House left in will

Hego Damask

Hi,

We lost a parent recently and myself and the brother have inherited the house.

An uncle wants to buy the house and I know my parent wouldn't have wanted him to have the house.

We might need to sell it though I would rather it unconnected with the family so we can let go.

Not sure does my brother want to sell it to him though, he always liked this uncle.

Ideally I don't even want to sell the house, I would rather we rent it and hang on to the asset.

I have a feeling my brother will bully me into selling it to the uncle though.

Or they will guilt me into being selfish or vindictive for not wanting to sell to him.

Pawwed Rig

If he pays market value then I wouldn't see a problem.

redsheeps

It's half yours now. You can't be forced to do anything with it - you can obviously if you tend to let your brother bully you about of course.

Sounds like you haven't talked to your brother about what he thinks. Maybe start there.

I'd personally be aligned with your way of thinking but I'm just some randomer online. I think if you've got an asset like a house that's fully paid off then the rental income can be a nice bit of passive income. Renting can obviously turn ugly if you get the wrong tenant of course.

If you feel obliged to sell, then who knows what the actual market value is at the moment. Only way to find out is to put it up for sale and let your uncle bid on it like every other person - then you'll get real market value.

Big Bag of Chips

If you don't want to sell it, and it ends up your brother does, then the most logical solution is you buy your brothers share from him. Then the house is solely yours to do as you wish. And your brother has his cash.

If your brother wants to sell, and you don't then realistically it would be unfair of you to block your brother's opportunity to release his share of the equity. He might not want to keep the house. He might not want to become a landlord. He might not want an investment property. Cash now might be more valuable to him. Your first step should be discussing with your brother what you both want.

Buddy Bubs

Yep, needs a chat with your brother. You dont know his wishes, you are presuming.

What's the reason your parents wouldn't want the uncle to have it? Was there a big falling out or is there history with the ownership of the house while they were alive?

That's a pertinent factor in your decision on what to do with it.

road_high

If it was me and my parent adamantly didn’t want someone in the house after them then I’d steadfastly respect that. There must be a good reason for that too.

Some people might say “what does it matter, they are dead” but that very much misses the point. Your brother may be of the same opinion, and if there was some kind of family fall out I’d imagine he too would want to respect your parents wishes

Jequ0n

Make sure you know what you want. “Hanging on to the asset and renting it out” comes with a lot of baggage.

Atlantic Dawn

Once it's sold at market rate I'd see nothing wrong with selling to your uncle.

As things stand do you have experience of being a landlord? If the house needs large maintenance work who will pay for this and do you have an agreement drawn up with your brother if for example the heating system fails and required a complete replacement who will pay? If you get a tennant in and they decide to stop paying the rent for a year so you have the means to pay for the upkeep of the house in this time?

JeffKenna

First step is to talk to your brother.

Hego Damask

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943949#Comment_118943949

Very good points actually, never really thought about bad tenants.

Hego Damask

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943486#Comment_118943486

We can still sell, I just want to let it go completely, I don't want to still be connected to it - which I will be if the uncle gets it.

Hego Damask

Legally if the house is for sale, the estate agent works for us, so are they obliged to tell us who is bidding ?

Last thing I need now is him getting the house as an anonymous bidder...

Big Bag of Chips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118944159#Comment_118944159

Why would you be still connected to it if your uncle buys it? It sounds like you don’t have a relationship with him so you are unlikely to visit him wherever he lives.

I’ve sold 2 houses and I don’t recall ever knowing the names of the buyers. Although I didn’t need to know, I suppose. You could tell the estate agent to not arrange a viewing or accept an offer from your uncle. But if the house doesn’t sell quickly you might end up glad of his offer. Are you sure your parent wouldn’t have wanted your uncle to buy the house? They might not have wanted him to GET the house, but if you and your brother are to financially benefit from him buying the house then that might be a different story.

SupaCat95

80 Landlords are leaving the market place in Ireland every week or so we are told. There are must be a reason for this, head over to the accommodation section to find out why. Landlord is not a legal position you want to find yourself in with loads of local taxes, Threshold, troubles with tenants, maintenance and best of all the Government takes 50% of your rent. There are a lot of easier ways to make money.

