All Forum Posts by: Vickie Bruce

No ma'am we did not.  I tried to get her to but she has stalled on it.

My sister and I have 20 acres in Poolville, TX.  The property was bought by my parents in the 80's and put in our names then.  I have since had a home built on the 20 acres next to my parents house and have lived there for the past 28 years.  My parents have passed away and now my sister wants her half of the property sold.  Since my parents passed, she and I had the property surveyed and replatted to show 50/50. We have each been receiving income on our 50% of the surveyed property and each have paid our half of the taxes.  Now my sister feels like it is not a fair split and wants to have an appraisal on all the land and sell so that she can have 1/2 the value of the property.  My question is if I am taken to court can I be made to sell my home that I have paid taxes on in order to satisfy my sisters want for half the cash value of all of the property?

They have 13 months left to pay.

They have 13 months left to pay.

Im not certain how to make a purchaser follow the sales contract on property that I am selling to them.  The real estate attorney who drew up the contract for the sale included that the buyer had to acquire insurance on the property and keep it until the final payment was made.  It has been over a year now and the purchaer ignores my request for the proof of insurance.  The attorney was very expensive while drawing up the contract and purchaser continued to question if I was the owner, therefore affidavits of heirship had to be provided which cost even more.  The attorney who drew up the contract said he would write them a threatening letter for 300.00 asking for the proof of insurance, but if they continue to ignore the request I will be out even more legal fees.  Do I just let it go and stop asking them to follow the contract?  I am afraid I may be liable if something happens and the property is not insured. Any advice would be appreciated?

My lease said no pets without a signed addendum but he never signed an addendum.

I'm sorry I forgot to include that my mom had no will.

Back in December of 2016 I made a huge mistake and rented to 2 young men who worked in the oil field.  I thought it would be great because they would be gone 1/2 the time.  Soon after they moved in they backed over a gas line and left the property without telling anyone what they did.  We had to call gas company to shut down gas and repair.  Next they tampered with the hot water heater and burned it up.  Next they brought in a dog without asking.  These renters were hell.  One night they were doing donuts in our hay field.  I approached them about the dog and said they would have to have a seperate pet addendum to have the dog and pay a pet deposit.  In their lease it stated that but they never paid any attention to the lease.  After nearly being evicted because they would not pay, one of the tenants brought over 300.00 for the deposit but never even asked about the addendum to sign.  I didnt think it was important since they did pay.  Next they brought in horses and made use of our barn which we told them no to.  Finally I had enough and told them we were renovating and they had to move.  They left a mess. Half painted cabinets and wall and doors.  Never had trash pick up and was all left in garage from 1 year.  They left and never returned keys.  It was a nightmare but I was happy for them to be gone.  3 months later they are asking for the first time their 300.00 pet deposit back.  Do I owe it to them?

This seems like a tricky situation.  Back in the 80's my parents purchased 20 acres in Poolville, Tx.  When it was paid for they had the property put in mine and my sisters name.  At the time my sister and I were minors.  I suppose my parents did this for tax reasons but I am uncertain as to why.  My parents paid the taxes on the property and it was only in name that my sister and I were owners. In 2011 my dad passed away and my mom was having a hard time financially. As we discovered recently, since my moms passing in 2016, she had forged mine and my sisters names on documents to put the 1 acre of property that her house sits on into her name. We believe she did this to freeze her property tax payments and get the over 65 deduction.  Now that my mom has passed, my sister and I have had the property surveyed and are now paying for 50% each of the property taxes.  My problem is that my moms house sits on my 50% of the property, in her name and the taxes on that 1 acre is nearly 3 times what the rest of my portion costs.  She gets no deductions since she is deceased.  My question is how do I go about getting the house back into my name so I can claim ag or homestead exemption on it?  Do I need to prove that mine and my sisters names were forged?  I cant keep paying these expensive taxes with no exemptions.  Please help if you can.

First, I would like to thank everyone for their input on my discussion.  This site has been a tremendous help to me as a new landlord.  I inherited this property, since my parents passed away, and it was my dads legacy to his children therefore, I could never sell. He always said, "the price of land will never go down, only up."  He has 2 daughters and told us, "I never want my girls to have to put up with a man to have a roof over their head."  So now I have 5.  

These tenants that moved out on November 30th could not return their keys because they stated that they lost them. They had their utilities turned off and took anything of necessity with them. I have been in contact with them several times and they say they are busy but will get to it.  They ran out of room in vehicles when moving out.  They left bags and bags of garbage and trash and what was left was a bed frame they made out of pallets, old clothes and junk in my opinion. One of them already came back to get some fence panels left behind.  And everything that was left was moved into the garage by them before leaving.  My concern is that the new tenants living there should not have to wonder when or if someone is coming to their rental to pick up left items and if they do come, they may possibly take more than what is theirs. We live in far rural area and at times none of the new tenants are at home. This create an uneasy feeling for all of us.  Therefore, I just want to put an end to having to worry when or if they may show up again for things.

If this puts a new light on things, I would appreciate your input.  Thank you so much.

Vickie Bruce