guitarman001 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) Hi guys, My girlfriend's mother died last weekend (quite a shock ). It will be 6 months before herself and her 2 sisters can even think of selling. The same sort of place sold for £135k several months ago, but in 6 months' time......... I was telling her that by that time I could see it selling for £80k, if at all. I hope not, for her sake, but she would rather move in and give her sisters the rest of the money, I believe (no negativity toward her from you vile lot, now... if you're gonna say something nasty, go do something productive instead). So yeah... 6 months time, rubbish housing market, house and 3 sisters... sell, move in, what would you do if you were in this situation? I've been on the forum a while now so please, I expect some helpful comments; I'm not going to waste my time reading scathing posts or the like. Thanks in advance Edited January 22, 2009 by thomasross20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deflation Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Presuming she didn't have a huge wedge of cash as well, there will be no inheritance tax to worry about. A lot will also depend on whether or not she made a will. Tell all the authorities straight away. Council tax is waived during probate, but I don't know how long for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippers Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) Hi guys,My girlfriend's mother died last weekend (quite a shock ). It will be 6 months before herself and her 2 sisters can even think of selling. The same sort of place sold for £135k several months ago, but in 6 months' time......... I was telling her that by that time I could see it selling for £80k, if at all. I hope not, for her sake, but she would rather move in and give her sisters the rest of the money, I believe (no negativity toward her from you vile lot, now... if you're gonna say something nasty, go do something productive instead). So yeah... 6 months time, rubbish housing market, house and 3 sisters... sell, move in, what would you do if you were in this situation? I've been on the forum a while now so please, I expect some helpful comments; I'm not going to waste my time reading scathing posts or the like. Thanks in advance Well some of us didn't get any inheritance when their parents died. So if I was blunt I'd say she should just be happy that she's been left something. The cleanest thing would be to persue an immediate sale now, and drop the price a large amount. If the other sisters are reasonable they might want to sell it to a young couple just starting out for that reduced price. Okay they may think they're losing money, but I think they'll "buy" themselves a lot of pride in doing the right thing. If they really think they'll take 6 months to go through the grieving process and tie up the loose ends then I think she should move in, but pay rent at 2/3 of the current market rate. If she then wants to buy out their share then she should have it valued at that time, and knock her third share off the price. Edited January 22, 2009 by shippers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 but she would rather move in and give her sisters the rest of the money I would guess the best thing to do if she chooses this course of action is to get a proper valuation that takes into account the real, current market value of the place. At least that way, she won't end up in instant NE. Whether her sisters will accept this valuation is another matter, that's something that you will have to evaluate yourself based on your knowledge of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the anti krust Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Hi TR20, sorry to hear of your news. The sad truth is though 'life goes on' so I am sure that your girlfriends mum would want the best for her daughters and want them to place the property on the market asap for the best possible price. Have a quiet word if a good opportunity comes along to offer this suggestion. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo1968 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Just sell it unless she is emotionally attached to it. Anything other than an equal split will leave someone feeling they lost out a few years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman001 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Thanks for your replies so far - it's going to take 6 months because the will wasn't signed upon death - so there's all this probate business which could take up to 6 months. She's not mentioned inheritance much at all - I'm checking some things out for her myself - obviously she's mourning for her mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrillsBears Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Weird, I wondered where my post went. YOU STOLE IT!!!! (suspect I've been modded, in retrospect, it probably was a bit tactless....) But the point about not going anywhere near trying to buy from relatives at a reduced price holds true. It can only end up in resentment and tears that will last decades. reduced price? This is not the place for this argument but without a functioning market there is no price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman001 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 I managed to catch a bit of Hamish's post - I am still cheering on the crash; this does not change my viewpoint. The way things are now is ridiculous and I want house prices to plummet. I will never turn bull in regards to property values rising, getting into property as an investment. 'Profit' from rising property values is often imaginary, and I'd rather get one home to live in and spend the rest of my money... living! Of course I want a good deal for my girlfriend, but I would never screw somebody over for it, or the economy (as had been done) for that matter. Thanks for your condolences, the anti krust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather5 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 As someone else suggested - it all depends on the will. If the will says it all goes to one person - and then that person divides it up - sure there are legal and financial issues for that person - but it's easier to push through. And then it depends on how fast your girlfriend and her sibblings get through the work to process things through to get to probate. After that - it will depend on whether the sibblings all agree to the way things are going rather than reacting to their own grief and fears - which always comes over with such situations. Until then - there is little that can be done legally. I've experience of my Dad dying suddenly and all that entailed - and although he transferred everything to my Mum - the hassle she's had to go though just to get probate - at which point it really is hers - has taken over a year. If your girlfriend's Mum died - and her husband had already died - then there is a huge fight with HMRC on tax!!! Most people I talk to say it takes one year to get to that point. In our case - given lawyers fees for just posting paper-work to the right authorities - we encouraged Mum not to use lawyers - because we got quotes on fees for doing the work and they were so excessive - and since all of us were web bound - we looked it all up and decided no lawyers. We offered Mum that we would all pull in and do it for her - it's just form filling and filing stuff with the relevant authorities after all. We've been staggered by how slow the HMRC have been so slow in getting stuff processed and how often they write letters saying that they've lost records - and expected us to come up with records from the day Dad was born and his family!!! It been absurd - we've been going on sites just to findout links via ancestry sites - it's been that absurd. But if your girlfriends' family are close - it's possible they can draw-up some kind of agreement via a solicitor that comes into place immediately - providing that the benefits go into a central bank fund - and she rents the property for a price agreed. She cannot just move in and take over the property - and then say that she'll sell it and put the money over to the sibblings. Even if the will says that she owns it all - she'll still have to get to probate before she can sell. My brothers have thought this way for my Mum - they've offered to buy her house Dad's left her - but they can't by law until probate - and we're still waiting for it over a year!!!! Would a lawyer with high fees get it done any quicker - we discovered not from HMRC because they just don't have the staff - and they reassured us that doing it on our own was in no way jeopardising things than if we'd gone through lawyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarman001 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 A year's wait? That is shocking!! Fees... what a farce... why is everything so damn complicated!! My girlfriend works for HMRC so hopefully that bit could be speeded up a bit. Sorry to hear about your loss, also And sorry to hear about all these hassles - it all seems a ridiculously tedious process Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yammy68 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 hi both my mum and dad died without will's i obtained probate on both occasions, first time took 10 weeks and further 4 weeks to collect in all assets from various partys, second time took 7 weeks 4weeks again to collect all assets. it's not that difficult just take your time collecting info. don't pay solicitors what you can do yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 hi both my mum and dad died without will's i obtained probate on both occasions, first time took 10 weeks and further 4 weeks to collect in all assets from various partys, second time took 7 weeks 4weeks again to collect all assets. it's not that difficult just take your time collecting info. don't pay solicitors what you can do yourself. Seconded, and more. I was recently executor to my late mother. Solicitor charged £150 per hour for probate work. Standard charge countrywide (Google: solicitors charges) Do absolutely everything yourself that you can. A solicitor's letter cancelling a subscription to the AA, or a magazine can be booked at half an hour = £75 Get my point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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