Inherit house, first time buyer

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elsie_c

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My parent passed away last year leaving their estate equally between my sibling and I.

We had agreed my sibling & their partner would buy my half of the house. There were judgements against the home which were paid from a life insurance policy.

However, we believed that the deeds would be transferred directly to my sibling and their partner. We were recently told that it will need to transfer to my sibling & I first.

My question is as follows:

I currently live in social housing, it's through the RAS scheme and I am aware it is the landlords intention to sell within 4 years. My husband & I had hoped to buy a home through the rebuilding Ireland initiative within the next 1/2 years, if I accept my share of the house, does this exclude me from being a first time buyer? I assume that when it states "you must not have owned a residential property" I would be excluded on those grounds also?

We wouldn't get a mortgage from the banks , we have a family, in our thirties and for various reasons council mortgage is our only hope of ever owning our own home & having security. Is there a way around this or am I going to have to forfeit my inheritance in order to be able to qualify for this scheme & retaining first time buyer status.
 
According to Revenue “if you have inherited or been gifted a property it will not affect your eligibility “ under help to buy scheme
 
Thanks Feemar5,

The help to buy scheme would be great but we don't have huge salaries and don't pay huge amounts of tax to reclaim, we have a let's put it mildly not great credit history, and while we're both now in secure full time roles we wont get a mortgage from the banks in the next few years, the council process is more forgiving of our previous hardships. But the councils don't lend to people who are not first time buyers or people who have owned or currently own a residential property, which is where my confusion re inheriting a share of the house comes in. And whether it is at the expense of being able to put a secure roof over our kids head when the landlord does decide to sell.
 
If the reason you won't get a loan from the banks is because you owe money, then paying off any debts with the inheritance should be the way to go.
 
Thanks noproblem, but we don't owe any money. We dont have any debts, but we have had in the past, when my husband became unemployed and we missed direct debits etc and we were living on one wage. Like many in the country.

We are now debt free and are saving, albeit slow and steady, but the real problem is we don't have a good credit rating. That's why I assume a bank won't lend to us. As mentioned already, the council are more forgiving and will ask us to prove we're better off financially and can afford the payments. We can do this, but it would take many years to prove that to the banks, I assume. Less time to prove to the council.

Maybe I should be more clear, If I accept the inheritance, does it exclude me as a first time buyer or make me an owner of a property despite inheriting half and it leaving my possession immediately, the house being my siblings primary residence?

Apologies if these are stupid questions to some, but I'd really appreciate answers to these questions.
 
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I've spoken to Rebuilding Ireland, if you inherit any portion of a property you are not eligible to apply for a mortgage through their scheme.

Thanks for the replies.
 
elsie_c said:
..... we believed that the deeds would be transferred directly to my sibling and their partner. We were recently told that it will need to transfer to my sibling & I first..
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Did your own solicitor tell you this? It might be correct - but certainly I can envisage (depending on the facts) methods by which you could avoid this. As a general principle, there is nothing inherently hooky about the executor selling the house (to your sibling) and accounting to you for your half of the nett sale proceeds. You would of course have to declare that you had inherited cash - but you would be able to truthfully declare that you have not acquired (part) ownership of the house.
 
MOB this is exactly what I was hoping to hear when I posted on Monday night.

I didn't previously have my own solicitor, the solicitor who is dealing with probate and all things related emailed the executor on Friday and told them that they would need to come in with the deeds so the house could be vested to my sibling & I and in turn transferred to my sibling and his partner. They said there was no other legal way. It was also asked months ago if the deeds would need to go in my name and the executor at that point was told no also.

I did seek legal advice yesterday evening and was told the same information as you provided. It was then confirmed by the solicitor dealing with the estate that the money for the sale could be put into the estate and the executor sells to my sibling, meaning I would of course declare the cash, but would not have acquired or been the owner if a property

Which is a huge relief!

Thank you for taking time to reply.
 
You can apply for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan if you have received an inheritance property. The criteria is that you have never bought a property.
Although, the council are no more lenient in relation to a poor credit rating than a bank. You must have good credit history to avail of a home loan.
 
Neek01 said:
You can apply for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan if you have received an inheritance property. The criteria is that you have never bought a property.
Although, the council are no more lenient in relation to a poor credit rating than a bank. You must have good credit history to avail of a home loan.
Click to expand...

Neek01, rebuilding Ireland have stated that inheriting any portion of a property excludes you from availing of the scheme.
 
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