Three Down One To Go
I am trying to buy a tract of land that is owned by four bothers/sisters who each inherited an equal share. Three of the siblings have agreed to my price and my terms. The oldest refuses to sell and is being unreasonable and unfair about any partition. I have only been able to talk to one of the siblings and have been unable to arrange a meeting with all four. The three that want to sell refuse to force any legal action against their older brother. They say that it is a family matter which they will resolve among themselves. I have tried to create a sense of urgancy to no avail.
What can I do? Any ideas? I am afraid to go to the oldest directly because if I do I may lose the other three. How can I get this deal done?
Well there are a lot of options, believe it or not. Tell me more about your plans for the land. If the family said, "we won't sell but we will joint venture" would that be interesting to you? What kind of numbers are we talking abou here? How "sewed up" are the other three?
One choice among many: Buy each siblings piece seperately now you own an undivided 3/4 and you have considerable leverage on the 4th sibling to stop "wasting" the joint asset. Then you can either go to court or drag the other person along as a reluctant minority partner.
pspiers,
What's going on in this situation may have nothing to do with the property.
You indicate that you haven't been able to have a meeting with all 4 siblings. Is it possible to have a meeting with the 3 siblings who apparently want to sell to you or at least speak with the other 2 willing siblings? I assume the one you're dealing with won't tell you why the oldest doesn't want to sell.
So far, none of the "willing" siblings has clued you in on why the oldest doesn't want to sell. That's the big part of the puzzle. I would proceed cautiously here. I understand your frustration. However, it may be that there's nothing you can do other than trying to have a meeting with the 3 or asking why the 4th doesn't want to sell--perhaps to any buyer.