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I have four brothers and 3 sisters. I’m the youngest in the family. My mother and father passed away 10 years ago. My eldest sister has been living in our parents house
rent free for the past 10 years . My parents left a will that equally divided the house to each surviving child. My eldest sister is emotionally attached to the house and she does not want it sold. After years of drama my eldest sister has finally agreed to sell the house but not at market value. She wants to sell the house to her daughter at a huge discount so that the property stays in the family . She is forcing everyone to sell this property to her daughter. What would you do?
Similar issue, less people.
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).
Am I wrong in thinking some information can be obtained by going to the court house and asking for copies of whatever has been filed and whatever has been ordered by the court. And go to the recorder to find what's on record about the deed, and the office of whatever taxing authority to find out about the taxes, where is the bill sent, are they being paid and by who?
We tried many times to agree on a number but she would not agree. It feels awkward to hire a lawyer against your own sister. It just does, especially when we have been so close since we were little toddlers.
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.
Frankly, I am stunned that you and your siblings haven't had that expectation from the very beginning (honoring the wishes of your parents, who divided the house into eight parts). (Sorry to be so blunt) But, it almost seems like you children thought that your parents were stupid, or crazy or ignorant or something like that, so you did not want to do what they wanted you to do (share the estate equally).
When our parents died we honored their wishes, and showed our love and respect, by dividing everything equally (as was their verbal instructions and written intention in their will).
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinkletwinkle22
Other tax considerations (reasons not to sell to daughter at discount):
1. Because 8 siblings name were put on deed before parents death (assuming this from OP posts) the house was a gift from parents not inherited. Important to the tax man when it is sold to anyone. (see #3 below)
2. The 8 siblings will owe capital gains on any sale based on the parents low cost when they acquired it. If it had been inherited the heirs would have almost no capital gains tax.
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.
Yeah, well, I'm willing to bet the value of the house has recovered nicely since 2010, and in the meantime, he's had a place to live and several years' write-offs for his mortgage interest and property taxes.
My older siblings are talking about just agreeing to her demands to save time. They don’t know if they will be alive when this house is finally sold ,if we go thru litigation.
It should take less than a year even if she drags it out. You're being robbed by a sibling...
My older siblings are talking about just agreeing to her demands to save time. They don’t know if they will be alive when this house is finally sold ,if we go thru litigation.
Point out to the siblings “who just want to get this over” that they are screwing THEIR kids in the long run by taking so much less money.
Yeah, well, I'm willing to bet the value of the house has recovered nicely since 2010, and in the meantime, he's had a place to live and several years' write-offs for his mortgage interest and property taxes.
Zillow:
Land $241,000
Additions $241,300
Total $482,300
I wouldn't get too excited about 82K in 9 years when the annual taxes are $6405!
My older siblings are talking about just agreeing to her demands to save time. They don’t know if they will be alive when this house is finally sold ,if we go thru litigation.
If you file a partition lawsuit and the judge orders a sale, it should be over within 2 years. These things are pretty straightforward.
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.
Last edited by Maddie104; 09-26-2019 at 08:08 AM..
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.
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