Dargo
Like a bad penny...
I have invested in properties in the last 10 years or so since I seem unable to pick any stock that doesn't go bankrupt. I have a few lots without homes and a few with homes. The ones with homes are rented to friends or relatives and all is well, believe it or not. I have the usual unexpected (but really not) expenses of new furnaces, new water heaters, new A/C, new gutters etc., but the renters pay on time and take care of the places.
My smallest parcel of property without a home is a 5 1/2 acre wooded parcel that is about 2 miles from my house. It's at the end of a paved dead end street and has all utilities right in front of it except sewer. With the size of the lot and ground composition, septic is no problem. It would make for a great walk-out basement home and is completely wooded. I bought it about 4 years ago from my wife's late mother. At the time nobody else wanted it and I bought it rather than put it on the market for appraised value.
Fast forward to present day. Out of 4 kids in the family, my wife and her older sister are the only 2 kids in that family who didn't leach off of mom and dad for everything they have in life. Literally, the brother has never held down a job for more than a few years in his life and the best job he had was as a cable TV installer about 15 years ago. It paid just over minimum and he quit after a year or so because it was too much work. Oh, he is now 56 years old.
The youngest sister is pretty well the same. She is 41 years old and the best job she or her husband has ever had was with her being a "change girl" at the local casino and when he sold bait at a bait shop. Momma bought them 3 different houses and at least 6 cars along with paying off their maxed CC bills numerous times like she has for the brother. Anyway, you get the picture, two 'normal' kids and two deadbeats.
After I bought the 5 1/2 acres, momma sold the old family farmhouse and 6 acres to her son for half of the appraised value. However, he never paid her before she died and now he says "Mom wouldn't have wanted me to have to pay for it now". Whatever. She signed the deed over to him, so legally, she gave it to him. His foul mouth calling my wife and his own mother names is going to eventually result in me beating the living hell out of him as soon as the right opportunity arises; and it will. He's that stupid.
Anyway, all this is important because it leads up to the current dilemma. Out of the blue last month, her normal sister and her husband (mostly her husband) have decided that they want to build a new house (both in their mid 50's) and expect me to sell them the 5 1/2 acre lot I purchased from the mother a few years ago. Actually, they are sort of insisting I do and that I sell it for the price I paid for it which was actually 3/4 of it's appraised value. The mother was going to give the proceeds of the sale to the 4 kids, so I didn't have to pay her my wife's 1/4 portion since that was going to be given to her anyway.
I have several problems. First, I don't want to sell the property. I bought it for a long term investment and specifically to use in case one of my kids wanted to build close to me. Second, if I sell it for the 3/4 appraisal, I'd be forfeiting my wife's 1/4 share she would have gotten if we would have sold it to someone outside the family. I'm flat out not going to do that. If I'm forced to sell, I will insist on the appraised amount I bought it for (which was honestly rather low) plus all the property taxes I've paid on the property since buying it. Remember, I do NOT want to sell, but the brother in law and my wife's sister seem to think I'm obligated to sell.
What do I do?? I'd prefer to not cause problems with the two sisters who actually got along, but this demand seems rather unfair. I waited until nobody else wanted it in the family before I bought it, and I bought it for long term; not to flip. Also, the BIL thinks he is going to get 100k for their home that appraised at 60k and that he is going to build the home himself (and he's legally blind) with no prior building experience.
At this point I've told them that there is no reason to even discuss the matter until they 1, get their home sold; 2, get plans drawn up for building the house; 3, get a loan that will cover buying the property and the cost of building the home. Without going into their personal financial info, I can tell you that they will need a loan that will put them at a 75% debt to income ratio on a 30 year loan (making them in their mid 80's before it would be paid off). They are still pressuring me to just sell them the land now, before they do any of that, and I flat said "no".
Any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated. I don't want to start a family squabble, but I'm tired of being bent over in any matters when it comes to my wife's family.
My smallest parcel of property without a home is a 5 1/2 acre wooded parcel that is about 2 miles from my house. It's at the end of a paved dead end street and has all utilities right in front of it except sewer. With the size of the lot and ground composition, septic is no problem. It would make for a great walk-out basement home and is completely wooded. I bought it about 4 years ago from my wife's late mother. At the time nobody else wanted it and I bought it rather than put it on the market for appraised value.
Fast forward to present day. Out of 4 kids in the family, my wife and her older sister are the only 2 kids in that family who didn't leach off of mom and dad for everything they have in life. Literally, the brother has never held down a job for more than a few years in his life and the best job he had was as a cable TV installer about 15 years ago. It paid just over minimum and he quit after a year or so because it was too much work. Oh, he is now 56 years old.
The youngest sister is pretty well the same. She is 41 years old and the best job she or her husband has ever had was with her being a "change girl" at the local casino and when he sold bait at a bait shop. Momma bought them 3 different houses and at least 6 cars along with paying off their maxed CC bills numerous times like she has for the brother. Anyway, you get the picture, two 'normal' kids and two deadbeats.
After I bought the 5 1/2 acres, momma sold the old family farmhouse and 6 acres to her son for half of the appraised value. However, he never paid her before she died and now he says "Mom wouldn't have wanted me to have to pay for it now". Whatever. She signed the deed over to him, so legally, she gave it to him. His foul mouth calling my wife and his own mother names is going to eventually result in me beating the living hell out of him as soon as the right opportunity arises; and it will. He's that stupid.
Anyway, all this is important because it leads up to the current dilemma. Out of the blue last month, her normal sister and her husband (mostly her husband) have decided that they want to build a new house (both in their mid 50's) and expect me to sell them the 5 1/2 acre lot I purchased from the mother a few years ago. Actually, they are sort of insisting I do and that I sell it for the price I paid for it which was actually 3/4 of it's appraised value. The mother was going to give the proceeds of the sale to the 4 kids, so I didn't have to pay her my wife's 1/4 portion since that was going to be given to her anyway.
I have several problems. First, I don't want to sell the property. I bought it for a long term investment and specifically to use in case one of my kids wanted to build close to me. Second, if I sell it for the 3/4 appraisal, I'd be forfeiting my wife's 1/4 share she would have gotten if we would have sold it to someone outside the family. I'm flat out not going to do that. If I'm forced to sell, I will insist on the appraised amount I bought it for (which was honestly rather low) plus all the property taxes I've paid on the property since buying it. Remember, I do NOT want to sell, but the brother in law and my wife's sister seem to think I'm obligated to sell.
What do I do?? I'd prefer to not cause problems with the two sisters who actually got along, but this demand seems rather unfair. I waited until nobody else wanted it in the family before I bought it, and I bought it for long term; not to flip. Also, the BIL thinks he is going to get 100k for their home that appraised at 60k and that he is going to build the home himself (and he's legally blind) with no prior building experience.
At this point I've told them that there is no reason to even discuss the matter until they 1, get their home sold; 2, get plans drawn up for building the house; 3, get a loan that will cover buying the property and the cost of building the home. Without going into their personal financial info, I can tell you that they will need a loan that will put them at a 75% debt to income ratio on a 30 year loan (making them in their mid 80's before it would be paid off). They are still pressuring me to just sell them the land now, before they do any of that, and I flat said "no".
Any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated. I don't want to start a family squabble, but I'm tired of being bent over in any matters when it comes to my wife's family.
He was offended when I said absolutely not.
Good job Brent. Everyone would like that Cowboy but these folks are in their 50's and have been around the block a time or two ...they should have had a concept of what they were planning would cost. How can anyone plan something like that and not check into prices, permits needed, building costs etc. Pretty lame on their part. Next they'll be asking you to build it all for them and they'll "make payments"