The house was left to the both of us in a trust.
She has been livingthere rent-free for 11 years, covering the property taxes and repairs.
The house is worth somewhere between$400,000 and $500,000.
Proceeds from the sale would split this between us.
She keeps finding reasons that the house is not suitable for selling.
She does notrecognize my needs for the proceeds of selling the house.
She says, This house isall Ive got.
I feel that Ive been very patient for 11 years, but Im feeling thefinancial squeeze of old age.
She would have $200,000 or $250,000 from her half of the home sale.
In a perfect world, you could do whats called a cash-out refinancing.
She may not be able to afford even a small mortgage payment.
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The extreme approach is to her sister to court.
The court supervises the sale of the property, ending in division of the sale proceeds.
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This process can typically take anywhere from six to 12 months.
Of course, the damage to your relationship could last forever.
Your sister has been living rent-free for 11 years.
She has every reason to keep making excuses.
She wont give up this arrangement voluntarily.
Tell her you really dont want that to happen.
But tell her that after 11 years, youre afraid that may be your only option.
Try not to focus on your sisters poor choices when you have this discussion.
Hold firm when she says the house is all shes got.
Could she rent out a room in the home for income?
Or could shetake a part-time job?
If your sister still refuses to budge, youll have to decide whether to actually take her to court.
I hope thats a decision you wont have to make.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
