Brothers will have to agree to sale of old family home

Q. My husband inherited a house with his two brothers and his mother. One brother has been living in the house and paying all expenses and taxes. A few years ago, this same brother worked out a deal with their mother for her to sign her portion of the house over to him.

He is now moving and the house will be put on the market. Does the brother who owns more of the house have greater control over the sale price and a final acceptance of a sale, or is it still equal among the three brothers?

A. Putting the house on the market, accepting an offer and finally selling will require the signatures of all owners. Any one of them could refuse to sign along the way, which might trigger unpleasant and expensive legal procedures.

What happens if the brothers can't agree on price? That depends on family dynamics, and you probably have a better idea than I do. They might want to agree in advance that they'll follow the advice of an experienced broker.

Q. Having read several articles referencing sellers receiving multiple offers on a house and choosing or playing the offers against each other, I wonder how this can happen. When we put our parents' house on the market, the Realtor said in no uncertain terms that he would not/could not tell us if there were other offers coming in or other interested parties. We had to deal with any offer one at a time to completion before they would tell us of any others.

They wouldn't even tell us of other offers if we countered a previous one and hadn't heard back from that potential buyer. So when I hear about bidding wars on hot properties or in a recent newspaper article about a seller choosing the lower of two offers because she apparently felt they would take better care of her garden, I don't understand how she could know of these two offers at the same time and choose. Was our Realtor feeding us a line for a quick sale or what? Thank you for any explanations you can give me.

A. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the agent who lists your property for sale owes you a set of fiduciary duties. These can be summed up as a legal requirement to put your interests first, above the agent's own. Among specific fiduciary duties are the prompt presentation of any written offer, and disclosure of any information that would be in your interest. Timely presentation of all offers is usually required even in the rare instances, allowed in some states, where a listing broker does not take on fiduciary duties.

Until you sign acceptance of a written offer, you are free to deal with any others. It would certainly be in your interest to know of additional ones, whether already signed or in prospect.

Perhaps other factors I don't know about are involved. Judging from what you write, though, I have to wonder if your agent was pushing for acceptance of an offer secured by his or her own office. Other firms may have been trying to submit offers that would have involved sharing of commission.

You could discuss this with your own lawyer, the local Association of Realtors (if your agent is a member), or the state agency that administers real estate licenses.

Q. I have a simple solution for the feral cat problem. It doesn't involve shooting either the cat or the neighbor. I got this advice from a wonderful pet store employee. Take an old pair of nylons, fill it with mothballs (about 15 per string) and place around the area the cat is damaging. This worked for me in protecting a robin's nest and will also repel raccoons.

A. I can't believe how many readers have written in about the cat that's spoiling the arborvitae. We seem to have touched a nerve.

Q, I am unmarried and have been with my life partner for seven years. We live together but the home is only in my name. I want to be sure that if anything were to happen to me, my partner would inherit the home. My partner has good credit and could easily take over the mortgage. What should I do?

A. You could always leave the house to your partner in your will. Depending on family relationships, though, a will can sometimes be challenged.

If you are ready to make your partner co-owner of the property now, you can sign a new deed that turns over title to the two of you. Your names can be listed on that deed in a specific way so that each owns half, and if one dies, the survivor automatically becomes complete owner.

• Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (include a stamped return envelope), or readers may email her through askedith.com.

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