Hi Folks
Something we never expected, we thought the money would go in care home fees.
My in-laws had their home held as tenants in common, so my wife inherited half of the value of the house six years ago when her dad died, and her mother remained living there with care each day. There was pressure to put her in a home but my wife didn't want to while her mother was determined to stay in the home. One weekend a few months my wife made back a normal visit to replenish ready meals etc and she unexpectedly died. Aaargh, probate etc, the second time this year, as my father died in January.
She has inherited a Swedish eco house bungalow in Swanage built about thirty years ago that her parents had built for their retirement. Very nice, but...How wonderful to get an unexpected windfall, but no money comes with it for refurbishment. It was her Father's dream that she would get the house, so we have had to explore loans and dip into our savings to deal with the problems that have accumulated over 30 years. We need to renovate and rent it out to keep it.
The local guy who valued the place gave us a list of recommended tradesmen who have been fantastic, and I think my verbose wife is managing to push them to their limits on timing. It will be quite stunning eventually.
It's very difficult balancing the problem but I agreed that eventually we should recoup the investment. It is very stressful though.
Any experiences and knowledge welcome.
Posted on: 07 August 2013 by Bruce Woodhouse
Legacies are odd things; maybe our judgement over them is impaired by the emotional baggage. My first thought reading your post was that you could just have sold the house as it was if you did not want the debt and hassle.
My wife's original family are South African. The grandparents bequeathed a fairly large diamond to each of the grandchildren in their will. She feels extremely uncomfortable about the ethics of the business and society that generated the family money behind this gem. As a result it has always sat in a bank safe deposit box. It will never be sold or used in a piece of jewellery in her lifetime but she cannot bring herself to donate it to a charity.
Sometimes it is not just about the money.
Bruce
Posted on: 07 August 2013 by Harry
As above. It appears that you have the option to sell it as is, or invest in what will turn out to be a more rewarding long term investment. It's a terrible place to be off the back of the death of a parent but in pure numbers in columns terms, a better place than many.
Posted on: 07 August 2013 by MW
Thanks for the responses, my initial reaction was that it could be sold but then it isn't my inheritance, and project managing from a distance when we both work full time seemed a bit of a nightmare. However, a few weeks on it was definitely the right decision, the builders have completed a lot of the refurbishments and it is beginning to look habitable. Hopefully by October we can use it and rent it out as a holiday let and start to recoup our investment.
