ᐅ Forced sale of a secondary apartment – Is priority possible?

Here is the situation. I own two condominiums in a duplex with an additional basement apartment. The basement apartment belongs to my brother. This basement apartment is now being foreclosed. I have offered to buy the apartment from my brother to avoid the foreclosure, and he agreed, but the other party rejected the offer.

I really want to own this basement apartment as well, so I am the sole owner of the entire building. What is the best way to proceed? Can I talk to the local court to get priority since I already own the rest of the house?

Looking forward to your help.

No ... go to the foreclosure sale and bid. But why did you let it get that far? A lot has to happen before a foreclosure sale takes place, and it takes time.

john2007 schrieb:
Priority

You have priority in the co-ownership based on the highest bid. Unfortunately.

This should have been considered from the start in the condominium owners’ association agreement.

Your brother must have very high debts with a bank that he no longer services. This bank is interested in recovering its money. It can stop the forced sale if you first agree on a price with them. There is no other way. Karsten

john2007 schrieb:
I offered my brother to buy the apartment to prevent a forced auction, he was fine with it but the other party rejected it.

By the other party, you probably mean the bank. Since they refused a private sale and thus stopping the forced auction, you will have to participate in the auction yourself and bid on the apartment – with the risk of facing a bidding war.

We lived in a multi-family house where one of the apartments was subject to a forced auction. Since I was on vacation, I took the opportunity to check it out.

On the day of the auction, there was almost a sightseeing event around the building. Numerous potential buyers were sneaking around, ringing doorbells everywhere, and questioning the residents about the apartment. Ultimately, the apartment was bought by a real estate agent at a price above the estimated value, who was fully aware of the condition and previous renovations.

What I want to say is this: if the bank doesn’t want to sell directly to you (which is unfortunate, as the auction does incur additional costs), I would suggest quickly starting to make the apartment or building look less appealing 😉 This will significantly reduce other buyers’ interest and increase your chances of winning the bid :-) On the auction day, just sit in the courtyard and tell the interested parties a story or two 😉

Any compensation for the lower purchase price you’ll have to negotiate with your brother afterward 😉