I hope the brother isn’t a problem as you begin renovations.
The scene was inevitable. He is angry he is getting kicked out and losing his free housing.If it wasn’t ceiling panels it would have been something else.
The brother is very aware that the house is sold and escrow closes on February 1st. I think the problem will end up on sister’s shoulders. He evidently already told the agents that he can’t possibly start packing because it is January and he ‘always gets a cold’. He actually won out in the whole deal. The only reason he is squatting there is because he convinced the sisters that he would clean out the whole house, scrub everything and paint house to get ready for sale.
Then they waited 6 weeks for that to happen. The sisters finally lost patience and put the house up for sale, but held off for 30 days to take photos. He was going to clean up and paint in that 30 days. It’s now been about 15 of those 30 days and I can just see the grossness getting worse.
Wait until I post a pic of the shower he is using. I decided not to take a picture of his bedroom because I felt it was an invasion of privacy, but let’s just say that it is worse than any college kid’s room. Mattress on the floor, no sheets, dirty clothes everywhere, dirty food containers all over. Same dishes and pots/pans on sink from last visit through house.
He is 60 yrs old, unemployed, total slob and claims disability (I think). But, he seems to be well enough to plan a hiking trip. That was another reason that he couldn’t possibly move was because he claimed he was planning his annual ‘hiking trip’ at the end of January and wouldn’t be there to clear out his stuff.
I wouldn’t count on the brother removing his belongings. Not all of them anyway, by the deadline. Make sure the sellers know that you are prepared to remove his things but can’t keep them or remove them carefully or anything. When the deadline comes, the dumpster arrives!
I agree, there will be lots of trash all over the house that will go into the dumpster. I can imagine him coming back in February and going ‘Oh, but those dirty socks in the corner were very valuable and sentimental to me’.
I’ll worry about it when the time comes.
Here is another example of why I am not officially nuts… new listing $995k
4625 Granger 92107
3/1 1000 sq ft
old grandma house, cracker box, average lot, no view
This will be a new record… $995/sq ft
It may not show up yet on your websites you look at, it just got listed about 10 minutes ago
Sounds like the brother may have some mental health issues. Be careful, CB!
As the sister of a brother similar in some ways to this man, I respectively ask that he not be characterized in a negative way. His identity will be easy to figure out and his current living arrangement is his private business and not something we need to know or discuss. Thanks.
busyparent… very good point. The house is held in a trust, but someone could dig through and possibly determine his identity. Unfortunately, I had promised to be very honest and truthful and transparent about all aspects of each flip. But, I do want to be careful about privacy.
I also have a brother that thinks he’s entitled to a ‘free ride’ and is a habitual dreamer. I was put in a similar situation where my brother moved in to ‘take care of Dad’ and that turned into a mild disaster.
My friend’s brother is more similar to this situation than my brother. My brother’s life changed dramatically when he became sober, but my friend discarded some of her brother’s things from their parents house ( hoarder and sometime inhabitant of the house) and he slashed her tires when he found out. Her brother is either on the street on in jail depending on the day. Mental illness is a challenging situation.
I wonder if you should keep one plastic bag of his things, even old socks, just in case he shows up some day demanding his stuff.
What is it with irresponsible brothers? I am in a mess with the house my deceased mother owned and brother lives in. I am ready to quit claim it away just to get rid of the literal headaches, stress, and anger. Sorry to go off topic but this is eating me up.
Congrats on getting the house @coralbrook!
I guess I’m glad I only have a sister!
I have a brother and he’s suddenly starting to look pretty good, all things considered!
A friend of mine has a brother who scuttled their mother out of her house. She’s in an independent living apartment now and can switch that to assisted living when she needs to, but the brother is living in her house rent free and even gets another sister to dip into Mom’s money to pay his utilities! He’s fully employed as a city fire fighter so there is no excuse, just blatant greed and enabling. The whole family dynamic changed after the Dad died and my friend doesn’t speak to her brother now. What makes it even more interesting is that the 5 siblings own 10% of the house each, under community property laws, and the mother owns 50%. My friend could force a sale anytime but won’t.
Hey hey hey, most of us brothers are responsible and upstanding.
I don’t think sponging off your relatives is particularly gender-related.
My grandmother and my uncle lived together until her death. I don’t think she had a will. My mother could have forced her brother to sell the house, which she had helped them build. She didn’t “need” the money. Instead, she went to the probate court and asked them how she could simply sign her interest in the house over to him, which she did.
It was the right thing to do.
There is a reason this brother isn’t a decision maker on the trust and the sisters are.
(Sisters rock!)
I should add that my uncle wasn’t sponging off my grandmother: their income was, I’m sure, mostly his, from his job.
Oh gosh, the stories I could tell about my deceased BIL and what happened when MIL died . . . But let’s get back to the topic at hand.
cb, when can you get in the house to start demo? (And take those all-important before photos.)
Yes, waiting for the pictures!!!