Buying a house before grant of probate

adam_bradshaw

Hi,

We have put an offer on a house which has been accepted. The only problem is that the house belonged to an old lady that passed away and now her son is looking after her will. He has only just applied for Probate.

I am a bit nervous about the outcome of this as i understand it can take a very long time to go through and was wondering if i would be just better off finding a different house. Only trouble is that with interest rates going up i dont want to keep looking much longer, plus the value of property is shooting up every day.

I was wondering how long it might take for it all to go through. There is no chain involved so in theory as sonn as probate goes through then we can exchange.

But if it does take over a year there is nothing stoping them putting it back on the market or asking more money from us, which makes me hesitant spending money on surveys, legal fees etc. before their probate is through.

I am currently looking at mortages which have free surveys and valuation fees to minimise the amount i invest in the house before i get the keys.

Are there any questions i should be asking their solicitor which may give an indication how long it might take? Are there any pit falls that I dont know of with buying a house after someone has died?

Its my first house so i really need all the help i can get.

Thanks,
Adam

silvercar

We lost a house because of probate delays.

Specifically, I would ask their solicitor if he is handling the probate as well as the house sale. If he is you would like an estimate of when he will be able to exchange. If he isn't then you want to know who is.

we had some friend of the family acting as executor, it was a nightmare getting any information and they went so slowly.

robv_3

Probate will take month and can take years.

I would continue to look in case you find something better.

[Deleted User]

we recently had to sort this out when my grandfather died, we did it ourselves & took two weeks. I did expect it to take much longer but it was a really simple process.

plane_boy2000

Did the same when my mother died. Saw my local solicitor (nice chap) who told me that it was all very easy, and told me I would be better off doing it myself rather than paying him to do it!

I believe it depends on loads of factors though like how many beneficiarys etc. In my case it was easy as I was an only child and sol surviving member of the family so very quick - maybe 2 - 3 weeks. You need to establish how well its going, but to be honest I dont think its really very professional of them to be offering it for sale without probate in place - certainly my agent would not entertain it until I could show him the paperwork

adam_bradshaw

I think I will need to ask the agent a few more questions to find out how long it will take. I have been doing a little more research and i think i need to know if she had a will, have the executors had an interview with the probate registery, is the same solicitor doing the house stuff, can the solicitor give us an indication how long it will take?

Thanks for all your help. Am going to keep looking at houses, but its hard not to compare them all to this one as we have set our minds on it now (or at least battling trying not to)