Input needed for a family house transfer.

O

old medic

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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To start with, My Brother almost lost his house he owns free and clear due to overdue taxes. This is now the 3rd year he has fell behind. He had a good paying, secure job, but quit. He has no savings or future pension, just SS in 4 years at the earliest. Alcohol, cigarettes and spongey friends are his big investment. He works little side jobs to have a few bucks... and hes good till hes broke again.
We considered buying the place CHEAP from him, so he still has a place to live. But have major concerns about liability issues with some of the folks he has hanging around.
He has also offered to just give it to our son if he would pay the tax, upkeep and such, but our son has life long major health issues and on disability. I would hate for some medical group come in and just take it.
So now wondering if we can arrange to put the house in the Grandsons name who is 11.
 
Would not give to your son, he may lose his disability, depending on the rules.
Where will your brother live? Can you just pay the taxes for him to stay in his house or would that mean you are now the owner? Has his house been foreclosed on already due to back taxes owed?
Putting the house in your grandsons name would not change any liability if your brother and questionable folks around him are still there.
Lots of unanswered questions.
Sorry you are dealing with these issues. Family can be tough.
 
This is a complicated situation.

There are probably important factors you don't even realize and so haven't mentioned.

Spend the money. Hire a lawyer to advise.
 
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If you can afford to why not just pay the taxes and have him leave you the house in his will. Then when he dies you sell it and hopefully break even.
 
isisdave said:
Do you ask estate attorneys for Internet advice?
Then you shouldn't ask the Internet for complicated legal advice.
.
Click to expand...

I don't think OP is asking the "internet". He's asking a collection of some pretty savvy, knowledgeable folks here who sort of 'know' him and he them and I'll assume whose inputs he trusts.

Over the years, all of us here have gained incredibly valuable insights, some actionable, some not.

Yes, at some point you need a professional but sometimes here, getting some pointers, insight and alternative ideas can help tremendously.

Otherwise, what would the point of this forum be?
 
Is there some possibility of transferring the house to a trust which would hold it for his benefit, while allowing the family members paying his taxes (and presumably repairs) to eventually recover their money?

I can see where liability would be a concern.
 
marko said:
I don't think OP is asking the "internet". He's asking a collection of some pretty savvy, knowledgeable folks here who sort of 'know' him and he them and I'll assume whose inputs he trusts.
Over the years, all of us here have gained incredibly valuable insights, some actionable, some not.
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Thank You Marko... I couldn't have stated it any better. And ultimately the final dealing with this will be through an attorney.

We have paid the back taxes for the 3rd time now. By getting it out of his name just secures it for our son/grandson. Otherwise, we have no interest in it.
PacerGal, he lives about 16 miles away in the same county, and I assume you have caught some of our house rebuild story... He has promised to come help. We have arranged many different work days over the past couple years and he managed to show up ONCE!!!! Arrived about 1:30 and to drunk to get on the roof.
Yes it is complicated, and as much as I love my Brother, Its infuriating to see what hes done with his life.
 
Teacher Terry said:
If you can afford to why not just pay the taxes and have him leave you the house in his will. Then when he dies you sell it and hopefully break even.
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+1 This sounds like a really good idea, to me.

But then, what do I know? There may be other factors I'm not thinking about.
 
When my sister couldn't afford to keep her house anymore due to racking up massive debts in Credit cards, the choice was sell her house and rent or lose the house.

Instead I bought the house and rented it to her for the cost of monthly bills (taxes , condo fees). A nice cheap rent, even she commented upon 10 years into our "deal".

That way she had a place to live, and all seemed really great. Until she decided to move and then wanted me to sell the place and give her the profits. :facepalm: All my past help and the great "deal" was forgotten when she thought how could she get some more cash..

In the end, I decided if that ever happened again, I'd advise sell the place as she couldn't afford it and rent. That way I won't have any skin in the game and I've noticed most folks, even poor ones, pay the rent as they know otherwise they will get evicted.

Even though OP could pay the property taxes, later there will probably be other things like pay the electricity , repair the roof, etc.. and possibly OP's brother will lose the house in a drunken poker game or other scheme.

In fact the free $$$ help is really enabling the brother's behavior and he won't stop.

I suggest OP tell brother to sell the house as the brother cannot afford the house and booze at the same time.
 
OP don't forget about the the 5 years look back rule. This could be a problem for you and your brother if needs any like skilled nursing care or nursing home assistance in the next 5 years.



You have 2 choices IMO...pay his taxes for him, or pay attention and if his house goes for auction due to back taxes go to the courthouse and buy it.
 
old medic said:
To start with, My Brother almost lost his house he owns free and clear due to overdue taxes. This is now the 3rd year he has fell behind. He had a good paying, secure job, but quit. He has no savings or future pension, just SS in 4 years at the earliest. Alcohol, cigarettes and spongey friends are his big investment. He works little side jobs to have a few bucks... and hes good till hes broke again.
We considered buying the place CHEAP from him, so he still has a place to live. But have major concerns about liability issues with some of the folks he has hanging around.
He has also offered to just give it to our son if he would pay the tax, upkeep and such, but our son has life long major health issues and on disability. I would hate for some medical group come in and just take it.
So now wondering if we can arrange to put the house in the Grandsons name who is 11.
Click to expand...

Sorry to be harsh, but you are not your brother's keeper. He can't afford the house. He should sell it. An unfortunate consequence of quitting a good paying secure job. Sucks to be him.

