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Other tax considerations (reasons not to sell to daughter at discount):
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3. The IRS frowns on selling a property below it's appraised value because it is a way to defraud the tax man and they will very likely step in and make heirs pay full tax on what the property is actually worth rather than the discounted sale price. You do not want the IRS coming after you, you will lose that battle and end up paying extra money for lawyers and extra tax money to give the daughter a bargain. Triple whammy. Talk to a CPA who can explain why discount sale is a very, very bad idea.
3 sons, 600K house one son wanted to keep (only house he has ever lived in essentially). He got a mortgage for 400K and gave each of the other 2 brothers 200K each. This was 2005-06 and house by 2010 was essentially a 400K house since the market softened. He lost all of his equity but still lives there now.
For the oldest sister..........lets just say it is 350K house/7 siblings = 50K each. IF the oldest squatter wants to sell it cheap then offer to sell it for 300K/6 siblings = 50K each and the squatter gets zero. She essentially gives her equity to her child. If she freaks out, remind her that the rent would have been $120,000 over 10 years if they even rented it for $1000 a month and you are not trying to get that money back (sunk cost at this point).
Look at it in a completely different way.You are NOT hiring an attorney against your sister. You are hiring an attorney to follow the wishes of your late parents. You want to honor them by respecting the decisions that they made.
(as was their verbal instructions and written intention in their will).
Maybe if you tell her that you are going to hire an attorney and force a sale and that will just reduce the amount everybody gets and it will save everybody money to just sell and get it over with?
Tell her all the siblings have decided to move into the house and/or rent out their partial ownership. Start assessing her rent, claim equity share of rental income less prorata taxes and maintenance. Outrageous ideas? Not sure of the legality or practicality but you don't have to keep it affordable/comfortable for her to live there. She has no incentive to reach an agreement so I would try to turn up the heat.
She would love it if we all moved back to the house. We really don’t have time to move back. Some of us have health conditions.
My assumption is that your sister's daughter is going to let your sister keep living there, which would be the main reason she's insisting it goes to her.
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In a situation like this, when many family meetings have been held with no satisfactory conclusion, an excellent lawyer who knows the legal technicalities should not be considered an enemy. They should be considered a source of knowledge and a means to move forward. Just be sure you check references and get a good one.
I would present hiring a lawyer to your sister and family in that light, as in “we all need help”. She won’t see it that way, but try to avoid any adversarial implication but instead stress professional input is needed. No reason to keep dragging it out.
Other posters are correct that there are huge tax problems that can arise so a CPA could also be involved. Your family needs professional counsel! (I am not a lawyer).
I don’t know about a particular deed holder being able to force the sale of the home and that might be a quicker avenue, but again I would consult a lawyer to be sure in your state.
Your parents did not put this niece or sister solely on the deed - clear and simple. There is no way they should gain ownership of your parents’ home, especially at such a huge discount (good luck with the IRS on that).
Going against the parents’ wishes and intentions should not be justified, no matter how much the sister cries and carries on. I’m sure she can put on quite a show if the end result is her daughter gaining a $1.2 million dollar house at half price while no concerns of ripping off her siblings and their families plus dishonoring her parents’ intentions.
My eldest sister feels she is right and rest of us are wrong . She thinks mom and dad have always wanted to keep the house in the family and not sell it to a private buyer.
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