to sell or not

[coolguy147]

well, long story short. i inherited a lake house from my grandfather when he passed away. downside, it was was with my sister.

i can't do anything anyways until i'm 18 though.

sister wants to buy my house badly. every time we have this talk about her buying it when she comes over. the house is old and will need work.

i've told her no lately (before i said i don't know) but now she's been a BIT$% lately about stuff. she's constantly trying to convince to me that it's hard work, and i know. i
have to pay for college soon and have a house....

i really don't want to sell the house because she would basically get it for free as she has a good steady job and is out of college with no debt. the property is worth quite
more to me than what they say it's worth. perfect neighborhood. perfect spot on lake. great lot. house needs work, but in quite the good condition (new roof, etc)

her claim to me is that she likes to work on the house and i do believe her.

i think her BF has been talking to her about buying my half out.

some of her claims for me to sell it have been quite true and maybe she's right but idk. once i turn 18 i have to pay for all of my stuff.

honestly, i don't want to sell it.

 

[mscher]

Re: to sell or not

You've never made your sister angry before?

If you don't want to sell, don't sell, but be prepared to do a long and possible bitter, battle with your sister. You will have to find some way to "share" it, plus split the cost for any repairs, taxes etc. If you did not get any money to go with the property, then it may be very tough for you.

Most lake front properties are more valuable than gold, even if the house is a mess, so if you do decide to sell, make sure you are well aware of what the "real value" is, not just what someone (especially your sister) tells you.

Welcome to adulthood and again, dealing with siblings.

As kids, you fought over toys, or who gets in the bathroom first. Now you get to fight over real estate inheritances, taxes and home repairs.

Weee.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: to sell or not

i did get money from the inheritance but that is a totally different story and as of right now. it's not coming back. not my fault.

she's 8 years older than i am.

i mean, i guess i love her and all

i'm tired of talking to her. i get all of these BIT remarks on how i leave things and don't put my tools away (the tools are mine) this and that.

she claims ill still be able to come and stuff and keep my boats there (bull). honestly, she and her boyfriend (which i like but kinda don't approve, not a bad guy at all but still...)

i feel bad her but seriously, i'm turning 17 soon and i have no money lololol.

personally, i believe financially that i should not sell the house. also, i don't want to sell it because of spite towards her but idk. and that's what i keep telling her.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: to sell or not

again, if i did then i would pretty much be set for college and could put a mortgage on some tiny house near college.

 

[ngt]

Re: to sell or not

again, if i did then i would pretty much be set for college and could put a mortgage on some tiny house near college.

Then work your whole life to pay that off and save up so you could retire and buy a house on the lake. I say keep it. People like myself dream of being where you're at. I know you're young, but not too young to realize what you have I hope. Your sister obviously realizes what you have. Get a part time job and work your way though college.

Like people said here, it you do sell it to her, make sure have the property value assessed properly by a professional.

But seriously kid, YOU'VE ALREADY GOT A HOUSE ON A LAKE!!!

 

[aspeck]

Re: to sell or not

But seriously kid, YOU'VE ALREADY GOT A HOUSE ON A LAKE!!!

Not true ... you have 1/2 a house on a lake. And if you can't make an agreement with your sister as to the use, repair, expenses, then you have more of a headache than a house. If you are to keep your half, you somehow have to work out some kind of an agreement with her ... she can stay there without paying you rent if she does the work AND pays all expenses and you get unlimited use of the boat dock (or some agreement like that in which you can both live with). That way she could use the property and you would get to keep the equity in the house, however, if you have equity, it might hurt you when you are going for college financial aid.

If you can't come to a useage and expense payment agreement, then your choices become that you sell it to her, or sue for an agreement.

If I were in your shoes I would shoot for the useage agreement and if that didn't work, sell it to her at YOUR price, not hers.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: to sell or not

yeah, i know about paying my half and how i can't live there for free (been through this conversation....many times).

i can't do anything now.

equity for financial aid? honestly, my dad is retired making nothing and my mom is a house clean lol i'm poor/lucky. i need some kind of financial aid lol.


i want to try to keep the house at all possible costs. she is not going to get it without a fight. i still love her though lol kinda....lol

i try to do my part around the house but with school now i can't really do much and go there 1-3 times a month (only a mile away).

if i win the lottery ill give it to her lol....

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: to sell or not

Here is the way I see it. You have 1/2 a house near where you live, you don't know where you will be living in the future but you have waterfront property. Do you have the money now for 1/2 the blls, insurance, electric, water, sewage? If not you need to sell. To figure price have the property apraised, and then have an inspection done, to determine a fair value. If she wants to use it till you finish schol yo co do an agreement tht she pays all bills, and then pay you fair market value.

 

[PW2]

Re: to sell or not

Hire an attorney. Your own attorney
Have that attorney get an accurate appraisal.
He'll be able to walk you thru your legal options, including a potential partner's agreement.
Personally, I don't think patnerships work without cooperating partners.

Ultimately, it is a business deal, and you need to take the emotion out of it as much as possible to avoid potential headaches, and you are looking at serious headaches here.

 

[southkogs]

Re: to sell or not

Some "on the other hand" considerations for you to think about (and I'm not saying that you shouldn't keep it).

