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ptreyesbunny Asked February 2020

Older sister, with Power of Attorney, wants to rent Alzheimer mom's house out to two of the grandchildren at 50% below market. Can she?

I was primary caregiver for our Alzheimer mother for six years. My siblings were abusive and neglectful to mom and myself. We put mom into a nursing home exactly one year ago today after I gave a month's notice and quit my full time mom and house slave job. The Power of Attorney sister has been dragging her feet fixing up mom's house so it can be rented. They ignored the plumbers warning/advice and let the whole lower floor get flooded with sewage when the broken pipe backed up. Anyway, the place is ready now and Power of Attorney sister has just sent an email out to me and my two other sisters saying that she wants to rent mom's six bedroom, three bathroom single family home in San Francisco out to two of the adult grandchildren for $2500 per month. The house would easily get $5000 per month. Of course, the sisters whose kids they are all for it and were in on the plan. I said no, that the twenty-something kids need to get two other room mates and the house needs to go for market value. Mom's care is $8500 per month. Is this even legal of my Power of Attorney sister to be gifting two of the grandkids low rent while my mom's estate is operating at a loss? Mom is in great shape except for the Alzheimers and could easily live another ten years. These sisters or grandkids almost never go visit unless it's a big FaceBook posing picture day, then they are all over it. Also, I would like to see mom's rental income go to providing her with a personal attendant in the home a few days a week so she isn't sitting there with bed head, black food under her nails, a soaked diaper and food encrusted jumper. This is killing me. I thought I got away from their abuse. One good friend says just leave it alone and walk away completely for my own mental and physical health. He says it's just ego and anger and jealousy that is not letting me see how happy the two grandkids will be. Mom has has eight other grandkids, by the way, and I'm sure eyebrows will be raised once they are old enough to figure out whats going on. Any advice on what to do? Thank you!

gladimhere Feb 2020
Should mom need Medicaid there will be penalties. The reduced rent amount will be considered a gift. Rent has to be market rates.
ptreyesbunny Feb 2020
Got it!
TNtechie Feb 2020
The court questioned my slightly below market rental ($100) during my father's guardianship. The court accepted my explanation (lower rental price retains desirable tenants who don't damage the property and require expensive repairs) but it was still questioned.
ptreyesbunny Feb 2020
Wow!

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JoAnn29 Feb 2020
Is Mom on Medicaid? Because Medicaid determines what rent is received under HUD rules, in NJ anyway. This will be considered Moms income. That and her SS and any pension will be used to offset her care. Medicaid paying the balance. If not on Medicaid now but maybe in the future, then the POA needs to find out the Medicaid rules for renting.
ptreyesbunny Feb 2020
No. Medicaid is not a problem. But, thank you for bringing the possibility to my attention.
GardenArtist Feb 2020
This might be considered self-dealing, since her children will be benefitting and that in turn could benefit her.

I would add to AlvaDeer's advice to get estimates on the rental value from realtors who deal in rentals.   That can establish a benchmark for what your mother's house could be legitimately rented.

The POA documents probably include "market value" somewhere in addressing real estate assets.    The fact that the kids are to be the tenants, plus the fact that the apartment is undervalued, would be primary considerations of self-dealing.
ptreyesbunny Feb 2020
Thank you. I will follow the advice and get a neighborhood realtor to professionally access the value of the house in writing. I also put a call into a lawyer. What a sad situation.

When mom first starting showing concerning signs of memory impairment, I gave up everything and moved in with her. Before moving in, my three sisters assured me that it would be very hard, but they would help. Then, when I moved into my mom's house, and accessed the situation, we had the first family meeting, and they all did a complete about face. I won't get into the details but I was slow to grasp their true intent which turned out to be neglectful to mom, and abusive and controlling to me, the new family slave. The first clue I had about the nature of the abuse was when I found a kind friend to stop by for a few hours between 3pm and 5pm. This was the danger zone when mom might start the disaster cooking before I could get home from work. Two of the sisters lived ten blocks away and passed mom's house twice a day while picking their kids up from school. I had asked if each one could just stop in once a week with the kids for five minutes and distract her with a snack. Or, heaven forbid, take mom down to their house till I could fetch her after work. But, no, they couldn't do that. They were so angry that I even asked. Where were the sweet helpful sisters of a month ago assuring me of how wonderful and cooperative they would be if I'd just move in with mom? Part of me was in disbelief, this can't really be happening. This behavior can't be my sisters. I started to make excuses for them that it must be hard with grammar school kids. But, then, I wasn't asking very much. I was willing to do 90% of the job. Anyway, I was so happy to report to them that I had a friend helping. But, I didn't get the response I expected. Instead, one of them hit the roof with the most bizarre complaints. She wanted to know if this friend was using the toilet? Were they sharing a snack with mom? How many cups of tea did they drink and how many cookies did they eat? I was just shocked. All three of them glared at me demanding answers. My mom is not poor. This free help was not a financial hardship on my mom. (Later, as my mom's Alzheimers progressed, we'd be paying $25 an hour for this kind of help.) And, my mom looked forward to the company. I told them if they don't like my friend there, then why don't they stop by? But, looking back, I realize that my friend helping wasn't the issue. The real issue is was that now there was a person outside of the family who could witness the ongoing systemic abuse that was about to unfold over the years.

I stupidly spent six years doing the job. I took one ten day vacation when my best friend got married out of country. And, I took six weekends off. That's one weekend per year. I had to beg for these. My sister has POA and controls the money. They wouldn't stay with mom so help had to be hired. After six years, I finally snapped and gave them a month's notice. They priced out what it would cost to replace me with everything I was doing and the total was $126,000 a year. That's why they put mom in the nursing home. It didn't take long before they started coming after mom's San Francisco home. And, that's where I am today.

I'm afraid they will probably win in the long run. I can't afford a lengthy legal battle. They will just use Mom's estate money to fight me. Plus, my older sister with the POA is extremely wealthy so this is all some kind of unconscious game to her.

But, I will see what the lawyer says. Price it out. Weigh my options.

Thanks for listening.
Daughterof1930 Feb 2020
You may not be POA but you’re still an advocate for your mom. She needs the money for her care and this is wrong on every level in that it won’t provide for her care in the ways that it could. You’re very correct in standing up to this. Lawyer time, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it

AlvaDeer Feb 2020
I live in San Francisco and our lower unit was just vacated by a tenant there in two bedrooms one bath for 7 years. We are putting in new cabinets. As a consequence of this we are attending weekend open houses on apartments to get an idea of the going price. The house you describe could easily be rented for the full costs of the nursing home. This is not a proper management of property for the benefit of your Mother. That is what a POA MUST do. That is to say, for my brother I MUST attempt to get his money working for him, earning the best rates it can earn while maintaining safety for him.
Take this to a lawyer. A San Francisco Lawyer. This is flat out WRONG. Meanwhile take pictures, attend open houses as we are do (many on Craig's List) Take pictures for the proof.
igloo572 Feb 2020
Awesome advice!

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