Help! This house is a millstone round my neck.

It’s good to vent sometimes CoolMaximus and I’m sorry for your troubles.

You want out and I don’t blame you.
Cut your losses to make it happen asap. I would.

Dismantle the shed.
Sell the boat.
See a solicitor.
Then an estate agent.

Is my advice for what it’s with.
It’s what I would do anyway.

The meddlesome mother who is also the Director of the Management Company sounds a right piece of work.

Take the wind out of her sails and crack on. Be determined that you are doing everything you possibly can to facilitate a sale of this White Elephant and get your money back in a bank.

Good luck!

The first thing I would do is get onto the solicitor who managed the purchase (and presumably holds the deeds). They should be able to tell you what's what, in my experience.

What a predicament. I agree with FGT.
cut your losses and make it happen. You’ll feel so much better when that weight has been lifted. Good luck.

I agree. Get out of it. Everything has a price and money is only form of currency. Peace of mind, freedom, no more hassle..it's all worth paying.

Good luck x

The shed was put up by DH after we bought the house. We have the plans which are never very precise re boundaries, but to all intents and purposes the shed is our side of the boundary- there is a demarcation line down the drive, but no fence.
We have a solicitor and estate agent, though I don’t know much about how to go about selling a boat. I’m doing my best to get out of it all but it looks to me as if she’s trying to jeopardise our potential sale.

Safer to dismantle the shed and have it removed so there can be no protracted legal goings ons.
Try and sell the boat through the nearest Irish boatyard?

Sorry, I know this is serious CoolMaximus but yearsxago I read “One of the happiest days of your life is when you buy a boat - only bested by the day you sell it!” 😁

The first thing I would do would be to get in touch with the solicitor who dealt with the purchase of the house as you need to be sure about the shed before you go ahead with any sale of the house.

I would ignore what the mother is saying as she is probably trying to find a way to negotiate on the selling price.

I know what it is like owing a HH but our management co. were very good and always made sure that the house was ready to let at any time. Cost a lot of money when anything did go wrong and we never made a penny out of the lets but we did have lots of wonderful holidays there.

See your solicitor that’s my advise and don’t listen to the mother. I’m sorry you had to sell your dream home.

You could phone the local sailing club for advise on selling the boat.

Will your husband sell?
You say it is in his name.
Do you have financial Power of Attorney set up, in view of his cognitive impairment?

She's trying to force the price down, surely?

Thats why the FGT's plan is so effective. No shed, no boat, undercuts her plan.

If the NI property is in DH's name, only he can sell it.

If he loses mental capacity, (and it sounds as if he's on the way) he'd be unfit to instruct a solicitor. estate agent or sign a conveyance to sell the NI property. You and he should urgently consider LPOA (with you appointed as the attorney).

The shed's history is irrelevent. Just get rid of it , which is fast and easy to do . When it no longer exists nobody can use it to jeopardise a sale.

Thanks all, I do have LPOA but thankfully he is nowhere near losing capacity and is happy to sell, also happy for me to try to sort everything. If it comes to it we will dismantle the shed, but not an easy fix, and from what I can tell from the plans it is on our side of the boundary anyway. I think this woman is just trying to put the kibosh on our potential sale so her daughter can ultimately get it.

You need written confirmation from the relevant authority for her and any future buyer, that the shed is within your boundary CoolMaximus.

As you say, were this an issue it would have been brought to your attention when the property next door was sold. In your position I would instruct the estate agent to continue to market the property as being for sale, which it is.

Won't the LPS have the registration given that you bought relatively recently?
That would show the boundaries.

But...
he keeps repeating that she gave him permission to put up the shed.

If he needed permission I'd assume it was likely not your land.

FGT Fabulous and sensible advice.

Selling boats in my years of owning them is in my experience not easy. Takes forever and amounts to get what you can not what you feel it’s worth. Get that on the market asap as well as the house so you feel you are heading in the right direction.

I agree, FGT'S advice is spot on. Try and get the estate agent to get a move on. At least if the shed boundary becomes a problem, it is easily removed. If it wasn't the shed, another problem would have been found to lower the price.

It depends what type of boat it is. It may well just be a sailing dinghy, in which case putting it on ebay may be good way to start the selling process. There are also sailing clubs that are run as charity to help disabled people, you could give it to them.

If it is bigger, a day boat or cruiser. Find a boat broker and get them to sell it for you.

As for the house if all else fils you could sell it at auction.

It is indeed good to vent- and allowed! I agree with FriedGreenTomatoes2's excellent advice.

Start with getting the shed dismantled and removed, not worth the hassle of establishing boundaries with a solicitor. Appoint estate agent to get the property marketed asap and a solicitor to act for the sale and any associated matters.

Your life and circumstances in the context of your husband's diagnosis has shifted and this property represents past hopes and dreams but now presents with problems and stress. The priority now is to manage the present and mitigate risks for the future for both you and your husband as individuals and as a couple.

I would suggest a gentle conversation with DH about his cognitive decline and its possible pattern of deterioration. The pace of deterioration cannot be known but that cognitive decline will worsen over time over time you accept is possible so that presents opportunity to plan together. Securing Power of Attorney for both Health and Welfare and also Property and Financial matters, if not already in place, is sensible.

Establish a good partnership with the hospital team who diagnosed your DH's mild cognitive decline and your GP. Then at the earliest opportunity, if dementia ensues you can discuss the possibility of medication to slow cognitive decline- e.g Mementine. Meanwhile monitoring your husband's Blood Pressure and general health with an aim to maintain within normal limits (with good nutrition and hydration) could lower the risk of reduced blood flow to the brain and lower the risk of Vascular Dementia.

It's vital to look after your own health and wellbeing also- reducing stress, maintaining social contacts and removing all obstacles and problems that may adversely affect you.

Take care CoolMaximus and Good Luck 💐

A lot of good advice on here for you. You say your DH keeps saying 'she gave me permission' meaning the lady who is part of the Management Committee. I cannot see that she could give permission for your husband to build a shed on someone else's property which is what she is claiming. It sound like the whole development is managed by this Committee so perhaps that Committee has to give permission to residents if they want an extra out-building erected on their own property-eg does it affect general view/fit in with surroundings. It doesn't mean it was on someone else's property. I assume the development has a website. I'd look it up to see if there is anything about erecting sheds etc on your property. There is usually a section giving the terms and conditions. If you have a property number specific to your DH it can usually be used to register and sometimes gives more detailed information. Did the local authority have to approve the shed? If so there may be more information there to establish boundary lines. If all else fails just pulling it down is a simple solution. A couple of guys can do it in an afternoon. Make sure your solicitor is independent of the Committee.

Yes, perhaps that Committee has to give permission to residents if they want an extra out-building erected on their own property - I was wondering that too.
Didn't think about it yesterday.

I’m sorry you’re going through this stress. There are obviously some rules about selling on a maintained holiday complex. Did your husband do all the negotiating when you bought it? I would try to look at the lease agreement at the time you purchased it. I agree that the woman is trying to make things difficult for you. Remove the shed, maybe someone would want it and be willing to dismantle it.
As regards the sailing dinghy, you don’t mention what type it is. When we sold our Enterprise it was through their club web site. There are several dedicated selling sites and you might find someone wanting that type.
Good luck.

If you struggle with getting rid of the shed (and have decided to do it) your local allotment society will no doubt jump at the chance!