · 18/08/2023 14:48

I don't believe you can just stipulate what someone will do with the house once it's theres. Your only option is to pick the buyer you like most.

Mingomang · 18/08/2023 14:49

It’s a bit Lady Bountiful.
Let’s say you have lots of families bidding. How are you going to choose between the candidates? Will there be a series of challenges?
Will you be able to enforce the covenant if they sell early? Do you have the funds to take them to court?
If you want to do something why don’t you sell it for the market rate then donate £200k to a good cause?

Theunamedcat · 18/08/2023 14:50

Its not going to work clean it out sell it on at a reasonable cost

RandomMess · 18/08/2023 14:50

Can you set up a trust fund to rent out at an affordable rate? Perhaps not this house but a cheaper one so you could still get some capital each?

Illegallyblonder · 18/08/2023 14:51

What are you on? Don't do it!

JustAnotherUsey · 18/08/2023 14:55

I think there might be a thing where you rent it to the council so they can rent it to a family in need. You wouldn't have much to manage. If that works for you?

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 14:57

Theunamedcat · 18/08/2023 14:50

Its not going to work clean it out sell it on at a reasonable cost

OK- and I really am going to sound like a knob now. I loved growing up in that little close next to the fields and playing out. All the neighbours had kids my age. Now the same neighbours are still there (us kids have grown up and are long gone) and the homeowners (including my parent) are rattling around in these big houses (absolutely fine - they don't want to move and nor does my parent want to move) but even all the neighbours lament that there are no kids around to enjoy what I had.
I guess I was trying to ask how I could sell the house to someone who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it but it does come across as lady bountiful which I didn't intend- I am a single mum of 4 renting so I am certainly no rich kid!
I know it was a shit idea I was just musing and had nobody to discuss it with

OP posts:
ConcernedCatmother · 18/08/2023 14:59

End boss people pleaser. Get a grip OP

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:00

ConcernedCatmother · 18/08/2023 14:59

End boss people pleaser. Get a grip OP

Eh?

OP posts:
MerryChristmasToYou · 18/08/2023 15:00

Buy your sister out and move in.

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:01

MerryChristmasToYou · 18/08/2023 15:00

Buy your sister out and move in.

Never living there - that's where my mum killed herself. Plus I am happy where I am.

OP posts:
Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:04

It was just a thought after reading other posts on here. Couldn't afford to buy sister out. She lives abroad and would want the money. I want a family to live in that house and make it a happy house. That probably makes me bat shit 🤣

OP posts:
theemmadilemma · 18/08/2023 15:05

OP, hopefully someone legal will confirm, but I'm sure I've read you cannot legally put caveats on what someone does with the property after purchase.

MerryChristmasToYou · 18/08/2023 15:07

Have you had counselling for your grief. @CrazyBatIknow? Not saying it to be rude, but your thinking seems not right, and grief doesn't always manifest itself in the expected way.

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:07

theemmadilemma · 18/08/2023 15:05

OP, hopefully someone legal will confirm, but I'm sure I've read you cannot legally put caveats on what someone does with the property after purchase.

Ah thank you. That's annoying - what I want to do is sell it cheaply and say but you have to be happy here, you have to pay it forward oh and you can't dig up the crap smelling shrub in the garden 😊

OP posts:
Whataretheodds · 18/08/2023 15:08

There will be ways of achieving it, legally, but they'll be complicated and so probably expensive.

If you were to rent it at a fair rate and stipulate families in the selection then you could always decide to save the rent for them and offset it against the purchase price in the future if they wanted to/could buy it.

AuroraForever · 18/08/2023 15:08

Nice idea but not realistic. Just sell it, split the money with your sister and use what you have to buy your own place.

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:11

MerryChristmasToYou · 18/08/2023 15:07

Have you had counselling for your grief. @CrazyBatIknow? Not saying it to be rude, but your thinking seems not right, and grief doesn't always manifest itself in the expected way.

No I am 30 years too late for that!
Like I said, I was just musing if it was possible or not. It's something I would like to do if possible.

OP posts:
Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:12

Whataretheodds · 18/08/2023 15:08

There will be ways of achieving it, legally, but they'll be complicated and so probably expensive.

If you were to rent it at a fair rate and stipulate families in the selection then you could always decide to save the rent for them and offset it against the purchase price in the future if they wanted to/could buy it.

I like that idea. But would need to pay my sibling off.

OP posts:
CMOTDibbler · 18/08/2023 15:13

You can't put specifications on what people do after they buy it, and I wouldn't sell it at a massive discount. BUT, after my parents both died I had a message from a couple who lived up the road asking if I would sell the house to them - my parents house needed a huge amount of work but was a much bigger plot with lots of scope. The market for that sort of house was very competitive and they really wanted to stay in the town but couldn't afford a not done up house. So it never went on the market, and though they paid the asking price I could have got more on the open market. They sent me photos of the house 18 months later, and it gave me a lot of peace to see it as a happy family home again.

Original poster
CrazyBatIknow · 18/08/2023 15:13

AuroraForever · 18/08/2023 15:08

Nice idea but not realistic. Just sell it, split the money with your sister and use what you have to buy your own place.

Can't afford my own place. Too old and don't earn enough money.

OP posts:
Shemightbeatriphazard · 18/08/2023 15:15

I don't think it's a shit idea OP and I think 'lady bountiful' is what people say to put others off being kind and generous. I think it's a lovely idea and I understand why you want to.

First thing I would wonder about, I suppose, is whether you or your sister would want to move there with your families if you are currently renting? But if you both have other plans that mean you can make better use of the capital, and if you're both in agreement, there's no reason at all why you couldn't explore something like your idea.

As PP have said there are schemes where you can offer the house to your local authority for a set period of time to be used as council housing - they take care of everything and pass an agreed rent on to you, I think.

Or if you want to sell, it is true that there would be a lot of interest and some potential complications. One way around managing this would be to look to sell to a housing association who can then use it as 'affordable housing' - similar to council housing, or with stipulations it be used for key workers for example - or offer it as part of a shared ownership scheme to help a family get on the housing ladder, and who will be used to administering all of the contracts that go with these schemes. I think it may be possible for you to set up to sell it on a shared ownership basis yourself but I also think it would be legally a bit more complex to arrange.

Rather than the caveat about re-selling in a certain amount of time, I wonder if you could cap the re-sale price in some way so that it always remained 'affordable'. I have no idea how to do this but it's another thing that housing associations are able to do so it is possible!

Another option you might consider is to offer to take part in the scheme to host Ukranian refugees. It wouldn't be renting but you could make arrangements to set it up so that you and your sister weren't out of pocket either, just not making a profit on 'rent'. Whoever is co-ordinating the hosting in your local area - likely to be a church or mosque leader? - would be able to talk to you about options.

I hope you can find an option that you like OP.

StupidHip · 18/08/2023 15:17

You might be able to give/sell it to a housing association

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