<p>For my parents’ vacation home, the costs to maintain it prior to our selling it, are all from money in the estate. Money is being maintained in the estate for all costs associated with the property.</p>
<p>My MIL and her brother inherited a family farm jointly. My MIL wanted to just sit on it and refused to sell it. Her brother had to get an attorney and force the thing legally on the market, giving her the right to first refusal. She ended up buying the whole thing rather than letting it leave the family. That might be an option for the poster who owns a piece of vacation property that is useless to him.</p>
<p>“This sort of thing can be a big problem among siblings.” Oh yes.</p>
<p>My Mom left her large home and acreage as an undivided whole to all (17) living blood relatives. I was able to get family cooperation by calling a family meeting and soliciting a volunteer to “handle” the problem. When no one expressed interest … big surprise, not … I told them that if they were unhappy with decisions being made that I’d be happy to pass them the baton. No takers … again.</p>
<p>As others have said, there’s rarely a solution that’s “equal” for all. But if a genuine effort is made to be fair, a solution can be found that is acceptable to all. YMMV of course.</p>
<p>“Renting a beach house is far cheaper than owning a beach house.”</p>
<p>LongPrime is wrong about this. Renting isn’t “far cheaper” … it’s “far FAR cheaper!”</p>
<p>Quite a few years ago, I did some math and tried to figure out the maintenance costs of the lake house/divided by the four siblings, to come up with a per day cost if we used the place one week a year. I think it came to something in the neighborhood of $1200 per night…for which we would get no a/c, one bathroom, no dishwasher, etc. Note that one can rent a luxury villa in Tuscany or a beautiful flat in Paris for about half that.</p>
<p>I have a family member who built a beautiful vacation home which we get to vacation at. This is not typical but this year (the one full week they were able to spend at their vacation home due to the families hectic schedule) these are the workers who did work at the home: Landscaper, tree trimmer, window and house washer, exterminator, general handyman, plumber. All of this maintenance besides the taxes and other upkeep costs. I can’t imagine, for a house that is used a couple of weekends and one week a summer. It is being rented but there are other costs associated with that and the owners plan on retiring there. </p>
<p>It’s a lovely place but pretty isolated in seasons other than summer. It would not be my first choice to retire but it is a beautiful area. The owner’s hope is that their investment will increase in value but it is a lot of money right now.</p>
<p>My parents bought a house for one of my sibs recently. Parents hold the deed and pay the mortgage; sib pays rent because she and BIL can’t qualify for a mortgage. </p>
<p>Can hardly wait to see what happens when my parents are gone and the house gets thrown into the estate. It will be a significant asset, as my parents have little cash, and my other sibs will want to sell it and get their share of the $$$.</p>
<p>I’m steering clear – there is not enough $$ involved to make it worth the aggravation.</p>
<p>^^^I’d suggest to your parents that they write their will now and stipulate what they want to see happen with the house your sister lives in as well as their other property.</p>
<p>@consolation (and others)</p>
<p>One heir or owner can force the sale of a property. It’s known as a partition sale. I remember reading about it often in a column in our newspaper called “real estate mailbag”. The column is no more, as the columnist died, and I be he didn’t leave a mess behind! </p>
<p>[Heir</a> Property in Alabama - Partition Sales](<a href=“http://www.ag.auburn.edu/agec/heirproperty/partitionsales.php]Heir”>http://www.ag.auburn.edu/agec/heirproperty/partitionsales.php)</p>
<p>Also to the OP- you would pay probate tax or estate tax (8%?) on the value of inherited property but you only pay capital gains tax (15%) on the amount the property appreciated in the time between the death and whenever you sell it. That’s why you should get an appraisal when the person dies, so you know how much the property is worth at that time. It’s also why it’s better to inherit property (cheaper taxes) that to have that property signed over to you before the person dies (higher capital gains taxes).</p>
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<p>I would think the real loss would be the rift in the relationship, which is something you could choose to mend.</p>
<p>My husband’s brother died many years ago. My husband would gladly give up every penny of his inheritence for one more hour, one more talk, one more bike ride or walk with his brother. </p>
<p>Let the anger go. It would not only be a gift to yourself, it would be a way to honor those who owned the house.</p>
<p>^ Hear, Hear …</p>
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<p>One of H’s brothers lives next door to his parents. FIL and the brother have not spoken in over a year. Neither will disclose what was actually said, but the argument was a financial nature. All evidence points to BIL slowly taking over all of FIL’s assets and FIL finally drawing the line. I almost wish he had taken over everything…then there would be nothing to argue about when FIL passes on. (Although given his genes and mine, FIL may well outlive me.)</p>
<p>Four sibs in this family. Parents own a house. Three sibs OWN houses and do not want the parents’ house nor do we need it. Fourth sib lives there and we agreed that when the time comes the house goes to her. We told our parents…we don’t care about equity, Fourth sibling should get the whole house…we don’t want or need homes…and she has earned this by living with and helping the parents all these years.</p>
<p>In laws will sell everything upon death and put money into a fund to pay for the real estate trust. We are not part of that. So we get nothing which again…is fine with us. We also don’t have the headaches of making joint ownership financial decisions with five other people.</p>
<p>We bought our lake house from a group of half siblings in a very acrimonious estate liquidation. We decided then and there that their would be no splitting of houses in our estate. I’d roll over in my grave if a gift I gave created such a burden.</p>
<p>Don’t die this year if you want the “step-up” in basis referred to in above posts. There are currently no federal estate taxes, but neither does one get the stepped-up basis. The result upon sale can be income taxes that are higher than estate taxes would have been.</p>
<p>In 25 years working with various clients, I have seen many permutations of the above scenarios. From all those years, one and only one, stands out in my memory as working out really well-and it was due to the attitude of the children, not great planning on the parents’ parts. </p>
<p>It seems as if all of us posters have these problems and not much in the way of good resolution. Wishing us all luck–I see the train wreck coming too.</p>
<p>The problem is that even if you can see the problems, you can’t do anything about them. The old folks often refuse to discuss how they are going to dispense their properties and do what they danged well please, which is their right, but they cannot possibly know the rifts it causes among family members when this things are ill arranged.</p>
<p>Parents have will; will not disclose contents. Heck, they haven’t even told the siblings they bought the house for my sister. I figured that one out myself.</p>
<p>Ironic, because I planned to give her my share of my parents’ home for all she has done for them over the past few years. I know my other sibs will want to sell and get cash.</p>
<p>"Renting isn’t “far cheaper” … it’s “far FAR cheaper!” "</p>
<p>yes. I am wrong about the cost. </p>
<p>Although the House is just 60 miles away, 1.5hrs drive time. I end up spending only 2-3hours at the house to do whatever I can do there. Inveritably, Mom wants to me to take her to the Indian Casino, which is enroute, where she can mindlessly do slots. I do a quick check, and then pick her up, 4 hours for her (1hr to get to the House, 2 hrs at House, 1hr to get back to casino). </p>
<p>I need more time to do proper maintenance. </p>
<p>Don’t want to discourage those who are thinking or have thought about a second home. The House is nice. A friend of ours, has their second house in Tuscany, which she finds boring but her H loves it because its in His hometown.</p>
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Can you give us some general details? It would be great to hear more success stories for this issue!</p>
<p>^ “Can you give us some general details?”</p>
<p>If a “commonly applicable data set” was available I’m sure someone would have compiled a manual by now. No such luck. People being people, the same contingency that pleases some will enrage others. Emotional baggage differs, financial need differs, rigidity of thought differs, speed of decision-making differs, etcetera. And of course those pesky spouses of family members tend to have their own views on what’s “fair.”</p>