Buying inherited property

nmufti

Hi,

I am first time buyer, interested to buy a property whose owner was died and is on sale by his children. Can someone please advice me should I go for inherted property and is there any issues I can face in buying process.
What questions should I ask before making any offer?

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

There is no particular danger in buying a property from the beneficiaries, just a possible complication. If you are buying from a number of beneficiaries you could find that they are not all in accord with the price you are offering, so this could stall a purchase or result in you pulling out if they can't all agree.

lincroft1710

nmufti wrote: »

What questions should I ask before making any offer?

Which room did he die in?

Because that's the one you want to clean/redecorate/recarpet first.

Werdnal

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Which room did he die in?

Because that's the one you want to clean/redecorate/recarpet first.

If assume that was "tongue in cheek" ... as if not it was rather distasteful and almost offensive!

martinthebandit

Werdnal wrote: »

If assume that was "tongue in cheek" ... as if not it was rather distasteful and almost offensive!

Maybe, but its generally true as well

BitterAndTwisted

nmufti wrote: »

Hi,What questions should I ask before making any offer?

Who is the executor? How many beneficiaries are there and will the executor need the agreement of all parties in order to negotiate the price with you?

fishpond

Assuming the deceased was elderly, you may find that the property requires some TLC and deep cleaning, both of which, most people are capable of.
Other than those, no more pitfalls than buying any other house, with what has already been said about family squabbles over the amount of money involved being an entertaining bonus.
As for knowing where the deceased deceased, you are probably better off not knowing.:eek:

zzzLazyDaisy

You might want to check that probate has been obtained as that can slow the process down.

There are no real downsides to buying a house from an estate, as opposed to from anyone else - and at least there is no chain - but it can take longer than usual, for the reasons already explained.

rrtt

Do check that probate's been granted, and if not, when it's expected.

You're allowed to market a house before probate's been granted, but not complete on it, so you need it to have been granted before the exchanging contracts step.

If you're in a hurry becuse (eg) you're selling and under pressure from the bottom end of the chain, going for an inherited house may therefore not suit you. There's an average time for straightforward probate which I think was about 4 months in our case, but if there are disputes amongst the legatees or any other complications it could of course take longer.

Also make sure that the inheritors have all the appropriate documents - any guarantees, insurance policies etc - and also know where things like the stopcock are, obviously more difficult if they haven't lived in the house themselves. They may also not know when work such as rewiring etc was last done.

nmufti

Thanks All, this is very good info before we decide

ValHaller

Werdnal wrote: »

If assume that was "tongue in cheek" ... as if not it was rather distasteful and almost offensive!

I would assume that while distasteful it is valid practical advice which overrides considerations of offence.