Buying Property With Relatives
REM # A604
By Ilyce R. Glink
Summary: Is buying property with relatives a good idea? It turned out to be a bad idea for this reader, who wrote to Ilyce Glink for some real estate advice after her sister stopped paying her fair share of the property taxes on a jointly-owned vacation home.
Q: My sister and I jointly own a seasonal home on a lot in Connecticut. She resides in California. I live in Connecticut.
My mother deeded the property to us over 10 years ago and has been paying the expenses until this year. She can no longer afford to do so, and told us that we would have to assume the financial responsibility for the property.
I said I would come up with my half somehow. My sister said she would pay $500 per year, which would represent 1/2 the homeowner's insurance and 1/2 the fall clean-up. If the bills came to more, I was to let her know.
Well, she hasn't given me any money for the real estate taxes. Since she is a co-owner of the property, is she legally responsible for them? Can they be included in the settlement papers and deducted from her share when the cottage is sold?
I cannot afford to pay both her share and my share of the cottage's expenses.
A: If you and your sister jointly own the property, then you and your sister would be jointly responsible for the expenses associated with the property, including property taxes.
If your sister can only afford $500 per year toward this property, and you cannot really afford to carry it on her behalf -- even with the idea that you'll get repaid at a future date -- then it would appear that the time has come to sell this property and split the proceeds.
While it may be difficult to let go of something that has been in the family for so long, it appears that this property is causing undue stress to you and your sister. And that is precisely the opposite thing a vacation home is supposed to do.
Please talk to your sister about selling the property as soon as possible. (And before you ask, yes, she is responsible for paying half of the sales expenses.)
NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher.
Quit-Claim Deed Question
Quit Claim Deed Transfers Property Taxes
Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure Will Hurt Credit Rating
Quit-Claim Deed Question
No Down Payment Loans
Link to This Article
Like what you've read? Spread the word! You can link to this article
from your website by copying the following code and adding it to
a page on your website:
Copyright ©2001-2007. ThinkGlink, Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction of material from any www.ThinkGlink.com pages without permission is strictly prohibited.
Site designed by Walker Sands Communications
