Probate or not?

emmlar

Hello all,

I'm thinking about putting an offer in on a house, but land registry details suggest the people selling it aren't the current owners and it is still registered with land registry as being owned by (what I assume) is their (now deceased) mother.

I've asked the agent about this and they are woolly with the answers, but have said on more than one occasion that it is not a probate sale.

I thought the situation was either you had to transfer the deeds into your name to be able to sell or it is a probate sale, one or the other and this case seems to be neither.

So my question is do the vendors actually have the right, as things stand, to sell this property not under probate?

Any advice on what questions I should be asking to ascertain what is going on here? Could it be the LR is just not up-to-date? I don't necessarily object to buying a probate property, but I want to be sure I have all the facts before I start down the road of instructing solicitors as I don't really want to pay to find out further down the line that they aren't actually entitled to sell it as things stand and then I get stuck waiting for them to get their affairs in order before we can proceed.

Any advice much appreciated. Many thanks in advance

pmlindyloo

You need to tell the EA that you have checked the Land Registry and the property does not appear to be registered in the seller's name.

They will need to investigate and find out what the position is and report back to you.

Or you could make a second visit and ask the vendors themselves.

Problems ahead if this isn't sorted.

BitterAndTwisted

Ask the vendors! They could have arranged lasting Power of Attorney for their relative some time ago or are just acting as their agent to find a buyer but the final paperwork will be signed by the owner. Or they could be scammers selling what does not belong to them.

Land_Registry

It is rare for any executors to register themselves on the title before selling.

An EA may have been advised as to the background but the quesiton of ownership and who has the legal right to sell tends to only crop up once an offer has been accepted and a conveyancer is involved.

Reading other threads on here suggests that IF the property is in the name of a deceased person then the seller's need to start the probate process asap so as not to significantly delay the sale.

pmlindyloo's suggestion seems an appropriate one to confirm the position

ValHaller

Make the offer subject to probate being in place.

Get your solicitor to write to vendor's solicitor to confirm before undertaking any other conveyancing.

G_M

ValHaller wrote: »

Make the offer subject to probate being in place.

Get your solicitor to write to vendor's solicitor to confirm before undertaking any other conveyancing.

A bit limiting! As suggested, family may have POA for a still-living relative. Noreason not tocontinue if that is the case.