1.) Keeping two homes is difficult. My family has a cottage on a lake that my great grandfather built years ago. It gets used a lot, but it has been hard on the family to keep up with. You'll likely be "somewhere else" for a while (college, first job, gettin' married, what-have-you). If you let your sister deal with upkeep, and you get usage when you can make it - that's not a bad deal.
2.) Do some searches on comparable real estate in the area. You may find that selling to your sister, coming through college debt free and buying something later works better math-wise for you.
3.) You're under 18 and (presumably) single. There is a good chance that in the next 10 years (not that long from this side of 40 years old ) you'll be married to someone who has no interest or less in living in that home. And you may well like her enough to not want to live there either.
4.) Consider family relationships - 40 years from now, you are more likely to think "I wish I had a better relationship with my sister," than you are to think "I wish I had a little house on the water." Odd how that works.

The flip side is real estate is a buyer's market right now, meaning sellers are not getting the prices they want out of homes and land. The house will likely be worth more later than it is now, and being on water the value should be higher.

You've got time to consider it carefully. Make sure to talk with people close to the situation too (parents maybe). They know you and she better than us yahoo's on the internet.

Wish you the best!

 

[JRJ]

Re: to sell or not

If you can't do anything until you are 18 anyway, don't stress. Tell your sister you will make a decision when you turn 25.

Note to self......don't leave house to grandkids :facepalm: One of my daughter inlaws doesn't appreciate old stuff, I consider old money stuff

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: to sell or not

Sell It!

Yeah, having a house on a lake is great fun but it comes with many bills. Your sister appears to be in a better financial position than yourself, and will probably continue to be in that position when you can sell at 18. Keep this as a lesson when you pass, dont split cars, houses, or furniture to people unless you want them cut in half!

There are many issues here that are not being discussed. What if she decides to build a great peir with a boat lift, she will naturally expect you to pay half (being you are the half owner). Likewise if you want to paint the living room yellow, you would expect her to pay for half the expenses. She may not like yellow!

This event will eventually grow your family apart in a extreme way. Sell it to her when you can but keep interest in it, that way you can enjoy all the benefits with none of the upkeep!

 

[nlain]

Re: to sell or not

Hey Coolguy, there is another thread you are in where sister has done messed up your plans for a trip, there will be more of this in the future. This 1/2 house will hurt family relations in the longrun, it has already started. If you cannot sit down with her and workout some arrangement that both can live with, you and everyone involved will be better off if you sell.

Now, as to the arrangement, what you may set up now may not work for her in 6 months, there goes the conflict again.

If you keep a boat there and she or guests decide to use it and trash it, she will possibly say, gee I'm sorry, nothing I can do.

I do not mean to put sister down, it is just something I have seen through out my almost 67 years of life, it is human nature for this to happen. The two things I just layed out above could very well be from you at her. Sell, invest the money, there are still safe places to put money and have it grow. You have several years yet before college, get some investment help and invest wisely and let the money grow.

Good luck with sister. I hope you can work it out and remain family and friends.

Whatever you do, get it in legal writing so there are no you said, she said arguments in the future.

 

[bassman284]

Re: to sell or not

If you can't do anything until you are 18 anyway, don't stress. Tell your sister you will make a decision when you turn 25.

Note to self......don't leave house to grandkids :facepalm: One of my daughter inlaws doesn't appreciate old stuff, I consider old money stuff

Yup, leaving real estate to multiple heirs almost always results in tears. Or any kind of physical property, for that matter. My will calls for my condo, boat and truck to be sold when I kick. If one of the heirs wants to buy one of them, that's their deal. Nothing particularly sentimental in any case. The rest of my stuff isn't worth haggling over.

coolguy, my advice would be to sell your 1/2 to your sister while she's still in the mood to buy. The last thing you need right now is a fixer-upper lake house, fun as that might sound. It doesn't sound like you and your sister are likely to come to terms as co-owners.

 

[drrpm]

Re: to sell or not

Maybe I missed something, but where do your parents stand on this? A lawyer would be needed to sort this out if you did want to sell. Also, since you mention spite as a reason not to sell you should realize that nobody holds a grudge like a scorned sibling and you'll probably never really get to enjoy the lake house under those conditions.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: to sell or not

coolguy your getting some great advice here.

You mentioned "spite" coming into play but I bet the sentimental factor is too, being that is was Grandpa's house and all your memories that go with it. I know it would for me.

I'm sure Grandpa was trying to avoid hurt feelings by leaving it to both of you. He had good intentions but he sure opened up a can of worms!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: to sell or not

Lease it to her. Give her a 5 year lease and have an attorney draft it up. If she misses a lease payment that she forfeits here half of the house. 5 years will allow things to economically recover and you to be more situated with your life.

Don't react in haste.

 

[salty87]

Re: to sell or not

don't forget that property taxes for waterfront can be brutal. i know people who inherited a home, constantly bickered with sibling non-stop, failed to pay property taxes and lost the house. makes me sick every time we float by it.

if the house is in bad enough shape, it could hurt your property value too. if it isn't reasonably fixable, the next owner will have to tear it down.

having a house to take care of at 18 can't be easy. i was barely able to take care of myself at that age.

 

[JB]

Re: to sell or not

Not.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: to sell or not

the house is good shape! but it was built in 1962.


dock does need to be replaced.

my parents are telling me not to sell it lol. my cousins tell me not to. my 85 year old mentor who is a retired doctor and has much experience since has owned many lots. says not to.

honestly, if it results in her hating, well, it wasn't my fault because i have never complained to her. ever.

i do agree with her that i need to start doing more stuff around the house but with school and all now?

i don't need an attorney right now nor am i going to pay for one right now.

my gut feeling is to not sell it and wait it out but trying my best to keep it. gotta get those scholarships.