Can I rent the property before i buy it?

joannexxxx

Hi, I'm desperately seeking some advice

We're going through with buying a property and are currently waiting for probate to be granted. When we tried to find out how long would we be likely to have to wait our solicitor has said "how long is a piece of string"
We're living at my partner parents and have been for 3 years, we need to get out now and don't want to lose this house

If we suggested to rent the property while we wait for probate, is this feasible?
We want to draw up a contract that says once probate is granted she will sell to us and no one else.

What happens if probate isn't granted? Does that mean we've lost out
Also with the rent we pay are we able to deduct this from the selling price??
Any advice will be really appreciated, thank you

warwicktiger

Put yourself in the vendors shoes, would they be prepared to wait three years in the hope of completing the sale then, so they do not receive the sale proceeds which they might need, to buy another house for example.

If it was me I would tell you to go away, sorry, but not what you wanted to hear.

On the other hand, ask them.

davidmcn

joannexxxx wrote: »

If we suggested to rent the property while we wait for probate, is this feasible?

No, because they need probate to do anything with the property, including renting it out. Besides, it's normally regarded as too risky for sellers to let potential buyers move in early, so they wouldn't agree to it anyway.

We want to draw up a contract that says once probate is granted she will sell to us and no one else.

In theory that can be done, but it's not normal. Are you ready to exchange contracts now?

What happens if probate isn't granted? Does that mean we've lost out

If it's not granted then they can't sell it. But it will be granted, at some point.

Also with the rent we pay are we able to deduct this from the selling price?

Er, no. Unless you're arguing that the property has in fact decreased in value during the delay.

flora48

Probate depends on the complexity of the estate and how quickly the executors get into gear. The wait time from submitting my last Probate application was only about 10 days so all done and dusted in a fortnight after the forms where submitted, but it can take some time to collect all the information. I think I would make a polite enquiry.

joannexxxx

Thanks davidmcn we were at the stage of waiting for enquiries to be answered before it had to go to probate so once probate is granted, if we're still continuing then we'll have to pick up where we left off.

Thanks warwicktiger to be honest it's more my partner wanting to do this than me but I see your point ... Thank you

Flora48 I believe they've now sent the forms off but as you say it can take time gathering the info..
I think we need to just ask a few questions with regards to options before we maybe think to move on from this house

Shame as we've been house hunting a year and it's the best one we've seen for our budget