advice on house sale pls (re: a death and a solicitor).

Sarahpuggy

HI all,

My great aunt died and left the solicitor as the executor of the will. There are 6 main beneficeries of the will, which will include the sale of her house. Anyway we all know that its not a good idea to leave the solicitor as the executor, but my great aunt was quite old and belived that people like solicitors, doctors etc were the people who knew everything and she trusted them immensely.

Anyway my mum was her next of kin and has done alot of the work involved that the solicitor would have had to do, and she got an estate agents round to value the house. It was valued by them at £175,000. It is a 3 bedroomed detached bungalow, very sought after area in the town, does need updating cosmetically..and we expected about 165-170 so thought this was good.

It turns out the solicitor want to use another estate agents that have valued the house at £147, 000!! My mum tried speaking to the solicitor about this and solictor was actually very rude to her and basically said it has nothing to do with her. Its not that the family particularly wants the money or are being greedy, just dont want to be ripped off! Doesn't the solicitor have a legal obligation to get as much as possible for the house? At the very least get 3 quotes and meet at the average?

I guess im hoping someone might have some experience of this and where we stand? Its hard to tell what other houses have sold for in the area because all the houses/bungalows are different and rarely come up for sale. My mum has had dealings with these solictors and knows that they always go through this particular EA, so we cant help but think they are getting some kinf of 'back hander' for going through them, does this sort of thing go on?

Does anyone have any advice please? Id really appreciate it. Thankyou

mountainofdebt

when it looked like my FIL's would be going on the market.

Basically we were asked which EA we wanted to use and wrote back stating that we would prefer the choice to be between 2 EAs and asked the solicitors to let us know which one they had chosen.

When we had heard nothing for 3 weeks we contacted the solicitors, we were told that we had to state specifically which one we wanted to use. Didn't come to anything in the end as the house then was no longer in a position to be sold (won't bore you with the details why though!)

When it does come back into a position to be sold, we will know for the future!

I would have thought that the solicitor would have to act in the best interests of the estate so I don't know why they seem keen to accept a lower valuation unless of course they are accepting a 'back-hander'!

cashdaddy

Sarahpuggy, condolences to you and your family. This will all be very stressful for you and your mum at the moment and a family death can bring out the worst in people, especially where there are several beneficiaries involved.

I guess the solicitor is sole executor of the will and is therefore, only acting out your Great Aunts wishes. He can as far as I understand, hand over the handling to your mum if he wishes.

There probably is not anything sinister involved in the solicitor using his chosen estate agent of choice. It could just be that they want a quick sale and to get it off their books. After all, the quicker it is dealt with, the sooner the solicitor gets their money. Also, it may be just convenient for the solicitor to use that estste agent if they usually use them.

If the solicitor is sole executor and refuses to sign over executor responsibilities to your mum, all she can do is try to get on with the solicitor as best as possible.

I hope all turns out for the best.

clutton_2

two things spring to my mind

""It was valued by them at £175,000. It is a 3 bedroomed detached bungalow, very sought after area in the town, does need updating cosmetically..and we expected about 165-170 so thought this was good "

some estate agents over-value property to get the business. As a professional property person, and with great respect here, i have frequently found that properties such as these often need a great deal more than £5-£10k spending on them - the average person has little actual idea as to renovation costs, and how quickly they mount up, - so just maybe the lower amount is the realistic amount for a quick sale.

secondly - if you feel strongly about the solicitors attitude or lack of comparabale EA figures, ask for an interview with the Solicitors partner who deals with complaints (they all have to have one) and explain your concerns. Maybe take another of the beneficiaries with you.

good luck

Sarahpuggy

Thanks for the replies..

Clutton, i know what your saying but my mum is a semmi-professional property developer so she is fairly knowledgeable about the area and prices etc..and how much things would cost. there is no major work to be done, literally just re-decorating and a new kitchen (old persons taste at present but perfectly liveable)..

Does anyone have any advice about what legal obligations the solicitor has?

Thanks again.

mountainofdebt

If you have legal help with your house insurance, then it might be worth giving them a ring and asking their advice - at least you will know where you stand legally without it costing. (It might also be worth asking who has the final say on which offer is accepted ie is it the executor or the beneficiaries?)

Another thought may be to write to the executors asking them why they have chosen the EA that they have, especially as your mum has some knowledge in this area and has had contact with other EA who have suggested a higher valuation.

As for Clutton's suggestion that it might be priced lower for a quick sale would cause alarm bells to ring ....if my executors short changed my beneficiaries just so they could get their fee for the minimum amount of work I would come back and haunt them!

clutton_2

the sad fact is that from time to time probate sales do not get the full asking price, as they are often in poorish condition, and/or the beneficiaries want a quick sale.

Mrs_Optimist

why dont you get several other valuations and get your mum to approach the solicitor with those and ask him to explain the difference? You could take an average valuation which will cancel out the prospect of one valuation being unrealistically priced.

Suzy_M

The low valuation may have been solely for probate purposes at this stage. - A common practice as it can avoid paying too much inheritance tax up front in the initial stages. The property can then go on to be sold at market, and hopefully higher, value at a later date.
If probate has already been granted I'm think the solicitor is now in sole charge and all the beneficiaries can hope for is to recover any "losses" through complaints procedures. If probate has not yet been granted the beneficiaries ought to get themselves some independent legal advice about the administration of the estate before any more problems arise.

Leighthal

Suzy_M wrote:

The low valuation may have been solely for probate purposes at this stage. - A common practice as it can avoid paying too much inheritance tax up front in the initial stages........

Is'nt that Tax evasion? :eek:

Suzy_M

"Isn't that Tax evasion?" :eek:

No - The correct amount of IHT will be paid eventually.

You cannot officially realise the assets of an estate until grant of probate and you cannot obtain grant of probate until IHT has been paid (or at least payment in instalments arranged). However, until an asset is actually sold it's true value cannot be known.

Generally the lowest (realistic!) estimates of value are used for the grant of probate valuations (antiques valued for probate are treated like this).

Once an estate has been finally wound up any adjustments on the IHT can then be made.