Your parents are gone, if your uncle want to buy the house let him and let the harm of the year go with it. All he has to do is to come up with €N which is no mean feat in this world. When the house is out there in the open market maybe he doesnt have the money he thinks he has to buy it, the open market will certainly give him a run for his money.

First thing I would do would be to talk to your brother about it and then your solicitor.

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118944185#Comment_118944185

You will know when their names are on the contracts that the solicitor gives you to sign.

We recently sold and were provided with the names of each bidder.

OP it is up to you who you sell to and you are quite entitled to refuse any bid even of they are the highest bidder. You may need to compensate your brother should you leave money on the table though.

As BBOC says if you do not have a relationship with your uncle then how will selling to him not be a clean break with the house? That said in a general sense it is probably not a great idea to transact with family

road_high

If your parents specifically mentioned not wanting him to get or live in the house then that’s sacrosanct in my book. Might as well go piss on their graves.

Dozens of buyers out there so excluding one you don’t want isn’t an issue. The key issue really is whether your brother also respects your parents wishes.

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118944166#Comment_118944166

At the end of the day you’re in control of who buys your property from you. If sold on later that’s obviously a different matter

topmanamillion

With the way the housing market is at the moment, if the house is anyway habitable and within a somewhat easy commute of an urban centre you're uncle would do well to be the preferred bidder. Of course he's made his interest known early hoping grief, inexperience and family ties will nab him a bargain. Presumably you're uncle is middle aged - to advanced in years and if so may own a home? Maybe you and your brother are presuming he's improving from his current accommodation? But maybe he sees resale/rental value in the house particularly if he can get it at below market value. Maybe he has children and sees the home as being ideal for them? Complete guesswork there from me of course.

Its a difficult situation. Best advice i can give is do not feel pressured/"bullied" into anything. If you do choose to sell have the house independently valued and get the market rate regardless of your brother or uncles input.

Hego Damask

It is in a great location, lovely area of Dublin and close to the DART.

So I know we will have no problem selling it, now I am wondering could he even come up with market value ... I am wondering does he expect a deal ?

He can go whistle for Dixie ...

macvin

1. Is there a will?

If there is, look at the wording. It may say "house to be sold and proceeds split between pat and Paul"

2. If the uncle tried to buy under market value, he may be liable for tax on the benefit

Just far too many potential issues by not going the normal route of selling via an agent to the to the best bidder.

spaceHopper

Firstly talk it over with your brother. Then get the house valued for probate and ask what you could expect to get on the open market. Once you brother sees that if they give your uncle a deal they are missing out on money. You can inherit 330K tax free from a parent once. After that you pay 30% tax. The only way you could do deal with you uncle is if he payed you cash under the table.

B.A._Baracus

Hey op, the next course of action is talking with your brother. While you have ideas of what he may say, you won't know 100% until you speak with him.

You've listed three points of discussion. Parent wished not to sell to your uncle, property can be sold to anyone and does not have to be the uncle and potential renting income for years to come. List the pros and cons of each to your brother.

Now, I don't have any dog in this race so my opinion doesn't matter. But if were in your shoes I would be thinking you can skin a sheep once but can sheer it for many years to come. The idea especially being that when retired having a nice income from a property does seem nice too. It is basically another pension.

cezanne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118944154#Comment_118944154

Go over to the property & accommodation thread and then ask yourself if you want to be a landlord. If one of you wants to sell then have it valued properly and one buys out the other. Doesnt matter who buys it then, uncle or stranger. the house is just that a hous e, an asset take away the sentiment and do whats best for you .

Pomodoro

As it sounds like it will be a highly sought after property, it will be easy to put it on the market and sell to the highest bidder. If that happens to be your Uncle, you can choose to sell to someone else. No obligation to sell to the highest bidder. (In fact people do this all the time, for example a vendor/seller will usually prefer a cash buyer and/or a buyer who can close quickly.)

mrslancaster

If you decide to rent but don't want to be a hands-on landlord, you could check out the long term leasing scheme with your local council. The house needs to meet all rental standards, they pay less than market rate but take care of maintenance and no worry about unpaid rent. Just another option to consider.

Big Bag of Chips

As the OP has been site banned we'll lock the thread.