If you want to buy it or buy it with your son for your son to live in and brother goes somewhere else to live then fine, but your brother needs to grow up and support himself and you need to stop enabling your brother.

I don't think a minor can own property anyway so putting it in your 11 year old grandson's name is both not possible in addition to being a very bad idea.
 
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My brother is chemically dependent with a lot of "friends" who hang around a lot. My parents let him live at home until they couldn't take it and moved out when he was 30. They paid his bills and by the time he was 50 he was so far in debt they had to sell their house to pay his debts.

Don't get mixed up with family and houses. You'll get burned. Get out and don't look back. Whatever you do don't mix up your grandson. Very, very bad idea.
 
Sunset said:
Instead I bought the house and rented it to her for the cost of monthly bills (taxes , condo fees). A nice cheap rent.

We have done this for my other brother... We bought the place he has rented since we moved out from it nearly 30 years ago. Its his home till he decides to move. This is another estate issue for us to leave to him should something happen to us. He would then leave it to our Grandchildren.


possibly OP's brother will lose the house in a drunken poker game or other scheme. In fact, the free $$$ help is really enabling the brother's behavior and he won't stop.
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He hasn't asked for help at all... the Wife read the news in the paper about the list of unpaid property tax. Our son says he will pay us back since he is supposed to get the house... If its left.

This is not much of a place, 650 SqFt on a 1/4 acre, with an assessed value of around $25000.
 
You just got to love family dynamics. You would get a headache reading about our one sister. I try to avoid thinking about whats going to happen when our Mother passes..
 
How much are the past due taxes? If not much and you can easily afford it, maybe pay them just to kick the can down the road a little longer. Realistically, how long is he going to live, given his lifestyle?
 
Sounds much like my brother's story without the friends, since most of them died from overdoses. What some people fail to understand is the fear of guilt if you are able to help a family member but choose not to. Where would he end up, dead in the gutter? If it's not a burden to your family, I'd suggest agreeing to pay the taxes going forward so he has a roof over his head - and it's not yours. Fifteen years ago, my parents and I bought my brother a house and they gift him enough annually to live. It's kept him off the street and out of our basements. His drug use has burned enough synapses that employment hasn't been practical for many years. Enabling? Perhaps but a clear conscience is worth the label to me.
 
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bigcmagor said:
Sounds much like my brother's story without the friends, since most of them died from overdoses. What some people fail to understand is the fear of guilt if you are able to help a family member but choose not to. Where would he end up, dead in the gutter? If it's not a burden to your family, I'd suggest agreeing to pay the taxes going forward so he has a roof over his head - and it's not yours. Fifteen years ago, my parents and I bought my brother a house and they gift him enough annually to live. It's kept him off the street and out of our basements. His drug use has burned enough synapses that employment hasn't been practical for many years. Enabling? Perhaps but a clear conscience is worth the label to me.
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I have a family member who has a 40 year old son that she supports. She pays his rent and car payment. He does not drink, drug or have inappropriate friends. He doesn't party. He's just chronically underemployed. I asked how he's doing and she said he's great, acts like nothings wrong. Well, that's because you took all his problems and made them your problems!

She saved him from eviction and having his car taken because the anxiety of worrying about him was overwhelming. Now she knows he's safe and not going to show up at her door because he's homeless. She's willing (and can afford) to keep doing this and he's willing to keep taking it. He has no reason to change and she has not put a time limit on her help, so this looks to be long term.

I think they both know that this is not how it's supposed to be.
 
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^^^^ While I can see that it may be comforting to her knowing that he isn't living on the street and has needed transportation, I don't think that she is doing him any favors. There is a certain amount of self-respect and satisfaction derived from working that is hard to measure.
 
freedomatlast said:
How much are the past due taxes? If not much and you can easily afford it, maybe pay them just to kick the can down the road a little longer. Realistically, how long is he going to live, given his lifestyle?
Click to expand...

Thats a good question... He had some kind of health issue a couple years back, and won't talk about it. Thats when he increased his drinking and quit his job.
 
old medic said:
Thats a good question... He had some kind of health issue a couple years back, and won't talk about it. Thats when he increased his drinking and quit his job.
Click to expand...

If his house is really assessed for so little buy it from him, have him sign a rental contract for the amount of its projected annual bills as another poster suggests, but plan on having to forgive that.

It's better than him showing up at your door.

Add umbrella coverage if you don't have it already & let your insurer know you're buying it so your disabled brother who cannot work a regular job anymore due to his disability has a place to live.
 
old medic said:
Thats a good question... He had some kind of health issue a couple years back, and won't talk about it. Thats when he increased his drinking and quit his job.
Click to expand...
In our state the tax status of all properties is easily available on line. Try the county web site.
 
old medic said:
To start with, My Brother almost lost his house he owns free and clear due to overdue taxes. This is now the 3rd year he has fell behind. He had a good paying, secure job, but quit. He has no savings or future pension, just SS in 4 years at the earliest. Alcohol, cigarettes and spongey friends are his big investment. He works little side jobs to have a few bucks... and hes good till hes broke again.
We considered buying the place CHEAP from him, so he still has a place to live. But have major concerns about liability issues with some of the folks he has hanging around.
He has also offered to just give it to our son if he would pay the tax, upkeep and such, but our son has life long major health issues and on disability. I would hate for some medical group come in and just take it.
So now wondering if we can arrange to put the house in the Grandsons name who is 11.
Click to expand...
I guess I'm missing something. So you don't want to take ownership due to liability concerns but you'd be willing to transfer it to your 11 year old grandson.:confused:
 
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