Selling an inherited house and splitting the money
A client asked about selling an inherited house and splitting the proceeds among family. I noted there would be people going back on their word, and advised getting everything in writing.
The screenshots were masked before they were posted. Names, avatars and birth details are covered in the originals; where a translated line reads [redacted], the source was covered too and nothing has been guessed.
Zongyuan
Mm, okay.
嗯好
09:02
Client
Zongyuan, I need your guidance on something. 1. After my grandmother passed away, there's an enterprise-owned house we plan to list for sale between late April and early May. It's an old house next to the city government—old, run-down, and large. The property deed was transferred to my name last year (my aunts discussed it together). We'll decide the split ratio after the house is sold. My eldest aunt and third aunt don't get along; there's accumulated resentment from past trivial matters. Except for the current property matter and going back to the hometown for grave relocation during Qingming, they don't communicate normally, they're quite distant. I want to ask when the best time to close the sale is, the estimated selling price, whether the transaction process will go smoothly, whether the subsequent family discussion on splitting the money will go smoothly, and what I should pay attention to.
猫猫老师
有些事，需要您指点
1.
我奶奶去世后，有套企业产目打算4月底5月初挂牌出售，房子位置在市政府傍边，老房子。算老，破，大。
去年已经把房本过户到我名下（姑姑们一起商量的），房产售出后再定钱的分配比例。（我大姑跟三姑不和，过往的琐碎累计的怨气比较多，除了目前房产的事情和清明节回老家迁坟，平时她们没交流，挺生分的）
我想问问这套房产啥时候能成交最合适，预计成交价格，成交过程是否顺利，后续家族内部讨论金额分配是否顺利，我要注意点什么。
Zongyuan
About the house: [redacted] A few points to note: 1. Keep this line in mind: 'Mountain streams rise and fall easily; small-minded people go back on their word easily.' This will run through the entire sale and distribution process. Someone will often go back on their word, changing their mind all the time. You'll see petty behavior, people turning on you. Once you're prepared for this, you won't be too bothered by their backtracking. 2. For your own protection and the family's protection, everything must be in writing (wood as the mediator), with signatures and fingerprints, plus video recordings, audio recordings, or notarization. 3. The sale will happen when water and fire meet. You can consider lowering the price and selling as soon as possible in May. The other window is this winter. Seize these two windows. The sale process will be back-and-forth, and you're likely to meet difficult buyers. If you drag it out to 2027, the price will drop further. The windows will still be summer and winter. 4. The numbers I see for the price are 3, 6, 5—these three are the main ones. Refer to local housing prices for specifics; the numbers could be per square meter or the total price. 5. There will definitely be arguments during the distribution, it's unavoidable. Just split it according to the written agreement.
房子的事情:
[redacted]
几个注意事项:
1 牢记一句话: 易长易退山溪水，易反易复小人心。这句话会穿插在整个卖房的交易和分配之中。有人经常反水，一会一个样子，会看到小人嘴脸，翻脸不认人。心里有底之后，对于这类人的反水也不会太在意。
2 作为你对于自己的保护，也是对于家庭的保护，一切需要有文书（木通关），签字画押，有录像录音或者公证。
3 成交在水火相见的时候，5月就可以考虑尽快降价出，再就是今年的冬季，这两个窗口期抓好，卖房子也反复，也容易遇到比较搞的客户。如果拖到2027年，价格会再往下来，窗口期还是在夏季和冬季。
4 价格上看到的数字是3,6,5，这三个数字为主，具体参看你当地的房价作为参考，数字可以是单价可以是总价。
5 分配必有吵闹，不可避免，按照文书要求分即可。
Client
What you just said about selling the house really feels very accurate to me, I really admire it. Because there are so many conflicts in my family. Besides my eldest and third aunts, there's also my younger uncle's son, my cousin. I didn't grow up with him; his father passed away early, so we didn't have much contact since childhood. And he's quite slippery. Right now, when everyone is discussing the property distribution, the aunts and my cousin are actually forming factions with each other.
您刚才说到卖房子这个我确实觉得您算的特别的这个准，这个我确实很服很服，因为我家里这个矛盾啊，很多啊，大姑三姑除了他们俩呢，还有一个我老伯的儿子。也就算是堂弟了，我跟他没有一起长大，因为他父亲去世的比较早，所以从小跟我们交际不多，而且这个人比较油滑，目前这个大家在分配这个房产的时候儿啊，其实现在。姑姑们，包括堂弟，他们也是互相有拉帮结派的这种事儿。
Zongyuan
If you have expectations, you won't be too shaken by it.
有预期了就不会心里波动太大了
Also, don't get too close to your relatives.
也不要和你亲戚走的太近
Keep records of everything.
万事留痕
It's self-protection when things get messy.
