Expert: Jessica Bryan - 12/10/2009

Question
Hello Jessica,

My question is this. My Father passed away and owned his own home with no liens against it. His children have inherited the home, however I have lived it for nearly 30 years. Four of my siblings have signed a quit claim and gave me their portion of ownership.

I however, have two greedy siblings who want to be bought out. I recently had an appraisal conducted on the home and the appraisal was a joke. It was appraised at $47,500, however there is 15,000 to 25,000 that are needed in major repairs.

First of all the property and house has major flooding and drainage problems, the roof needs to be replaced and because of excessive flooding and moisture half of the Kitchen floor is sinking into the ground. Since so much is needed in repairs will that lessen the amount of money that my two siblings would be receiving. If I were to even think about selling the home and I wouldn't, I would simply take my repair costs off the selling price. Thank you in advance for your response.

Michelle

Answer
Dear Michelle;
Regardless of what price the home appraises at if there are repairs needed then the siblings that want you to buy their shares need to help pay for the repairs first.  If they don't agree to that then they will need to prove that the home is worth what the appraisal said by getting another appraisal.  Very often in forced sales or inheritance situations there are multiple appraisal since there are many differing opinions.  Talk to another appraisor or a real estate agent to get a second opinion and then present it to your siblings.  If they don't agree to go forward with this then you may need to consult an attorney.

Best wishes,
Jessica Bryan