question on probate

njh82

Has anyone had issues with buying a house where probate hasn't been granted? When we put an offer in they said they were expecting probate to granted in the next couple of weeks. 10 weeks later and it still hasn't been sorted and we just keep getting ' we are chasing it' from the vendors solicitors. We have been at a standstill for weeks now because we cannot exchange until this gets sorted....anyone else been here, is there anything we can do or is it just one of those things you have to grin and bear?

tawse57

Yes, in fact there is another thread on this very subject on here in the past 24 hours where another buyer is having trouble buying a house re probate.

The house cannot be sold until probate is complete nor can it be bought.

Sometimes probate can take as little as a few weeks, sometimes it can take 18 months or even a tad longer. I was once told by a solicitor that judges like probate disputes to come to a head in court within 2 years.

It all depends on how complicated or how easy the situation is.

You can find a lot about probate by googling it as there is an entire Government website dedicated to it with a Q&A.

njh82

18 months! Owch ..I really really hope that not the case. To be honest I feel a little duped as I am FTB and no idea what probate was or that 'technically' they can't sell it until that goes through. we are in temporary accomodation as it was expected to go through swiftly due to no chain on either end--we certainly can't wait 18 months!

Ian_W

njh82 wrote: »

18 months! Owch ..I really really hope that not the case. To be honest I feel a little duped as I am FTB and no idea what probate was or that 'technically' they can't sell it until that goes through. we are in temporary accomodation as it was expected to go through swiftly due to no chain on either end--we certainly can't wait 18 months!

I think you'll find 18 months is the exception rather than the rule. When my late MIL died last year we were told the norm is 3-6 months and probate was actually granted 4 months after her death.

As a FTBer I assume you have a mortgage offer? When does it expire? You need to have serious words with your solicitor to get him to have serious words with the executors solicitor to find out exactly what is delaying grant of probate and where the process is up to.

As stated, the property can be put up for sale but can't actually be sold before grant. However, I understand (check with your solicitor) if grant is being delayed in respect of other matters it can be given in relation to the sale of property. You need to start pressing your solicitor - it's what you're paying for.

tawse57

18 months would be in a situation where a willis contested and there are ensuing legal matters.

njh82

Hello

yes we do have a mortgage , its been agreed signed etc and come through- wasn't aware that it had an expiry date- thats bit worrying..will check

Richard_Webster

When we put an offer in they said they were expecting probate to granted in the next couple of weeks.

Who are they?

In this sort of case it is not wise to rely on estate agents and the sellers themselves because people are inclined to get all keen and put a house on the market ages before probate has been granted without even consulting the solicitors dealing with the probate.

Did any one ask the probate solicitors? If somebody told me that they were buying a probate property the first question is: "Have they actually got the grant of probate?" If not then I would be asking for a lot of information as to how long it was likely to take.

not_loaded

A few years ago, my MIL’s probate was done by a ‘professional’. He quoted three months, and ended up taking 15 months, and there was nothing complicated about her estate. It was ‘only’ 15 months because we went to the Law Society with a complaint. His original quote: £750. His final bill: £7,500 which unsurprisingly kicked off a second Law Society complaint. We won in the end, but it was a very stressful time for the family.

Last year when my mother died, mainly because of the previous disaster, I did the probate for her estate. For a very similar estate, it took me 10 weeks, and I wasn't really rushing. It cost me virtually nothing, and I learned how to do it from two books bought from Amazon. On balance, I would not recommend a DIY job for anything particularly complicated though.

I suspect you are being delayed by an amateur like me, or a dawdling professional.

If it's actually on the market, put your offer in and be prepared to wait. You don't have to wait forever; you can withdraw your offer at any time.

If the estate is administered correctly, you won't be favoured by having your offer in early, as the administrator/executor has to demonstrate fairness to the beneficiaries. It's not unknown though, for speed to be of the essence, and they go with an existing offer to get the estate settled.

Good luck!

tawse57

not_loaded wrote: »

A few years ago, my MIL’s probate was done by a ‘professional’. He quoted three months, and ended up taking 15 months, and there was nothing complicated about her estate. It was ‘only’ 15 months because we went to the Law Society with a complaint. His original quote: £750. His final bill: £7,500 which unsurprisingly kicked off a second Law Society complaint. We won in the end, but it was a very stressful time for the family.

Last year when my mother died, mainly because of the previous disaster, I did the probate for her estate. For a very similar estate, it took me 10 weeks, and I wasn't really rushing. It cost me virtually nothing, and I learned how to do it from two books bought from Amazon. On balance, I would not recommend a DIY job for anything particularly complicated though.

I suspect you are being delayed by an amateur like me, or a dawdling professional.

If it's actually on the market, put your offer in and be prepared to wait. You don't have to wait forever; you can withdraw your offer at any time.

If the estate is administered correctly, you won't be favoured by having your offer in early, as the administrator/executor has to demonstrate fairness to the beneficiaries. It's not unknown though, for speed to be of the essence, and they go with an existing offer to get the estate settled.

Good luck!

IMPO unless you are very wealthy or have a very complicated will then any Executor of the will should actually be the people benefitting from the will - in most cases this will be your loved ones such as spouse, children.

They can then push the will through probate at their leisure with very little cost.

A friend of mine is a solicitor - but also a good person - and he was telling me last year how he handled the will of a millionaire in 6 weeks and only chagred £600 - oddly, this was in a conversation where he was talking about the obscene fees estate agents make from doing very little actual real work for it.

njh82

Hi, thanks for the comments. 'They' is the sellers solicitors. My solicitors don't seem to know if the family are doing it themselves or through a solicitor. The sellors solicitors have informed us that probate has been granted but they are awaiting a 'form'?

not_loaded

njh82 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the comments. 'They' is the sellers solicitors. My solicitors don't seem to know if the family are doing it themselves or through a solicitor. The sellors solicitors have informed us that probate has been granted but they are awaiting a 'form'?

If probate’s granted and they’re just awaiting the grant form, then it’ll be a day or two in the post. On receipt, whoever is named probate administrator can sign off the sale documents.