36-year-old brother refuses to pay property taxes on late father's house he lives in and owns with 38-year-old sister, leading sister to demand he buy out her share: ‘The city could seize the house’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 21, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

As much as you might get along with your siblings, having to share ownership of a property with them is a huge weight on your relationship, no matter what. You have to decide what you do with the house, how to handle all the payments that come with owning it, take care of the house, and do it all in the most civil way possible.

Which is usually an undertaking that can't be done, if the story below is any indication.

When this father left his son and daughter his house, he probably thought he was doing them a huge service, handing them a property like that. But in reality, this house is probably going to be the cause of the end of their relationship. The main reason for that is that the brother now lives at the house, but refuses to pay the property taxes or any of the bills, dropping all of that responsibility on his older sister.

Now, the brother was gifted another house by their mother, and this led to a whole family dispute. Keep scrolling to read the full tale.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10543612928
    via Georgijevic

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    AITAH for wanting my brother to buy me out of my share of the house we both own that he lives in.

    Our dad d d five years ago. My brother (36m) was looking to buy a house with his GF at the time and I suggested that he move in to our childhood home as we both owned it and the mortgage had been paid off.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 03
    I (38F) am married and have my own house with my husband and our two kids. The deal was he was responsible for his bills and the property taxes since he was living there and I have my own house to pay for.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 04
    The problem is that he is not paying the bills. The water company has been sending the water bills to my house because he has not been paying them.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 05
    I don't know the status of the other utilities but I'm assuming they are not being paid either. But the biggest problem is the property taxes.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 06
    He has not paid them in the five years he's lived there. The city could seize the house because of this and we would lose everything.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 07
    This causes me a great deal of stress and I've sent him the forms for getting on a payment plan multiple times but he has not done it.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 08
    I can't apply for the payment plan myself because I don't live in the house, even though we are equal owners. While this situation is less than ideal, I wanted to help my brother out.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 09
    He has a lot of student debt and would have a hard time getting a mortgage on his own.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 10
    Our mother dd last week. (Our parents were divorced) She heavily favored my brother and in her will she left her half million dollar house to solely my brother.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 11
    I of course was hurt by this but it was her decision and I'm not going to do anything to contest it. He's planning on selling Mom's house and using the money to pay off his loans and fix up our dads house.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 12
    I've had enough and want my brother to use some of the money to buy me out of our dad's house.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 13
    It's worth half as much as our mom's house so he would still have plenty of money left over. Plus he has not had to pay any rent/mortgage for the last five years.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 14
    This is another sticking point. Our dad's house is in rough shape and my brother stopped cleaning up after himself and his dog when he and his girlfriend broke up a few years ago.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 15
    It's so bad he won't allow me to come in the house. Like not even to use the bathroom after dropping him off after doing some holiday shopping together.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 16
    Statement Date Account No Due Date Questions about your bill? Monday-Friday 7 am-9pm Saturday 8am-6pm Phone Local Office Address Your Account Summary Amount Due on Previous Statement Payments) Received Since Last Statement Previous Unpaid Balance Current PG&E Electric Delivery Charges EAST BAY COMMUNITY ENERGY Electric Generation Charges Current Gas Charges Total Amount Due by 01/31/2019 3430.54 $0.00 $326.29 142.21 194.24 $662.74 PAST DUE
    via Nicola Barts

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    I'm hesitant to tell him how I feel because I'm worried he will get angry and it will destroy our relationship and he's the only family I have left.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 18
    We originally said that if/when he decided to sell my dads house I would get my share of the money but his plan is to stay there forever and I was ok with that because I felt like I was helping him out.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 19
    But with the latest development with my moms house and his refusal to pay the taxes and the real possibility of losing the house to the city I just want out.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 20
    I worry that I may be seen as vindictive because of the situation with our mother but the biggest issue for me is his refusal to pay taxes.
    via CarolineMcP
  • 21
    coucalicri Force a sale on dad's house. Bro can live in mom's or sell it for smaller house. You won't get much from dad's but it is better than nothing and debts. Edit: also let them cut off the water.
    via coucalicri
  • 22
    Lighthouse_on_Mars You need to get a lawyer and tell your brother that if he doesn't buy you out, you will force the sale of the house.
    via Lighthouse_on_Mars
  • 23
    Available_Bag_6759 This post makes me both mad and sad. Sad because you are reluctant to ruin your relationship with him, the only family you have left but. does he see you as family? Doesn't look like it
    via Available_Bag_6759
  • 24
    Mad because he's taking advantage of you and you let him. Please force a sale. If he really loves you this shouldn't ruin your relationship. If it does, well...
    via Available_Bag_6759
  • 25
    Please break this toxic bond. The love you have for him is not reciprocated YTA if you don't put yourself first for once and please stop enabling this mooch.
    via Available_Bag_6759
  • 26
    aquagurl84 You are so concerned about hurting your brother but he has absolutely no concern about you. Why is that?
    via aquagurl84
  • 27
    50Bullseye If asking your brother to step up and do the right thing would destroy your relationship with him, that relationship is already destroyed.
    via 50Bullseye

  • I can already hear the arguments I am going to have with my siblings about my parents' house, and I do not look forward to it, so my heart goes out to this sister. Nobody wants to come to terms with the reality that their sibling is not good for them…

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Tags

family drama aita kids mother siblings homeowner taxes buying a house reddit story parenting family sister property Reddit money parents children Father selling
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