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Host/Advertiser
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Caller/Megan
I have a very odd question. Basically, am I wrong for wanting to kick out a family member out of a house for my own benefit? And I know how that sounds.
Advisor/Jade
I mean, we need to know more. Yeah. Yeah.
Host/Advertiser
Okay, what can you tell us?
Caller/Megan
I'm going to try and make this really streamlined. It's a very complicated situation. So my dad died like 15 years ago, and my mother recently passed away and she has a rental property. Okay. My cousins live in the rental property. It's just. It's just her and her husband and they were basically talking about how they were not going to stay there. They wanted to leave. And that was all fine with us because the property is owned now after inheriting it. It's owned now by me and my two sisters.
Advisor/Jade
Okay.
Caller/Megan
My two sisters don't want anything to do with the house, so they want. They want me to buy them out, which is fine because our house currently, me and my husband, our house currently is too small for our family. So we were actually going to move into the rental property because it's bigger and can accommodate us.
Advisor/Jade
Okay.
Caller/Megan
So we were like, no problem. We'll buy you out.
Advisor/Jade
How much would that cost?
Caller/Megan
About $350,000.
Advisor/Jade
Okay, keep going.
Caller/Megan
So we were going to rent out our current house because we only owe $50,000 on our current house. And we could rent it up and down. It's a two. Like, it's suited. So we could rent it for two units.
Advisor/Jade
Okay.
Caller/Megan
And then we would have no mortgage payment. Like the renters would pay the 350, technically 400, I guess, if we paid off this house, if that makes sense.
Advisor/Jade
Okay, I'm with you. So where's the hang up? Where's the. The bottleneck?
Caller/Megan
The hang up is my cousin doesn't want to leave yet.
Advisor/Jade
Are they living rent free or are they paying rent?
Caller/Megan
They are not paying rent. They are paying the cost of ownership of the property. So, like the property taxes and utilities
Advisor/Jade
and whatever, no wonder they don't want to move out.
Caller/Megan
I know, I know. But it's. Here's the thing. It was. It's a really long story, but short, long story short, they had an agreement with my mother. Like, I don't know if there was something like my mother owed them something or whatever, but they have basically like a five year lease where they don't have to pay anything except the upkeep of the house.
Advisor/Jade
How long has it been of the five years?
Caller/Megan
Two. Two years. So technically they could stay for three more years. Now the problem is in writing. Fine. Like me and my sisters. Yes. So me and my sisters, we. We like, agreed that they. As long as it's not a cost to any of us, that the cousins can stay, that's fine. But the problem for me is our house is too small. It's too small. And so my husband and I want to buy another house. We want to move. But the problem is if we go and we buy a house, then let's say tomorrow the cousin, we buy a house. The cousins say, okay, just kidding. We're gonna leave.
Advisor/Jade
Now I see the problem.
Caller/Megan
I won't qualify to pay out my sisters. Do you know what I mean? So I'm like, do I go buy a house?
Advisor/Jade
What's on fire? What's on fire that you need to like that. I know you. Your house is not big enough. But why is that? Did you just have a. Did you just have babies? What happened that suddenly I have to move now?
Host/Advertiser
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Advisor/Jade
What happened that suddenly I have to move now?
Caller/Megan
I have one baby and I have another one on the way, and we have a two bedroom house.
Advisor/Jade
Okay? So I'm gonna say something radical here. And. Okay, the radical thing is the kids share a room. And you do that for three years.
Caller/Megan
It's like the rooms are like, I'm in a very small house.
Advisor/Jade
How many square foot?
Caller/Megan
Like 750.
Advisor/Jade
Okay, yes, you are correct. That is. That is a small. Here, let me lay out your options, because if I understand and if I'm wrong, stop me, okay? Because you did give me a lot of details. The cousin, the cousins have a lease. And if the shoe were on the other foot, you would want your lease to be honored. And it's in writing.
Caller/Megan
I don't have a problem. I don't have a problem with an honor and a lease. What I have a problem with is the fact that the. So, like, I'm gonna move Tomorrow. Oh, no, I'm not. Well, I don't know if I'm gonna stay or if I'm gonna go.
Advisor/Jade
Well, they can't do that for the next three years. They get to do that for the next three years because they have a lead.
Caller/Megan
But then that puts us in a. That puts us in a really hard spot for the next three years.
Advisor/Jade
Well, that's the part where I want to decouple. I think that you need to decouple your plans from that.
