Expat Community > Trinidad & Tobago

psalm23
Joined June
Posts: 0

Siblings in nursing home; highly desirable property deeded to my husband and me. What to do now?

6 months ago

I came to the US from Trinidad in 1974 and have been living in the US since. For personal family reasons, I only went back to TT 4 times in all those years. My sister who is now in a nursing home deeded her mortgage-free property to me. It is in a highly desirable area of San Fernando, in a gated community. My husband and I renovated and updated the property including adding a 3rd bathroom and a new roof. Now, we can only stay in TT for 2-3 months each year. This means that the property will be empty for 9-10 months of the year.

Because my brother and sister are in nursing homes in San Fernando, we plan on visiting TT yearly. We are in a conundrum and need some advice: because the property will be uninhabited for most of the year, (a) should we sell the property and rent a place to stay when we visit, or (b) should we keep the property, rent it as a vacation rental, and have a place to stay whenever we need it?

We don't know if we will one day decide to return to TT to continue our retirement there. The property is in a highly desirable area and after merely talking to a realtor, we are already getting very tempting offers. However, when we checked, we could not find suitable rentals within a reasonable distance to the nursing homes, so even if we sell, what good would it do us if we cannot find a place to rent? We are torn.

I hope the "wisdom of the crowd" will help us gain some insight into what to do. Has anyone else faced such a decision? How did you handle it? (Note: We have no other relatives or family in Trinidad). Thank you so much for responding.

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SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
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SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

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Siblings in nursing home; highly desirable property deeded to my husband and me. What to do now?

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