Can I sell my part of the inherited house?

[Stevenson65]

What is the name of your state? NC

When my father died, all four children jointly inherited the house where my parents had resided. My chronically ill brother moved into the house, and while he was alive all the siblings paid for household upkeep/taxes/insurance/etc expenses, evenly divided. My sick brother passed away last year, and the plan was to sell the house now that there is no need to keep it. My sister is the one putting the time in to find a buyer, and she is an expert in the field, so it is reasonable that she be in charge of that, but nothing is happening so far, and I cannot continue to be burdened with these expenses now that my brother has passed. Is it possible for me to sell my part of the house to another party who has an interest in real estate? Otherwise, how can I remove myself from this situation? Am I legally bound to pay expenses for a house that my siblings are in no hurry to sell (they are in higher-income economic situations). This whole affair has caused a lot of stress and I am eager to finally resolve it in a dignified manner. Obviously I would benefit from one-third of the money from a sale, but at this point I cannot manage the payments and there is no end in sight, and i have no choice but to find a way out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NC

When my father died, all four children jointly inherited the house where my parents had resided. My chronically ill brother moved into the house, and while he was alive all the siblings paid for household upkeep/taxes/insurance/etc expenses, evenly divided. My sick brother passed away last year, and the plan was to sell the house now that there is no need to keep it. My sister is the one putting the time in to find a buyer, and she is an expert in the field, so it is reasonable that she be in charge of that, but nothing is happening so far, and I cannot continue to be burdened with these expenses now that my brother has passed. Is it possible for me to sell my part of the house to another party who has an interest in real estate? Otherwise, how can I remove myself from this situation? Am I legally bound to pay expenses for a house that my siblings are in no hurry to sell (they are in higher-income economic situations). This whole affair has caused a lot of stress and I am eager to finally resolve it in a dignified manner. Obviously I would benefit from one-third of the money from a sale, but at this point I cannot manage the payments and there is no end in sight, and i have no choice but to find a way out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tell your siblings that you are no longer able to afford to continue to pay for the expenses of the house and that it needs to be sold immediately. Then just don't pay. Be prepared to accept that your share of the expenses will be deducted from your share of the proceeds once the sale actually happens.

 

[xylene]

My sister is the one putting the time in to find a buyer, and she is an expert in the field,

I would make the suggestion that a disinterested third party should be the listing agent for the house. It is unfair and somewhat inappropriate for her to be taking on this role if you are not all in agreement (hint hint,wink wink - you have to be in agreement) and have one of her expert peers market the house including pricing it more aggressively.

 

[HRZ]

IF you have a willing buyer for your share....welll go for it....it's a nusual that the average retail buyer would consider a fractional share , just be sure to have a legal pro handle it for your side of equation.

 

[TrustUser]

all 3 posts are excellent advice.

just to add another 2 cents, if a house is priced correctly, it will sell. so obviously, yours is priced too high.

if the house is not gonna be marketed correctly, then it should be taken off the market, and rented, so that income can be made

vacant houses invite vandalism, etc.

 

[HRZ]

ITs not clear how the house was titled and if deceased brothers share was properly probated if such was required. IF the title was JTWROS you are likely correct that you can unwrap it to TIC and sell your share ...but if it was TIC then you only held 1/4 and deceased brothers share needs to be addressed

YOU need to sort out what is in bag you hold if you intend to safely complete a sale of your share to another.

Empty houses can be major problems as to insurance ...does the so called expert sister have it properly insured?

BTW it might not be out of the legal question for you to find a tenant and just move him or her in... of course the others would be entitled to thier share of any profits after expenses. Before you assume a fractional share owner cannot do this , check with a legal pro in the state where the property is.

 

[pac72]

have you offered your share to your siblings ?

 

[TigerD]

Or you can bring an action in partition. The Court will order the house sold. There will be an auction and the proceeds split and issue resolved.

TD

 

[HRZ]

Other posts suggest a partition action very often gets a low net for owners....but it is sure to break a log jam.

I repeat my suggestion to legally sort out if you can merely unilaterally rent it out and share the profits with other owners ...when you email your sibs that your potential tenant is ready to move in tomorrow with a 2 year lease and don't worry, his only pets are safe snakes and his kids are almost grown ...they may suddenly offer to buy you out? Think outside the box ....

 

[HRZ]

PS if the home is not listed in any local listing service then sister may not be really taking positive steps to get it sold....check the local listings ...if it's moderately priced and relatively code free then why no results ?

 

[Stevenson65]

Thank you for all the advice. I am seeking legal assistance.