SIL with house but no money

[Anonymous]

My FIL left my SIL the house in which she lived with him as his caregiver until he died. She owns the house outright, but basically makes minimum wage and can’t afford the taxes, money to fix the leaky roof, etc. what are her options? We want her to keep the house, but we can’t really subsidize her living expenses.

[Anonymous]

Can she rent out some rooms? If not, she probably just has to move somewhere she can afford.

[Anonymous]

Get a few housemates to cover all house expenses.
How many bedrooms/baths? Basement?

[Anonymous]

Who is “we”? Is DH the only other sibling? What is your financial situation? Could you afford to purchase an share of the house? Is it a property that is likely to increase in value and worth holding on to?

[Anonymous]

Housemates or sell the
House.

[Anonymous]

In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

[Anonymous]

In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

Even in a depressed area, if you sell a house you can buy a condo or a smaller house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

She might need to sell and use the money to rent a room to live in. I can’t think of any other options if she can’t take in roommates or rent out the whole house and use the money for rent somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

If she has a good credit score, your sister may be able to take out a home equity loan to pay for home repairs. Once the house is fixed up, she would be able to rent out rooms. Then the rental income plus her income should help her pay the bills.

She should check and see if there are any community programs in her area that help low income residents with home repairs, or contact Habitat for Humanity to see if she qualifies for any assistance.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/home-repair-volunteer-groups-offer-help-to-those-need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

How is this your problem? Is she special needs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We want her to keep the house

Why? If she inherited an amount of money equal to the value of the house, would you want her to buy the house? It's just stuff, and in this case, she can't afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a depressed area. Not likely to increase in value. House too dilapidated for roommates. I’m concerned that if she sells, she won’t be able to afford anywhere to live.

How is this your problem? Is she special needs?

She was the caregiver of her father until he died and now you want her brother to drop her now that she is not of use? Cold.

[Anonymous]

Now that she is no longer the caregiver to your father, can she get a better job or commute a bit further for one? Can she take classes to get more skills or a certification now that she is not giving care? Are there ways to help her do this? That might be a better investment.

If you feel you need to help her for some reason, maybe the help will consist of getting her to a less depressed area for jobs? Maybe even moving in with you? How old is she? Keeping the house may make her poorer (maintenance on a dilapidated house sounds like a money pit to me).

[Anonymous]

Can you afford to buy the house, fix it up, and have her pay you rent?