Host/Advertiser
Yes.
Advisor/Jade
Or you have to just decide. I'm not letting them take me on an emotional roller coaster. I'm just saying I don't have access to this house for three years. And I'm just telling myself that if for some reason it comes open earlier, fine, whatever. But I'm not going to let them take me on an emotional roller coaster. I do think, now this is, like I said, it's groundbreaking. But I do actually think that you would be okay in this small house with maximum three year, you know, the maximum age for your newborn is going to be three years old and that they share a room for a while. Because the other option, which I don't think that you would like, is to buy something else because you do know that this other house is on a horizon. And what this reminds me of, Ken, is just the old kind of like sacrificing to win mentality. Yeah. If you really, really want to be in that house, Megan, that rental property that was your mother's, there's probably going to be an element of sacrifice involved to get there because it's going to be a sweet deal once you're in there. Right?
Host/Advertiser
Yeah, we talk about this a lot.
Caller/Megan
Would it be wrong to like offer them my house? Like, you guys are just two people. Like, move into my small house and let us have the four bedroom house. You know, like you could offer that,
Advisor/Jade
but that's kind of presumptuous.
Host/Advertiser
Is that the word I get? What do you think the relational reaction is to that if you were to do that?
Caller/Megan
What do you mean?
Host/Advertiser
Well, I'm with Jade. It feels presumptuous. So how would that go over if you said it that way to them, how would they respond?
Caller/Megan
I don't know.
Advisor/Jade
If you say, hey, I want your house, I don't want you to be able to do the lease because I'm on a timeline here. So you guys leave your house, come move into my house, pay me rent. I mean, that's.
Caller/Megan
No, no, they don't even have to pay me rent. I'll Honor the same deal. We just need a bigger place and like, we don't want to, we don't, we just don't want to go. We're looking at houses and we just don't want to go buy a house and then have it be like, oh, just kidding. Now you have to buy your sisters out. And now you can't qual you bought another house.
Advisor/Jade
Well, here's the thing. You don't have to do anything because. Let's go back. You don't have to buy your sisters out. You don't. This is a deal that you've constructed in your mind that is like the perfect solution, right? In your mind, the perfect solution is I buy my sisters out, I kick the cousins out, we get into the house, we get, we do this sooner than later, right? Like that's your fairy tale ending. But the truth is you don't have to move into this house. There's other houses out there. Possibly. The truth is that the timeline is a timeline that you've constructed because you're uncomfortable in the current house. That's just the truth. This is like bare bones truth. I'm not saying it's uncomfortable, by the way. I'm sure it sucks. But I'm just saying that's the truth. And then the truth is you're, you're starting to now because you're getting a little desperate. You're starting to construct a reality where the cousins would be totally fine moving out of their house, moving into your house. And you're so desperate to the point that now you're like, hey, I won't even charge him rent. I just think we're getting in dangerous territory here.
Caller/Megan
And I understand what you're saying, but it does drive me. Oh, I, I probably left out a small, probably large detail. They own another house
Advisor/Jade
that they could be living in.
Caller/Megan
They own a different.
Host/Advertiser
That would have been nice to know about eight minutes ago. We're going into a break.
Advisor/Jade
But either way, either way, either way, you're putting your future in your destiny in the hands of other people. And whenever you do that, it is free frustrating because they're not going to do. You can't control them. And they've got a five year lease. Sorry.
Host/Advertiser
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Episode Title: Should I Kick Family Members Out of the House I Inherited?
Date: May 9, 2026
Host/Advisor: Jade Warshaw (primarily)
Caller: Megan
In this thoughtful and emotionally charged episode, caller Megan seeks advice on a delicate family and real estate dilemma: is she wrong for wanting to move her cousins out of a house she inherited from her mother so that her growing family can move in? Jade Warshaw guides Megan through the layers of her situation, emphasizing the importance of honoring legal agreements and the dangers of letting desperation shape family decisions, all while providing empathetic and practical advice.
This episode delivers a nuanced perspective on balancing family obligations, legal agreements, and personal desires. The advice centers around honoring existing leases, making peace with temporary discomfort, and maintaining relational boundaries, even when the solution feels just out of reach. Most importantly, it reminds listeners to avoid desperation-driven decisions that could damage family relationships or rest on risky assumptions.
Listeners facing similar family, inheritance, or real estate dilemmas will find both empathy and tough love in this short yet impactful call.