Once upon a time, my father had this dream of building two houses side by side for my brother and I. My father thought it would be great if he could spend his old age watching his grandchildren play, pampering them (I bet) and just, you know, enjoy them. That was how he grew up, after all. His parents had this large compound and when my father got married, he built a house next to theirs so that we grew up with out grandparents next door.
Unfortunately, my father died shortly after I gave birth to Alex. He didn’t even live long enough to see any of my brother’s three sons, and never had the chance to know that my brother’s second child was named after his grandfather and great-grandfather.
But before he died, he started the process of acquiring the properties adjacent to my grandmother’s house which were then owned by two of my grandmother’s siblings. There were “agreements in principle”, the purchase price had been agreed upon, but nothing had been signed by the time my father died. Now, here’s the thing. With my father dead, his cousins, the sons and daughters of the original owners of the those two lots, changed their tunes about the purchase price.
Let me illustrate. Lot A was owned by Grandmother’s Sibling 1 who had three children. Lot B was owned by Grandmother’s Sibling 2 who had seven children. The lots were of the same size and the assessed value was the same. BUT, according to the seven children of Grandmother’s Sibling 2, my brother and I would have to pay more for their property, Lot B, because there were seven of them to divide the proceeds among themselves; whereas, there were only three to share in the proceeds from Lot A. In short, all SEVEN of them should each get a share equal to the share of each of the THREE cousins that owned Lot A. By the time we moved to the suburb, we had bought Lot A, for a fair price, but negotiations for Lot B were still ongoing.
Duh, I thought. The reasoning of those seven cousins. If that’s not called stupidity, what is. But then again, was it really a case of simplistic reasoning? You know, some people don’t know much about real estate prices and their only consideration is how much they can get and they end up quoting unrealistic — fantastic — prices way beyond the market value. But these were not uneducated people. These were professionals with Master’s degrees and PhDs.
So, what was their game? None of them planned on building on the property. In fact, both Lots A and B had been vacant for years. But they knew we wanted the properties to consolidate the titles and assure our security (no outsiders living within the compound). My response was screw them, we’re moving. And we did. We could all wait forever. And since they would never be able to sell that property to outsiders for a good price, who’s the loser?
Sometimes, you get too greedy and end up getting nothing.
UPDATE on April 19, 2008 @ 9.50 a.m.
My brother says we already bought both lots.
Heh, not very different from the story of the dog with the bone, eh?
Yeah, well, they thought they could pass off a wishbone for a crispy pata bone.
Really, when it comes to money, all bets are off. Families, friendships, partnerships have been destroyed because of it. Greed transends all.
I agree with Honey. When talk turns to money talk..walang pami-pamilya. We are in a similar situation at this very moment. It’s really very disappointing because the people involved are the very same people that my late Father helped in the most generous of ways.
Sana naman your cousins realize the kind of havoc they are creating. Kung hindi, tama ka…screw them
wow, bagong real estate industry practice ba ang inintroduce nila– Selling per head instead of per square meter? Paano na lang kung mas marami pa sila sa seven?
I admire people with Master’s degree and PhD’s, but sometimes they don’t use their common sense … if they have one.
Do an adverse possession on lot B.
I can see my own family in this scenario. Sigh! Kalungkot isipin. There will always be at least one sibling who’ll end up being ‘suwapang’.
The 7 siblings of Lot B just don’t want you to have ownership of both Lots A and B and hence are preventing you to buy by jacking up the price of Lot B. I am guessing here of course. They lose but you also lose in terms of not being able to acquire Lot B and fulfil your dreams.
However, since you already own Lot A, there are a number of ways in which this situation will play out. The 7 siblings, or some of them at least, will eventually realise that, unless they sell Lot B, none of them will gain. Besides, there are 7 siblings here involved and some sort of redistribution must happen sooner or later. So I am guessing that their next moves would be as follows:
Either the 7 siblings (1) sell Lot B to other people at a “good price” which may be a lower price than what they offered you (simply because they may not or do not want you to have Lot B); OR (2) they will offer you Lot B at a fair price as they become desperate for a sale. Scenario 2 will happen if they find no interested outside buyer.
I would not lose hope yet. Their current position is not sustainable; something and someone will have to give in sooner or later. If Scenario (1) happens, then you may take the position that it is better to sell Lot A as well to the new owners of Lot B or to another party, and maybe so at a profit. If Scenario (2) happens, well and good. That’s what you wanted in the first place.
This is sad. I think family squabble is common especially if it involves land. My aunt offered to sell her farm (her share of inheritance from their parents) to my Mom. My Mom bought it so it won’t be sold to people not related to us. The problem started after my Mom died. My aunt approached us claiming my Mom “verbally” promised her another extra amount besides the price of the purchase as a guarantee not to sell the land to others. We paid her just to avoid further argument. My only question is “Why did she wait until my Mom died before stating her claim”?
Lately her children informed us she’s suffering from lung cancer. I no longer talk to her.
Connie/ Blogus Vox These people are the typical type of people whose mathematical ability are limited only to multiplication and addition, sadly they are even your close relatives.
Correct me if I’m wrong Ms. Connie, but I’m absolutely sure of one thing: these seven wily cousins of yours are definitely not included in your Christmas guest list.
Me kagandahan naman pala ang walang masyadong properties no? Walang pag-aagawan. I had been thinking before, how much space does a man need? Hindi pa ba sapat yung meron kang sala, tulugan, kainan, pahingahan at kung talagang sinuswerte e, your own private place which is so sacred you won’t be disturbed?
ormocanon, you certainly got that right hahahaha
Tito Rolly, I agree, but I do find that the proper setup to make sure that the sala-tulugan-kainan-pahingahan stays secure.
Kinda tacky washing the dirty linen in public, donchathink? Even if what you say is true … but to write about your cousins in a blog? That’s real tacky. No class at all, hehehe.
Hey UberDuper, oh really? Well, not that I care about what shitheads like you think, if anyone can call your comments the product of thinking. So, stuff it up your ass.
Ms. Connie,
I can so relate. Everytime someone asks for legal advice and I would forewarn him/her about what the relatives might do if they don’t secure the property with the proper documents, guess what is the usual answer–”hindi naman siguro kami lolokohin kasi kamag-anak.” yeah right.
Yay, and Supreme COurt decisions are a-plenty about such cases.