Who pays for the conveyancing?

Ames

Gwhiz wrote: »

Is this being made unnecessarily complicated?

The fees are so small in the grand scheme of things AND it's a transaction between brother and sister.

Would it just not be simple all round to split the costs? Forget what should/could happen and focus on doing the right thing all round.

Or am I missing something.

I think for that to happen the sister and sister would have to be speaking to each other.

There's a lot of history to this, some of which is being dealt with in a thread I have on the probate board (if you're really bored!)

Mojisola

davidmcn wrote: »

You own half of the house. You're selling that half to your sister. If you're employing a conveyancer to act for you in that sale, you pay their fee.

If the conveyancer is also acting for your sister (is she?) then it would make sense for you to split the fees.

Ames doesn't own half the house. The two sisters have inherited the house 50/50.

The sister is buying the house from the estate so the estate pays the bills.

Gwhiz

Ames wrote: »

I think for that to happen the sister and sister would have to be speaking to each other.

There's a lot of history to this, some of which is being dealt with in a thread I have on the probate board (if you're really bored!)

Ah OK! Best of luck in that case

mrschaucer

Do you think the problems might be occurring because you're using a "conveyancer"? ie not a solicitor? Correct me if I'm wrong here. All conveyancers have to know about is the transfer of property, they won't necessarily have any more knowledge of the law of probate and administration than I do.
Why does the conveyancer think that You, as You, are responsible for the fees on selling the house when You, as You, are not selling it, because You, as You, don't own it. If the estate still owns it, the estate has to be the party that sells it, and the estate pays for the selling. Perhaps the probate solicitor can spell it all out to the conveyancer - he WILL get paid, but from the estate, not You personally.

Ames

mrschaucer wrote: »

Do you think the problems might be occurring because you're using a "conveyancer"? ie not a solicitor? Correct me if I'm wrong here. All conveyancers have to know about is the transfer of property, they won't necessarily have any more knowledge of the law of probate and administration than I do.
Why does the conveyancer think that You, as You, are responsible for the fees on selling the house when You, as You, are not selling it, because You, as You, don't own it. If the estate still owns it, the estate has to be the party that sells it, and the estate pays for the selling. Perhaps the probate solicitor can spell it all out to the conveyancer - he WILL get paid, but from the estate, not You personally.

That actually makes a lot of sense. It's likely I've confused her by referring to 'sister buying me out' as shorthand, although I've made it clear in the details that the estate is the one doing the selling. Obviously now there's no point me doing anything till Monday, so I'll wait and see if the probate solicitor gets in touch. If not then on Monday afternoon I'll send another email to the conveyancer politely pointing out that as I'm not the seller I'm not liable for the costs, the estate is.




Just on a side note, completion was supposed to be today - should I have been told whether or not it happened?

Ames

OK, I've had a reply from the conveyancer, and now I'm worried. She says:

You personally agreed to pay for (name of firm) conveyancing services – if this was in your capacity as personal representative, then you may be able to offset the charges against the estate. However, in the first instance you would have to pay our firm and then you may want to check with (probate solicitor) whether you can claim any costs back.


Of course I signed as administrator of the estate, I had no other legal standing in the matter!

I'm on income support and just don't have £500 laying around to pay the conveyancer. I wont have that kind of money until I get what I'm due from the estate.

Really don't know what to do now. I might be able to get a loan from the credit union to pay?

Is there a rule about how long you get to pay the bill, ie ten days grace or something?

booksurr

Ames wrote: »

Really don't know what to do now. I might be able to get a loan from the credit union to pay?

Is there a rule about how long you get to pay the bill, ie ten days grace or something?

sorry but I'm struggling to see why this is still at issue:

why oh why are you not simply discussing this with the probate solicitor. You say you instructed the conveyance as personal representative of the estate. The probate solicitor knows full well that the conveyance is a cost of the estate and so should be expecting to pay it. So you need to agree a timetable with the probate solicitor for access to the sales proceeds so you have the cash to pay the conveyancer within whatever payment period is set out in the conveyance contract

you then have as long to pay the bill as it takes the conveyancer to sue you for non payment, that will be somewhat more than 10 days!

Ames

I am trying to discuss this with the probate solicitor, I've contacted her twice about it. The second time was only this morning though.

TBagpuss

If completion has taken place then presumably the conveyancer has received your sister's money, for the portion of the proeprty she is paying for using her mortgage. The conveyancer's costs can be paid from that. the balance can be paid into your executors account (or to the probate solicitor)

If she is buying for £145,000 then it sounds as though she is paying £100,000 raised by mortgage, £45,000 is being knocked off her share of the balance and that she will then get a further £27K less 50% of the debts in due course when the estate is would up.

It sounds as though it was not made clear o the conveyancer at the outset that you were selling as Administrator of Mum's estate, but that should not present any problems in terms of settling the estate, as long as you include the conveyancing costs in the estate accounts.

TBagpuss

just to add, it sounds as though there should be £100K fro the sale, of which £45K is ours to balance the £45k your sister has had in 'kind in terms of the house. So there is £55K to pay ff the debts - unless the debts are more than that, then there should not be any difficulty in having the £500 odd needed to pay the conveyancer out of that £55K. If the debts are more than that then you may have miscalculated in letting your sister buy the house as you are unlikely to be able to claw back any of the £45K she has now had, but you unless the debts are more than £100K then there is no reason why the money to pay the conveyancer cannot be advanced from that money, although in that case it would, in effect, be coming out of your pocket in the long run. Ignore that conveyancer - they are unlikely to be a probate expert and it sounds as though they don't really know what they are talking about.