My liabilities on a house willed to both of us.

S

Snowdrift

Registered User
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Hi All,

New poster here, hoping that you may be able to offer advice on the following predicament.

Myself and my sister were willed our parents house following the death of our mother.
We’re joint executers of the will and probate and all other relative paperwork has been completed thankfully.
I’m currently married myself and living a couple of hundred miles away from this house and have no intention of ever living there. My sister on the other hand is single and renting so has decided to move into the house, as I suppose she’s entitled to. I have no issue with this but I am a little concerned that I’ll still be liable for half the household charge, water charges, septic tank changes as well as being liable to pay this €200 charge for owned a second home.
Can I get my solicitor to draw up something that would pass liability for all these expenses onto my sister as she’s living in the house?
Also could I actually sign over “living rights” of the house to my sister with a stipulation that the property cannot be sold or rented out without my agreement?
 
As the tenant, your sister should pay all these charges, although you are legally liable for them.

As the tenant, your sister should pay you rent for half of the house.

Alternatively, she should buy your half of the house from you. If she doesn't have the money, you could issue her with a mortgage for the money she owes you.

She would then owe you the money and you would have absolutely no liability for the costs associated with the house.

Brendan
 
Thanks for your reply Brendan but I don't understand what you mean by "you could issue her with a mortgage for the money she owes you." How could this be done?
Do you mean have a solicitor draft up an agreement where by she pays me half the current market value of the house over X number of years? If this is what your getting at then would it not get very messy if she couldn't make repayments?
 
You sell her the house for €100k, say.
Now she owes you €100k, so all the worries you have over ownership have now disappeared.
You can charge her interest or not as you see fit.
You can agree the terms of payment as you see fit.

Brendan
 
Okay thanks for clarifying that Brendan. Think that suggestion would need to be fleshed out with a solicitor in detail...
Would love to hear if anyone else has any suggestions?
 
As your sister has moved into the she no longer has rent to pay so should she not be paying at least some rent to you to cover your expenses and more.
I also do not understand why you have allowed her to move in without drawing up an agreement. I can't see how she has a "right" to move in.

"so has decided to move into the house, as I suppose she’s entitled to"

 It appears to me that she got a lot more than her share of the house while you get nothing but the expenses, You need to have a serious talk with your sister

 
Black Sheep said:
It appears to me that she got a lot more than her share of the house while you get nothing but the expenses, You need to have a serious talk with your sister
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I agree, I think now whilst relationships are amenable, and before she gets too comfortable is the time for the conversation. Even if she sees this as only a temporary measure she should still discharge you of all expenses and pay even a token amount of rent.
 
Agreed. I've seen so many situations on this website like this turn nasty. Decide now, it would be the easiest thing for you to sell the house and split the money. And then if she decides to offer to buy your half that is what you can consider. If she is living there and stops paying rent due to any reason you will have a nightmare and resentment.
 
Okay guys thanks for the replies. On Brendans point regarding mortgage - what if she doesn't agree to this and refusues to sign up to any repayment scheme.
On the point of rent - can't see how she would have to pay rent on a property that she half owns?
 
Snowdrift said:
On the point of rent - can't see how she would have to pay rent on a property that she half owns?
Click to expand...

She only owns half the house, so she owes rent for the other half.

The options are

1) you sell the house and split the money
2) You sell half the house to her
3) you allow her to live in the house and pay you rent ( or cover all household expenses in lieu of rent)

If you and your sister disagree on which option is right, you can force a sale through a court order.

It sounds like she is your only living close relative, and she will be your sister for the rest of your life and you most likely do not want to cause a row, which is a good thing.

You and her need to sit down and draw up an agreement that she is renting the house from you, she pays the household expenses in lieu of rent and agree what happens in the future.

You still own half the house and have rights to decide what happens in the future.

What happens if she marries, or her boyfriend moves in ?
What happens if you lose your job and need the money ?
What happens if she moves out and rents it to her friends ?
What happens if she sublets a bedroom to someone ?
What happens if she is bad at getting things fixed and house is in bad condition ?
What happens if the roof needs to be replaced and she cant afford it ?

