As a single person, 29 years old, existing land, build without equity?

Hello everyone

I have a few questions regarding the financing of a house. My father lives together with my grandma on a farm that also still belongs to my grandma, as far as I know the farm has not yet been transferred. I grew up on this farm and when my parents separated I moved away with my mother and my sister. But I still have good contact with my father and I often help him when I have time. Of course, I am now at an age where you increasingly think about owning a home. When I was 23, my father had already asked me how things were going but back then I was not ready yet. My father is now in his mid-50s, still works and also does the farming on the side. As mentioned, the farm does not yet belong to my father on paper, and what also adds to this is that he has 2 brothers (who each already own a home). My godfather has also already approached me about how things are looking, that one should soon start thinking about what to do with the property and he told me that I should try to get everyone to the table to talk about it.

So since I still feel very much at home on the farm, I could imagine building there as well. Only, on the one hand, I have concerns because unfortunately I cannot demonstrate any equity. On the other hand, I think everything should first be settled one generation ahead of me. Because if I build there, I have to pay out the others. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about all this and have only been dealing with it for a short time. My worry is also about inheritance, that people fall out with each other and I definitely don’t want that. How do I best approach the whole matter. HELP :)

Hello,

...How do I best approach the whole thing.

By first sitting down with all parties involved and asking about their ideas regarding the succession of the inheritance.

Then you visit a notary you trust and explain the situation to him and subsequently inquire about the consequences of the joint discussion with the family; ideally, the entire family participates in this conversation. Afterwards, you should have a pretty good idea of "how things might go" :D

Best regards

What you would need to clarify for yourself is whether you want/can live there. Are you working in agriculture? If not, can you do your job from there? A farm usually has several buildings that also need to be maintained. Are you even financially able to do that?

Once you have clarified these questions, you should sit down with your father and your grandma and talk about the subject.
If you somehow reach an agreement about whether this is even possible, only then would I sit down with your father’s siblings.

Since the siblings both have houses and therefore do not need the farm, neither will be upset if the farm is taken over somehow and they still get something out of it. One has already approached you.
I think they will also accept that you will not necessarily pay/can pay the market price for the property.
Your grandma will also be happy if someone takes the decision away from her and she knows the farm is in good hands.

There are different options for how it all could proceed.

One option for you might be, for example, to buy part of the farm (an unused outbuilding) and renovate it for yourself.
The financial burden would initially be lower. In step 2, you could take over the rest of the farm in a few years.

If you want to take over the entire farm from your grandma right away, for example she could be granted a lifelong right of residence. Then the farm itself is not worth that much and you wouldn’t have to pay your grandma as much. She would then pass the money on to the 3 siblings. In this option, the siblings could only have an issue with the purchase price.

If on the other hand your grandma transfers the farm to her 3 children (gift), and you buy the farm from the 3 siblings,
then you would have to pay out your father’s siblings and your father. With your father, you could in turn agree on a lifelong right of residence and thus reduce your financial burden.

In any case, I would definitely get in touch with a tax advisor/lawyer here to explore the best possible option.

One more tip
Since I have seen this in close family, I wouldn’t invest my money in something that doesn’t belong to me.

I just saw that you want to build there yourself and not expand. Then my answer is only conditionally helpful.

So step 1, everyone sit down together and clarify things regarding the inheritance.

Step 2, go to a tax advisor. Possibly regarding farm transfer, business assets, etc. There are many tax traps lurking...

ok Thanks again for the answers. Yes, I am aware that we should sit down together at the table. What makes me uneasy or rather I am afraid of is 1. getting deeply into debt and 2. getting into arguments with my family about money. The farm still belongs to my grandmother. My godfather once approached me, and in that conversation it was implied to me that building there and then not paying anything out is not possible, which I also understand, I just don’t want to claim anything for myself alone. We kind of talked about it because it is simply time for something to happen there. He also said something like the best thing would be to skip a generation and have it transferred directly to me... I personally think it is just something that first needs to be settled with the generation before me. My mother is against it because she doesn’t want me to get into financial trouble because of it. It all seems complicated. It should also be mentioned that the parties had already tried to sit down at a table once but nothing came of it. My father is also not my grandmother’s biological child (his mother died at birth and my grandfather remarried early, and from this marriage with my current grandmother the two brothers were born). For me, it’s all a bit unclear. My father is also not the kind of man with many words and sometimes I have the feeling he himself doesn’t really know what is supposed to happen. We once talked about it but nothing concrete has happened yet and I only said that if he wants to build new (the current house is ancient and should actually be torn down, very bad condition) I would support him but only when everything is clear. I know for myself that if I were to build I could well imagine living there. I would be willing to spend the rest of my life there but I’m just not that into agriculture. I help him wherever and whenever I can and would help him as long as he can but it is clear to me that with agriculture it will eventually be over for me... I am a nurse and work in shift work. My salary, well, there are worse in the field. It amounts to 1800-1900 euros net with 100%. But I just can’t imagine going into the forest, cutting wood or cleaning the stables before the early shift...