What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA state
Hey Everyone,
I have a complicated situation I would like some advice and input on. This is a long read, but please bear with me.
We have a dispute with a family member over ownership of a home. I purchased the home for 300k in 2011 (when the market was very low), and the family member offered to give us half of the house price to put down. This family member pushed this as a no strings attached gift, and the lender had her sign a form saying the down payment was a gift and there was no intention of repayment. However her condition of the gift was to have her name on title as a 50% owner, her reasoning was to "protect" me from my wife if anything were to happen and we were to divorce.
Fast forward to 2014, house values are rocketing up, and the family member says she needs to sell to get her money back. Apparently, her "gift" was an investment in her eyes that she can withdraw at anytime, and she had assumed that we would invite her into our home and take care of her for the rest of her life as she was getting into her elderly years and had no children. My wife and I are both very busy getting our careers started, we barely had time to take care of ourselves, much less another adult who expected us to cook, clean and drive her wherever she needed to go.
This huge responsibility was not disclosed as a condition of this gift, and had we known that such a big condition was attached to it, we would have never taken it. She only said this when she asked for her money back in 2014. Her pitch back then was she had a lot of savings and no children, and she wanted to help me get a head start in life, and when I had protested that it was a lot of money, she said she had more than enough savings for herself, along with her own home which is paid off.
We've invested about 60k into the home, upgrades, and also bought nicer stuff than we would have if we had know it was not permanent. House is worth about 400k-450k now in the hot Seattle market. My neighbor sold in 2015, listed for 399k, offers big up to 430k selling price (same cul-de sac of 2006 year homes)
My dilemma is if we sell, after sellers fees and paying her half (150k) back, we would get our 60k back, but we would then have 60k in the 2016 Seattle market where even junk houses are selling for 200k. In 2011, my wife had urged me to not take her money, that there was no way a gift of this size would have no strings attached. We had looked into some houses at 200k that we could afford, and those houses now in 2016 are worth 300-350k.
So we would not be able to get into a house now that we could have back then, along with the equity that should have come with. I was contemplating getting an equity loan and paying her back, but the increase in mortgage we cannot handle. So the final solution I came up with is getting smaller equity loans and paying her back 50k at a time over the next few years as our income increases.
However the family member wants her half back asap, and now is demanding half of the home's value 200k instead of the 150k. What could I be legally facing if she wants her money back now? Can she force us to sell? Do I have a case to defend myself since she had given half of the home as a gift in writing? I assume not, since her name is on the title as 50% owner, but I want to make sure.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long story, and I appreciate any advice or input!
Hey Everyone,
I have a complicated situation I would like some advice and input on. This is a long read, but please bear with me.
We have a dispute with a family member over ownership of a home. I purchased the home for 300k in 2011 (when the market was very low), and the family member offered to give us half of the house price to put down. This family member pushed this as a no strings attached gift, and the lender had her sign a form saying the down payment was a gift and there was no intention of repayment. However her condition of the gift was to have her name on title as a 50% owner, her reasoning was to "protect" me from my wife if anything were to happen and we were to divorce.
Fast forward to 2014, house values are rocketing up, and the family member says she needs to sell to get her money back. Apparently, her "gift" was an investment in her eyes that she can withdraw at anytime, and she had assumed that we would invite her into our home and take care of her for the rest of her life as she was getting into her elderly years and had no children. My wife and I are both very busy getting our careers started, we barely had time to take care of ourselves, much less another adult who expected us to cook, clean and drive her wherever she needed to go.
This huge responsibility was not disclosed as a condition of this gift, and had we known that such a big condition was attached to it, we would have never taken it. She only said this when she asked for her money back in 2014. Her pitch back then was she had a lot of savings and no children, and she wanted to help me get a head start in life, and when I had protested that it was a lot of money, she said she had more than enough savings for herself, along with her own home which is paid off.
We've invested about 60k into the home, upgrades, and also bought nicer stuff than we would have if we had know it was not permanent. House is worth about 400k-450k now in the hot Seattle market. My neighbor sold in 2015, listed for 399k, offers big up to 430k selling price (same cul-de sac of 2006 year homes)
My dilemma is if we sell, after sellers fees and paying her half (150k) back, we would get our 60k back, but we would then have 60k in the 2016 Seattle market where even junk houses are selling for 200k. In 2011, my wife had urged me to not take her money, that there was no way a gift of this size would have no strings attached. We had looked into some houses at 200k that we could afford, and those houses now in 2016 are worth 300-350k.
So we would not be able to get into a house now that we could have back then, along with the equity that should have come with. I was contemplating getting an equity loan and paying her back, but the increase in mortgage we cannot handle. So the final solution I came up with is getting smaller equity loans and paying her back 50k at a time over the next few years as our income increases.
However the family member wants her half back asap, and now is demanding half of the home's value 200k instead of the 150k. What could I be legally facing if she wants her money back now? Can she force us to sell? Do I have a case to defend myself since she had given half of the home as a gift in writing? I assume not, since her name is on the title as 50% owner, but I want to make sure.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long story, and I appreciate any advice or input!