扯皮起来是自我保护
Client
I have no expectations of my aunts at all. I've seen them clearly for a long time—who has good character, who doesn't, who's selfish, who's stubborn. I see that pretty clearly. So over these years, after my father died, I went through a period of disappointment with them and the family, but later I accepted it, that's just normal human nature. What you just said about the house—
我对我的姑姑们完全没有期待。早就看的很明白，谁的人品行，谁的人品不行，谁比较自私，谁的那个比较顽固。就是这个看的确比较清楚。所以这些年我对他们对家里人吧，在我父亲死后，我对他们也开始有一段失望，但是后来也很接受，这也是一种人性正常的表达。您刚才说的那个房
So about the three numbers 3, 6, 5 you mentioned—can it sell for over 3 million, or is it only around 1.95 million? 1.65 million would be too low. I don't have a clear idea of the number right now.
所以您提到的365这这三个数字能能卖
到300多万，还是只是100多万195。
是165，165就太低了，目前我对这个
这个数字的概念还不是特别的清晰。
The reason I came to ask you specifically today is that a while ago, the government rolled out some plans to renovate old urban areas. That house happens to be right next to the city government. About seven or eight years ago, the city government once wanted to demolish that area of houses. But at the time, probably because the cost was too high—housing prices were 30,000 per square meter back then—they couldn't push the demolition through. Because the city government also needs to expand. So the matter was put on hold, and then housing prices kept going down. I—
今天特地来问您是为什么呢？因为前
一段时间国家不是推出了一些计划，
改造这个老旧的一个城区什么的，他
的那套房子啊，就是恰好在市政府旁
边儿。大概很多年以前，大概七八年
以前，市政府曾经想过要拆迁他们那
片儿房子。但是由于当时呢，可能是
这个成本太高了啊，当时房价得三万
一平，所以就没拆的动。因为市政府
也要扩建。所以这事儿就被搁置下来，
然后后来这房价就一路一路下滑。我
Zongyuan
What's the market price of this house?
这房子市场价多少
Client
If the house had full property rights, it could sell for nearly 3 million. But right now it's enterprise-owned. And over these years, there's no historical data to reference. There don't seem to be any sale records for houses in this community. Last winter and autumn, they listed it. The agent told them the house would only sell for about 2 million. They listed it at 2.09 million on the agency's platform, but no one came to view it. Then they took the listing down. They took it down in March this year, and thought they'd wait a bit, then let—
这房子呀，它本身如果是有产权的话，
这房子能卖到将近300万，但是现在房
子它是一个企业产。而且这些年呢，
也没有这个历史数据可以参考。这个
小区的房子好像也没有什么买卖的记
录。之前去年冬天秋天的时候，他们
挂牌儿。中介告诉他们，你这房子也
就卖个200万。他们当时在中介上挂了
个209万，但是一直没有人来看房。后
来呢，他们就把这个挂单给撤了。撤
了呢，然后3月份撤，今年3月份撤的，
然后就想着说等过一过我让。
Wait a bit, then ask the agent I know to help list it, and ask about the actual price then. Because the people who are likely to go back on their word right now—I don't know if you can see in the divination if it's one person or two. Right now I think one is my third aunt, who's likely to backtrack and is hard to deal with. The other is my cousin. My third aunt and my cousin are on the same side. So back then they listed it at 2.09 million, but there were no inquiries.
等过一过呢，让我认识的这个中介呢，
来帮忙挂个单，到时候儿再问问这个
价格到底是多少。因为当时是可以说
比较容易反水的人，就是我，我不知
道您在卦里能看到容易反水的是一个
人还是两个人。目前我觉得，一个是
我这三姑容易反水，她比较难缠。另
外一个就是我那个堂弟，我三姑跟堂
弟是一波儿的啊，所以当时他们就挂
挂209，但是也无人问津。
Zongyuan
I think 1.65 million is closer. Or something starting with 1 and ending with 6, or starting with 1 and ending with 3.
165我觉得比较接近，再就是1×6或者1×3
For example, start at 1.96 million and go down from there.
比如先从196开始往下降吧
Client
Okay, I get it. During the distribution process—after the money is received, during the distribution—I'll prepare the written documents, and have everyone sign a document. Because back then, when they transferred it to my name, they actually had me sign a document too—we all signed it. The document said that I promise the property is only temporarily under my name, it doesn't belong to me personally. After the house is sold, the money will be split among everyone. So they did have me sign one back then. I'm thinking, during the distribution, we should definitely have everyone sign one too.
行，那我知道了，我会在分配的环节
当中，就是钱到手之后，分配的环境
环分配的这个环境当中吧，就是做好
这个文书，得让大家签一个文书，因
为当时。他们过户到我名下，其实也
让我签了一个文书啊，我们大家都签
字儿了啊。那文书上的意思就是这个
东西，我承诺这个东西只是暂时过到
我名下，不代表归我个人所有啊，带
这个。这个这个东西卖出去之后，房
子再大家分钱，所以当时他们确实让
我签了一个。我在想，确实在分配的
时候也应该让他们大家都签一。