At Last

It has been well over a year since my mother died and left her estate to myself and my younger sister (last 2 remaining family).

My sister has emotional ties to our family home especially as she was born there, her home now more or less backs onto our family home....... I digress,

My sister was made executor of my mothers will and had a reluctance to sell "our" house but finally with a lot of coercion from me, the house is finally on the market.

Now the better news, my sister's eldest son (really nasty character) who has been living in the property rent free, will have to move out, Oh Good News Day!

 

Grief process is unique to us all. A year really is not long to make such a decision as that. Women usually have more connection with objects that remind them of an emotion or an experience getting rid of those is hard. And yes, the house would be considered an object.

 

A difficult situation. Selling the house will rightfully benefit you and your sister financially. But the freeloading nephew will have to adapt to a situation where he will either have to fork out the money to fund his living, or start freeloading in another way such as moving back in with your sister.

That doesn't sound good, but it's not your responsibility. Neither are the emotional ties your sister has for the property.

But even though it's not your responsibility, you could perhaps help a bit by searching for housing options for the nephew, or employment. In a difficult situation it can really help if someone googles for you and sends an email with links and instructions on what to do.

Siblings are important, they are the only ones who remember the Sunday mornings of your childhood battling over the milk and reading the back of the Kelloggs cereal box. They remember when your voice broke and your favourite sweets and how you picked out onions from your food and how you liked your eggs.

Whatever happens, hopefully this will not harm the relationship you and your sister have.

 

Update... My sister accepts the family house has to be sold and has indeed put the house on the market, without consulting me about whom to use, result, she's gone with an estate agent charging 1%, we could have used our cousin who uses a fixed fee, "no sale no fee"

I've upset my sister by challenging her unilateral decisions, it's not that I condemn any of her decisions but why didn't she liaise with me?

Hopefully a resolution tomorrow when I pay a visit.... (taking Ghost with me) No one messes with Ghost although she is the soppiest German Shepherd on the planet, It's because she's Black! Why?

 

Better to pay 1% on a sale rather than "no sale no fee". What is cousin's fee if he/she sells? We pay 5% here but obviously only if you sell.

 

The property is not in London, the fixed fee was just that "fixed" and it included the EPC report.

I spoke face to face with my sister today, expressed my concerns and we've come to a amicable agreement. We will give the current agents 12 weeks.

The house is valued at £450k+

 

When my husband's grandmother died never forget the vultures taking the stuff she had. I just sat back and watched. Lots ended up in our basement as a result of just clean out, of which my husband took to local auction houses. What he did with the money I did not ask as he is one of 4 siblings and figured they'd work it out among themselves. And after a couple months I am looking in some boxes and found her china, it had good coloring and design to mix well with mine for that eclectic look, so have that, no one cared. Her house was bought by my husbands sister, again, I believe hearing a broker would give a fair price that she would pay. Guess the money went to my husbands parents, again not my business. Best to stay out of those things.

Being in the nursing home industry for years, I have heard of the children cleaning out their parents house and just putting out stuff to the curb, where they can get some money for it with a "clean out company", well we have them here, never know what historic value you can discover.