patrick.net

what would I do?

first of all considering I lived outside the USA I certainly would not ask the Hip and Beautiful of the Bay Area for any advice at all, unless it's for contrarian information.

what should you do?

Figure out your core values, what you think you'd want to "answer for" when your time on this earth is over, that will guide you to your path.

thanks for replying sybrib.

>> its worth a lot..it’s in a very good location. many people want it.. but so far no one can afford to pay up all the bills on it and to pay to have it put in there name

This sounds as another way of saying "my family 'owns' it but there is no equity left". Correct?

Sybrib is right, dont rely on people here for information in another country. It sounds like the core of your problem is cultural more than anything else. The land is probably worth it (it probably has a lien on it, which doesn't exceed the value of the land, but exceeds the amount others in your family have available to them). They might not be able to get loans and/or be in a position to buy and flip it, which is what justme was probably thinking. If it had equity, someone would have flipped it.

You have to find answers for yourself on this one. Key questions:
1) Will others in the family resent you? Will they disown you? Will you be okay with this in the end?
2) Will others in the family expect something from you? Eg rights to the land, money, free rent, etc? Some cultures, this is just expected. To share the wealth, and if you've got a valueable piece of property that you managed to clear the lien on, they could expect something from you.
3) Will anyone else legally be able to come after the land, once you've cleared the title?
4) Can you afford the property once you own it? Can you pay taxes, maintenance, repairs, etc?

Losing a bidding war is common, happens to everybody. Don't feel bad about it. You will win someday when you find the property that is meant to be yours.

I think you have to figure out few things first before you go from there.

- What the hell makes you want the property so much?
- What's up with the property?

You must have a reason why you want it. Make sure your reason is not based on something solely on your reasoning. Sometimes, it's not going to work in that way. And if such a good property is remained untouched, there must be a reason too. Check that out. You must be thoughtful about whole issue, because family asset is not yours till it actually become yours.

Then, study local norms/rules and raise your funds, so that you can be prepared when it comes to you to play.

Thanks, pkennedy. That's what I meant.

Is it worth losing your family over? Laws are a secondary issue. You should do what you can live with.

thank you all a lot for the advice and comments. You'll are right family is worth more than land..(they won't hate the person who claims it.. but people will be hurt by it as everyone feels entitled to it).

I will just wait on another opportunity to come my way.. once again.

thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

There are a couple of reasons to try and keep the family land.

If it still has equity - meaning that what you have to pay to get it put in your name is LESS than the what you would pay someone else for the same land, then it might be worth perusing.

It depends on how many people are involved here as well. If you are 1 of 150 siblings (like a great great grand child) it might cause problems. Especially if there is a lot of equity in the land. But if there are only a handful of siblings, you could talk to everyone and see if they are ok with you doing it. Tell them why you want the land, what you plan on doing with it, etc. If you plan to fix it up and sell it for a great profit, they will likely be mad. If you're just going to live in it, and keep it as a home, many people might be okay with that. It would probably be better to keep the land in the family name, than to lose it. It all depends on how diplomatic about it you are.

I'm guessing that there are fees and penalties being added to the land. The longer someone waits to pay off the liens, the harder it will get. Eventually the fees will far outweigh the value of the land, and no one will be able to claim it.

And finally, if you win every time you bid on something -- you're bidding too much.

sybrib says

what would I do?
first of all considering I lived outside the USA I certainly would not ask the Hip and Beautiful of the Bay Area for any advice at all, unless it’s for contrarian information.
what should you do?
Figure out your core values, what you think you’d want to “answer for” when your time on this earth is over, that will guide you to your path.

Perfect and perfectly put.

My advice?

Buy the biggest and most expensive home in the nicest area you can find with zero down, with a liar loan stating you earn more than 3 times your current salary. Then pull as much as you can out of the home, buy a car/boat/toys/vacations with the cash. Then whine to the government and the banks that you really can't afford the home, and get them to reduce your interest rate, payments, and maybe even the principle of your loan! Tell them you will walk away (with your new car/boat/toys/cabinets/fixtures/furniture of course!) if they don't now let you keep your home for the NEW fair market value (ten if not hundreds of thousands less than you spent and owe) and a payment you can afford (on your REAL income of course!)

Tude says

My advice?
Buy the biggest and most expensive home in the nicest area you can find with zero down, with a liar loan stating you earn more than 3 times your current salary. Then pull as much as you can out of the home, buy a car/boat/toys/vacations with the cash. Then whine to the government and the banks that you really can’t afford the home, and get them to reduce your interest rate, payments, and maybe even the principle of your loan! Tell them you will walk away (with your new car/boat/toys/cabinets/fixtures/furniture of course!) if they don’t now let you keep your home for the NEW fair market value (ten if not hundreds of thousands less than you spent and owe) and a payment you can afford (on your REAL income of course!)

ONLY in America. :)

jales is living in another country, so doing this could mean putting a noose arround his neck.