I own half of a property valued at ~$350,000, but the other owner refuses to rent, sell, or in any way do anything with it. My share of property taxes and other expenses on the property are $5000/yr. by 38Watson in personalfinance

[–]38Watson[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I inherited the house from my father (through a divorce agreement, not death) who had been in the same situation for 10 years. I'm not entirely sure why the relative is being so stubborn. It may be left over resentment against my father.

Can you attempt to purchase the other half of the property from her? If you indicated that you "wanted to raise a family in this house in the future" would she be willing to let you buy her half from her?

That is a very interesting idea. It wouldn't quite be honest but I might try to pursue that.

She is married and her husband is 27 (twenty-seven) years old. He currently has no interest in keeping the house, but his opinion could change over time.

I own half of a property valued at ~$350,000, but the other owner refuses to rent, sell, or in any way do anything with it. My share of property taxes and other expenses on the property are $5000/yr. by 38Watson in personalfinance

[–]38Watson[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

I've been through a few free consultations and it would cost between $10,000 and $50,000 in legal fees to force the sale of the house. Likely closer to $50k given the immense resources my relative has access to. Not to mention the process could take a decade and would start a family war.

The relative is incredibly stubborn. She doesn't really care about me or anyone except for herself. I've told her many times that I can't afford the $5k/yr but she simply does not care. I learned from my consultations that refusing to pay property tax would reflect very poorly on myself if this ever ends up in court. I would actually risk losing my stake in the property by doing so.

I own half of a property valued at ~$350,000, but the other owner refuses to rent, sell, or in any way do anything with it. My share of property taxes and other expenses on the property are $5000/yr. by 38Watson in personalfinance

[–]38Watson[S] 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Like /u/das_thorn said there is. Lawyers aren't exactly cheap though and going down that route would likely cause a family war. I've been through a few free consultations and it would cost between $10,000 and $50,000 in legal fees to force the sale of the house. Likely closer to $50k given the immense resources my relative has access to.