Buying a House from a Receiver
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Question
Is it considered theft or is it permissible to buy the following property from a receiver: We have been looking for a house for several years. This week we had the opportunity to purchase a house from a receiver who received the sale after a family court ruling. The house finally suits our taste, and we were happy to finally find something to our liking and at a reasonable price, but it turns out it is being sold by a receiver. The house was inherited by three sisters, who, according to the receiver, were in conflict with each other. They approached the court (it's unclear if all or just some of them) probably requesting a division of the property, and therefore the family court appointed the receiver. Nevertheless, the receiver says there may be objections to the sale (he claims this may arise because some of the sisters may not be satisfied with the transaction amount, but according to him, "maybe not all of them wanted to sell the house initially, but now all want to sell, but each has her red line on the price"). In the land registry, there is also a recent debt of several tens of thousands of shekels (60 times smaller than the property's value) of one of the sisters recorded on the house, but according to the receiver, the debt is unrelated, and he was appointed as a receiver by the court due to the initial conflict between them. However, it seems the sisters currently lack the means and cannot even pay for moving some of their belongings left in the apartment. The receiver refuses to provide the sisters' phone numbers to talk to them and verify his claim, and I have no way to reach them and ask about their intentions, and I am not exposed to the family court case and the judge's ruling due to privacy reasons. By the way, the price we want to offer is not much lower than a similar nearby house that was for sale a few months ago and which we ultimately did not buy for other reasons (disagreement on price), and in our opinion, it is fair, maybe slightly lower. But according to the receiver, it is indeed quite low, and he claims they have already received a higher offer in the past and refused it, so it is quite possible they will object. My halachic question is: I have seen in some places that there are sometimes concerns about theft towards the owners, as this is not a court appraisal or maybe there is a permit because "the law of the land is the law"? (for example, see here about the concern of theft: https://kavhalacha.co.il/%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%94/%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9D-%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%A1-%D7%A0%D7%9B%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%9D) https://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/15667 The claim is that when there is a mortgage and payments are not met, then the property can be sold even without the owners' consent because they gave their consent when taking the mortgage, but here the case does not involve a mortgage, so I am turning to the rabbi with a halachic question. Is the case detailed here regarding the sisters a case that halachically allows participation in the process or not?
Answer
Peace and blessings
Our teacher, the Gaon, Rabbi Avraham Fried, shlita, instructed:
It is permissible to be lenient and purchase in such a case.