Imagine the following case: three brothers inherit the apartment where their deceased father lived. They all accept the inheritance, but two want to use the apartment for rent and the third wants to sell the apartment. If you are in this situation, you will ask yourself:
Can I sell my part of an inherited house?, what happens if the rest of the heirs oppose the sale?, what steps should I follow to sell my house? part? In this post we tell you what can be done in these cases.
Inheriting is not a gift, as is sometimes thought, since taxes must be paid and obligations (mortgages, debts, etc.) derived from the inheritance must be assumed, which can make said inheritance a cost for the heir and the heir may want to sell the property. inherited (especially in the case of real estate). If a flat is inherited by several heirs, an intangible percentage of that flat is received and if the heirs do not agree on what to do with the flat and one of them wants to sell it because he needs the money to meet the expenses of the inheritance , there will be a conflict that must be solved
What options exist if part of a home is inherited?
There are several options if an
heir receives a part of a home and they are the following:
a) Giving up the inheritance.
In this case, if the circumstances of the inheritance are studied and it is seen that the acceptance supposes the payment of high taxes and that the inheritance has many debts, it is possible to opt for the resignation that must be made in a public deed. In said deed, the heir expresses that he does not want to be one.
b) Accept inheritance.
In this case, the inheritance can be accepted for the benefit of inventory. So that it will be the inheritance itself that is responsible for the debts of said inheritance. Or also, accept in a pure and simple way, so that the heirs will receive the assets and will have to face all the debts and obligations of the inheritance. If a part of a house is received and you want to sell it, you can do several things:
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Extinguish the condominium. One option is that the heir who receives a part of the apartment buys the other parts of the apartment from the rest and the condominium is extinguished. To do this, obviously, it is necessary that all the heirs agree. If it is not possible to reach an agreement with the heirs, you can choose to go to mediation in which a third party unrelated to the conflict listens to the parties and helps them reach an agreement.
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Sale of part of the apartment. In this case, the percentage of the floor that corresponds to the heir is sold to a third person. There are numerous companies in the market specialized in buying undivided percentages derived from inheritances or other circumstances. The disadvantage of this option is that in
sale of one part, the price obtained is lower than what would be obtained when the entire apartment is sold and the price is shared. In addition, if it is sold to a stranger, conflicts may arise between the co-heirs and the right of withdrawal regulated in article 1,067 of the Civil Code comes into play, which establishes the following:
If any of the heirs sells their hereditary right to a stranger before the partition, all or any of the co-heirs may subrogate instead of the buyer, reimbursing the purchase price, provided they verify it within one month , counting from the time this is made known to them.
The Catalan Civil Code establishes the following, in relation to the provision of the hereditary quota, in article 463.6:
1. Each co-heir can dispose of his hereditary share.
2. In case of sale or dation in payment in favor of a person who is not a co-heir, the other co-heirsThey can exercise, in proportion to their respective quotas, the rights of first refusal and withdrawal.
3. The rights of first refusal and withdrawal are exercised in the time and manner established by article 552-4.2.
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Demand for division of common property. If the heirs do not agree, another option is for the heir who wants to sell his part of the inherited home to file a common property division procedure. In this case, the judge decides on the sale of the house at a public auction. The disadvantages of this option are that it is a long procedure that can last more than a year and that it has a high cost because the services of a lawyer and a solicitor must be hired, among other professionals. In addition, the final sale price may be below the market price, resulting in a lower return.
Steps to sell my share of an inherited house
If you are going to inherit a part of a flat and want to sell it, you can follow these steps:
Regarding inheritance. You must carry out the following procedures:
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Request and gather all the documentation. Among others, you must request the following documents: death certificate, last will certificate, testament and documents related to the assets of the inheritance (bank account certificates, insurance policies,
deeds of real estate, etc.).
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Accept inheritance . If based on the certificate of acts of last will it is derived that there is a testament. You can request a copy of it and go to the notary with all the documentation to prepare the deed of acceptance of inheritance. If there is no will, the notary will grant a
deed of declaration of heirs, according to the provisions of the law for cases of intestate inheritance. In the latter case, you must prove your relationship with the deceased.
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Pay taxes. On the one hand, you will have to pay the inheritance and donation tax, which may be different in each autonomous community; and, on the other hand, you will have to pay the
municipal capital gains for the property.
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Inscription in the property registry. Next, the deed relating to the inheritance of the apartment must be registered in the property registry. This management can be done by the notary through an agency that deals with the settlement of taxes and registration, in exchange for payment of fees.
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Sale of part of the house. If all the heirs agree, you can
sell the entire home. But if they are not, the heir who wishes can sell the part of it. The heir who sells will have to pay personal income tax for the capital gain obtained and the municipal capital gains if there has been an increase in the value of the property.
In short, you can sell your part in an inherited house. But it is necessary that you know each option and value it with experts in real estate law to help you decide which is the best alternative to avoid conflicts and pay less taxes. An
expert real estate consultancy can help you analyze the options you have. But also to collect all the documentation, mediate between the heirs and find a buyer for all or part of the apartment.