If you talk about things now, they are less likely to cause a row in the future, which is more important than whether you have to pay half the household charge.
 
Honestly OP you do sound very unaware of your options..............you need to be really firm and clear about what you are entitled to and what you want. Go and see a solicitor to get objective advice. Otherwise I can only see this descending into disaster!
 
No matter what way you look at it, unless you want to gift your sister half the house and that is your right, she needs to be paying you something.

Taking some assumptions: If the house is worth €200k, your half is obviously worth €100k! No challenge there. If sis was to remain renting at her current address, I assume she pays c.€400 per month. If you agree she buys you out at 0% interest over 20 years, she might pay you €417 per month to pay back €100k. If she rents the house off you, then the rent would probably be close to this amount as well and she would be liable for water, septic tank etc.

The idea that she can save rent by moving into the house only works if she is, in effect, downsizing from a more expensive/valuable property to your parents' home. In other words, there is no free lunch. If you were willing to accept €100k for the share in the house, you are better to get that now than accept a rent for years that is declining in real value rapidly over time. Might be best not to be your sister's landlord.
 
+1 to all of the advice given. I've just come out of a situation where I was executor for my Mam's estate, the only asset being the family home. 9 of us, 1 brother living in the house. He did not maintain it, even to a minimum standard. I went to sell the house, had to pay a team of people a lot of money to clean out the place, dump a lot of stuff left lying around by my brother (he's a builder so you can imagine the stuff that was left lying around), got it all painted and carpeted ready for resale, and eventually sold it. However, no communication with my brother since (he seems to think I sold 'his' home), so left with bad blood in family, which is awful. So, please act forcefully, and act now!!
 
Thanks everyone for the replies, much appreciated. It does seem the best idea is for her to buy out my half of the house and given the current property market and the fact she is my sister, I could accept a very reasonable amount to sell my half. However, she's single and only earning about €22k a year so don't think a bank would look at her for a mortgage. May have to look at Brendan's suggestion of issueing a mortgage myself and hope that we don't run into trouble if she's unable to meet monthly repayments at any stage. I guess a solicitor drawing up an agreement would have to have that point covered.
 
Wow. Tricky situation OP, I don't envy you. So many things to consider. Doing what is best for you financially, but not jeopardizing your long term relationship with your sister is not an easy task. Agree with everyone else that if your your sister lives in the house, she needs to be paying you something monthly. If you have your own home, I presume that you have rent or mortgage payments of your own. Why should one of you live rent free, but one of you doesn't? That's not fair.

Have you spoken to your sister about anything financial yet? Has she brought it up at all? If she hasn't, and she feels that she has an automatic entitlement to move into the house and live there without any sort of recompense for you, you need to nip that in the bud sooner rather than later.
 
Having a loan of that amount between a family member will be really difficult to manage... it could cause so much tension if she's late paying, get's injured or made redundant, etc. I think the best for you would be to act now and get the house sold and try to put it in a positive light to her that she will end with xxx euros to spend as she wishes.
 
Yeah, I agree with beffers, it is a tricky situation!!
And yes burmo, you too are correct. I would be hesitant about having a loan of that amount between family.
Just so to think of all scenarios - could I gift my half of the house to her and what would be the implications of that? Selling the property is not something I'm keen to push as I know my sister has a real attachment to the place. Or, is there a way I could sign living rights for the property over to her with a stipulation that if it's ever sold, half the value would come to me?
 
Hi All, Just said I'd update you all on the situation and how it has deteriorated over the past while. After traveling to meet my sister and trying to sort the situation out, the relationship has broken down completely. I've been told in no uncertain terms where to go and that while she owns half the house, nothing will be done without her agreement. I've ended up having to refer the matter to my solicitor who has written to her giving my sister the option of buying out my share of the house or if not, getting a court order to have the house told. He's given her 6 weeks to provide a letter showing mortgage approval otherwise we go to court to have the house sold. Can't believe how my sister has acted in this situation. Let others be warned, thread carefully when willed property with siblings.....
 
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