Inheriting family home with sibling

[sjm555]

Hi there, apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place.

My mom passed away last month. In her will she has left my brother and I her estate in equal shares as tenants in common absolutely.

Her estate basically just consists of the family home - I'm unsure of how much the house (technically a flat) is worth but I would say around the €150k mark. I have lived here my entire life (I'm 26), my brother (aged 50) moved out 23 years ago.

I helped my mom with utility bills, maintenance, any items we needed etc. as she was only getting a widow's pension before she died. I did everything I could to help her. She was my best friend. My brother on the other hand is claiming disability allowance for the past 25 years, living in a 3 bedroom house on some sort of rent scheme, and has an extreme gambling addiction and an incessant desire for money, he will go to any lengths to get a few euro. All he ever did for my mom was hound her for cash.

Unsurprisingly we have an awful relationship. Each day he is becoming more bitter and horrible in regards to the house. I'm at a loss. Do I have more rights than him as I have lived here all my life and pay for all bills, LPT etc.? Will he have a leg to stand on if he tries to get me out of the house to sell it?

I have no intentions of selling my home, all of my memories of my late parents are here and I would be devastated to have to succumb to the greed of my brother. I have a decent job but there is no way I could afford to take out a loan to pay him off. Also, would the fact that he is on disability allowance affect what he can actually own in regards to being means tested? His partner is claiming jobseekers also.

Thanks in advance.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

I have a decent job but there is no way I could afford to take out a loan to pay him off.

How much do you earn? You would probably get a mortgage of €75k to buy him out on a salary of €25k. Talk to a mortgage broker.

Sorry for the loss and the circumstances too. It's a lot to have to suffer so young.

 

[sjm555]

How much do you earn? You would probably get a mortgage of €75k to buy him out on a salary of €25k. Talk to a mortgage broker.

Sorry for the loss and the circumstances too. It's a lot to have to suffer so young.

Thank you. I'm coming out with just under €25k before tax. I wasn't sure if it was possible to apply for a mortgage in a circumstance like this, that's good to know. Thanks again.

 

[Clamball]

I am really sorry for your loss, it must be very hard.

As per your mother’s wishes she has left the house to you both. It sounds as if your brother wants cash and you want to continue to live in the house.

Apply for a mortgage, you should just about be able to manage it on your salary. Do you have savings? If not start saving hard now to show evidence to the bank that you can save.

Don’t worry at all about your brothers motivation, or current circumstances, it is for him to worry about, not you. Try and put it out of your mind.

So tell the executor you wish to buy out your brothers half, they will probably suggest getting two or more valuations and taking the average as the current market value of the house. Then apply for a loan.

There will be funeral costs and selling the house to come from the estate, and you will have costs with the purchase so you need savings.

If you and your brother cannot agree on a sale then you will need to leave the house so it can be sold on the open market and you will need to find a place to rent, so you need to consider how much it will cost to rent in your locality and how you can afford it. I would also recommend that you start paying rent now on the flat you are living in. You will own half the rent and you brother the other half but bring it up with the executor.

is there any possibility you can increase your earnings?

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

I'm coming out with just under €25k before tax

Then you are inside the Central Bank's rules of 3.5 times income for a mortgage so it should work.

You'll still need a deposit, stamp duty, and solicitor's fees. A chat with a mortgage broker would give you an idea about feasibility.

Legally, am not the expert but he would need to go to court to force sale of the house and is not likely to get natural sympathy given that he has his own place to live in and you do not.

Any cash amount in his account over €20k is likely to interfere with his benefits if they are means tested though.

One solution would be for you to pay him rent for his share for the time being, perhaps with an option to buy at a future point.

In your circumstances I would advise such an agreement set out in a contract probably with a solicitor acting for both you and him respectively.

 

[mathepac]

Who is or are the executors?

I think offering to pay rent to the brother is a very bad idea for lots of reasons.

My condolences on your huge loss; the complications about your late mother's estate must be interfering in the grieving process.

 

[sjm555]

is there any possibility you can increase your earnings?

Unfortunately no, not at the moment. My company isn’t allowed increase hours at the moment due to the pandemic. Thank you for your advice and condolences.

Who is or are the executors?

I think offering to pay rent to the brother is a very bad idea for lots of reasons.

My condolences on your huge loss; the complications about your late mother's estate must be interfering in the grieving process.

He and I are both executors. The idea of taking out such a huge loan and paying it back for 20 odd years scares me to be honest. I hate the thought of being in debt for that amount of time for a loan that went to him. Thank you for your condolences.

 

[cremeegg]

The idea of taking out such a huge loan and paying it back for 20 odd years scares me to be honest. I hate the thought of being in debt for that amount of time for a loan that went to him. Thank you for your condolences.

The loan is not going to him you are borrowing the money and buying his share of the apartment.

With an income of €25k borrowing €75k for a home is not unreasonable. The repayments over 30 years would be about €300 per month.

The important thing would be that you make a proper purchase through a solicitor and that the title is transferred into your name. No family arrangement. Of course as well as this being best for you, the bank will insist.

 

[Clamball]

€300 a month would be way less than you would pay in rent.

Don’t think of it as a loan to your brother. Remember your mother’s wishes as she wrote in her will was to give half to your brother. If your mother had decided to give everything away to a charity then you would have to leave, find somewhere to rent and pay more than €300 a month for it. So if people ask, just say you are happy to carry out your mother’s wishes and you are grateful she has set you up so well. (See there is nothing there about you brother).

If you cannot get more hours where you work, could you get another job somewhere else. Even if you could increase your wage to €30K a year it would make it a lot easier. Even if it took a few years. There will be a lot of change now that your mother has passed away so it might be a good time to assess what skills you have, what skills would like to build on and consider if you could earn more if you changed job. Your household bills might go up as well as they are not two of you sharing. Take your time, think about it and consider it from all sides. Best of luck.

 

[sjm555]

The loan is not going to him you are borrowing the money and buying his share of the apartment.

€300 a month would be way less than you would pay in rent.

These are both so true. Thanks guys. You've eased my stress a bit to be honest. I would have ended up in a situation paying a mortgage at some stage anyway. I will hopefully be in a position to apply for a promotion next year, or at least pick up some more hours. If I get back to full time hours I'll be up to €35k. Fingers crossed anyway, and thanks again everyone, I really appreciate all the advice.

 

[DeeKie]

Don’t waste time, act quickly and let us know how you get on

 

[POC]

You could also improve your financial situation by renting a room - after you own the property in full. (I assume you couldn't do it while you are joint owners unless you shared the rent with your brother). While you might not want to share your family home, it could take the pressure off, even if you only did it short term.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

The idea of taking out such a huge loan and paying it back for 20 odd years scares me to be honest.

It's a very manageable loan for someone of your age and earning potential.

It's sad to lose your parents so young but this could be a chance to have a roof over your head.

Your brother will do what he does no matter what. Sadly, no one can fix his addiction but him.

 

[DeeKie]

To get a clean break, buy him out. Do it all through solicitors and try to do it fast. Unfortunately people who have an addiction can’t be trusted in any way.