My in-laws gave us $300,000 and it’s on the deed to our house. Now they want $125,000.
My in-laws helped us buy the house we all live in, including my teenagers. They offered $300,000 and we bought the house for just over $500,000. All four of us (my wife, I, and my in-laws) have deeds and loans. I am currently paying my mortgage. We live in a country of equitable distribution.
Now my in-laws want me to sign a document saying that if my wife and I sell our house now or in the future, living or dead, they will pay us a fixed amount of the initial deposit of $125,000. It will be delivered to my niece, an adult granddaughter who lives in another state. This would reduce your investment in the home to $175,000.
I told them I couldn’t sign because this effectively constituted a legal claim similar to that of a lender – a lien on the property. Such a claim could be filed with the county and could harm your attempts to refinance or obtain a home equity line of credit that you may need for improvements and repairs. I was told that if we sold we could calculate and pay a percentage excluding costs etc. but there is no fixed lien.
They were angry and threatened to call a lawyer. This causes problems at home. This agreement will also take a lot of equity away from me and my wife. The in-laws think this is a fair way to recoup their initial investment and do what they want with it. My house is currently worth $720,000. What should we do?
husband and son-in-law
Related: ‘I shouldn’t be punished’: My sister can’t afford to buy me out of my mother’s $450,000 house She has no home. What should I do?
“Generally, unless the deed states otherwise, joint tenants have equal interests in the property, so it sounds like the four parties on the deed each own 25% of the home.”
MarketWatch Illustration
dear husband,
Don’t sign anything.
Types of ownership vary from state to state, but are either joint tenancy with right of survivorship or joint tenants. A joint tenancy with right of survivorship gives all owners an equal share of the property and does not allow one owner to add another person to the deed. And the important thing is that when one owner dies, his/her share of the property passes to the other owner. However, if you are a joint tenant: ~ no Your relatives have the right of survivorship if they die before you.
Typically, unless the deed states otherwise, joint tenants have equal interests in the property, so it sounds like the four parties named in the deed each own 25 percent of the home, says Brian P. Corrigan, partner at Farrell Fritz. . . “Co-tenants have the right to live in the property without paying rent to other co-tenants,” he says. “Joint tenants generally have an equal obligation to pay costs such as taxes, maintenance and repairs. Therefore, if a sale occurs at a later date, the joint tenant who paid these transportation costs may be entitled to a deduction.”
“A joint tenant cannot sell the entire property without the consent of the other joint tenants,” he adds. “So the in-laws’ concerns about a current or future sale may not be a cause for concern. If you die, you can transfer your interest in the property to your granddaughter/nephew. When a husband and wife wish to sell their entire property and not just the husband and wife’s interests, if the in-laws are alive, this can only be done with their consent. “The solution proposed by my in-laws seems to be looking for a problem,” he said.
partition operations
So where does that leave you? If you threaten to contact an attorney, you may be considering filing a lawsuit for division. This may mean forcing the sale of the property, regardless of what type of ownership you share. “A tenant with a right of survivorship is not obligated to continue in concurrent ownership, nor is he required to sell only his share to sell himself in a joint tenancy,” Cornell Law School said. “Rather, if both tenants have concurrent possession, the tenant has the absolute right to petition the court for division of the property.”
There are several immediate options: Selling the property and buying another home seems like the path of least resistance. Especially since 1) there are 4 people on the deed and only 2 are paying the mortgage and 2) there are relatives. It seems fickle. They have surprised you with these demands and are threatening legal action if you do not acquiesce. Alternatively, you can deduct $175,000 from your wife’s inheritance. But this does not solve the immediate problem: your legal relationship with your in-laws.
The fairest way to sell a house is to return the $300,000 you invested and split the remaining equity 50/50. This is a messy situation that raises other questions. Did your in-laws give you $300,000 as a gift? Did they lend you money with the expectation that you would repay them? Or do you plan to deduct that money from your wife’s inheritance, assuming you have the right of survivorship? Do you factor in your monthly mortgage payment when dividing up the loot? Any action you take should be undertaken with the assistance of a real estate attorney.
Remember, the longer you put off, the more your home will be worth and the more equity you will have to give up.
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Quentin Fottrell’s previous columns:
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