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Thread: A story of one house changing generational hands starts a new chapter today

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    A story of one house changing generational hands starts a new chapter today

    My son closed on the sale of our house today!! He is over the moon, filled with gratitude for not only me and DH, but his grandmother, who, in 1994, so generously gave us her inheritance from her mother's passing as a down payment for the house that we had rented for 9 years prior.

    She held the mortgage, because we were in the crapper in those days. In 2004, DH and I finally found well-paying careers and we got our own mortgage and she transferred the deed. In 2019, my son moved in, after I told him we would probably have to rent the house out and live permanently in VT because of DH's health issues. I told him he had until 2022 to s**t or get off the pot.

    He expressed his desire to buy the house in the fall of 2021. It has taken a long time for him to realize it for various reasons, but finally, fait accompli!!

    I think about sacrifices families make for one another, and I think about my mother-in-law who constantly gave us her life energy in many ways--money being just one. She was a clerk in Macy's for most of her life, and lived very frugally (bringing her own tea bags to restaurants and asking for hot water is one example). But I have a thick wad of cancelled checks written over the years for things that we needed or things she wanted to give us, which I rescued from the pile of documents that BIL was going to shred after she died. I keep them in my great-aunt's desk, as a reminder of the generosity of my elders and a model to strive for with my own children and grandchildren.

    I feel very lucky today. Yeah, we could have probably gotten $50k+ more for the house if we had sold it recently on the open market, but, hey, it's only money.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    That’s great that you’re free of a piece of real estate. I don’t see anything wrong with giving your child a family discount. I just hope it doesn’t engender discord among his siblings, that They think he screwed over dear old mom and dad.

    every piece of real estate has a range that it goes for on the market and so many factors affect where in the range the sale price falls. As long as you were in the range, that’s fine. We were in the low end of the range for our city house, but we did that for our own convenience just to get out from under it.

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    That’s great that you’re free of a piece of real estate. I don’t see anything wrong with giving your child a family discount. I just hope it doesn’t engender discord among his siblings, that They think he screwed over dear old mom and dad.

    every piece of real estate has a range that it goes for on the market and so many factors affect where in the range the sale price falls. As long as you were in the range, that’s fine. We were in the low end of the range for our city house, but we did that for our own convenience just to get out from under it.
    Yes, the other kids see the Zillow price, but they don't consider a) we didn't have to pay a real estate commission, b) Our son took the property off our hands, acting as his own landlord since 2019. He spent probably $30,000 on needed repairs to the house.. and there are more that should be made, such as updating electrical wiring, which an inspector would have certainly pointed out to anyone else who wanted to buy. c) the additional price of peace of mind by having the mortgage reliably paid every month. If we had done a "Rent to buy" offer, at this point that alone would have been valued at $10k or more.

    Yes, there is also a discount in there, but that's to be expected, and in the end, I have time to see how the future plays out. There is always the terms of a will to play around with.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    Yes, the other kids see the Zillow price, but they don't consider a) we didn't have to pay a real estate commission, b) Our son took the property off our hands, acting as his own landlord since 2019. He spent probably $30,000 on needed repairs to the house.. and there are more that should be made, such as updating electrical wiring, which an inspector would have certainly pointed out to anyone else who wanted to buy. c) the additional price of peace of mind by having the mortgage reliably paid every month. If we had done a "Rent to buy" offer, at this point that alone would have been valued at $10k or more.

    Yes, there is also a discount in there, but that's to be expected, and in the end, I have time to see how the future plays out. There is always the terms of a will to play around with.
    I think that is wonderful. And with the commission and him making repairs and not having to lower the price upon inspection--he may well have paid more than what you would have gotten the other way. And he has been taking care of the house all these years, which is nothing to discount--you would have paid for someone to manage the property.

    I'm glad it is completed --it sounds like the best possible new beginning/continuation for the house as well. Congratulations!

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    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Great news, Catherine. I'm so glad it all worked out!

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    That's wonderful, catherine. Congrats all around!
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

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    Good news!!

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    What good news Catherine and what a relief to have it off your hands!

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