Mortgage remaining how long will bank give me to decide.

Legacy_user

Hey Folks

My mother passed away at the end of January.

She had no life insurance and a mortgage of 45k left on a house worth 110k.

To date I have been paying the mortgage. However I cannot take over the mortgage as I am a non UK resident. I have no way to get a mortgage for the property I have tried.

Probate hasn't been finalised yet but I wanted to know how long will the bank let me continue to pay to mortgage until they need someone to officially take on the mortgage.

I have heard that as long as banks are getting paid they usually aren't to pressing on the matter however others have said that once probate has been granted the executor needs to deal with bank and estate straight away.

I am not the executor my aunt is.

Has anyone any experience of this?

If so how long were you able to pay before the bank pushed on deeds and takeover?

Thanks

Yorkshireman99

Has he bank been told of the death? They are. Unlikely to allow the situation to continue. Then the house will have to be sold to pay the debt. The house is likely to fetch more if the executors sell it than if the bank force a sale.

Keep_pedalling

No one can take over the mortgage and you should not be paying the interest. The executor should have informed the bank of the death, and the outstanding mortgage should be settled by the executor once probate has been granted. If there are not sufficient liquid assets in the estate to settle the dept then it will have to be via the sale of the house.

SevenOfNine

Am I missing something? Why are you paying the mortgage?

This was FROZEN when they (Tesco Bank) were informed of the death (death cert sent), & it did not continue to rack up interest either.

They simply asked us to confirm when probate was complete & then when house was sold. Right up until point of sale they did not pester (not even to pester about moving the sale along as quickly as possible so the outstanding mortgage could be settled).

Couldn't have asked for more compassionate treatment from a mortgage provider. They were not getting paid & certainly weren't pressing, though maybe they wouldn't have let it just drag on indefinitely.

Are you hoping to keep hold of the house somehow?

Keep_pedalling

SevenOfNine wrote: »

Am I missing something? Why are you paying the mortgage?

This was FROZEN when they (Tesco Bank) were informed of the death (death cert sent), & it did not continue to rack up interest either.

They simply asked us to confirm when probate was complete & then when house was sold. Right up until point of sale they did not pester (not even to pester about moving the sale along as quickly as possible so the outstanding mortgage could be settled).

Couldn't have asked for more compassionate treatment from a mortgage provider. They were not getting paid & certainly weren't pressing, though maybe they wouldn't have let it just drag on indefinitely.

Are you hoping to keep hold of the house somehow?

That should be the reaction of most banks and building societies, I suspect that in this case the bank have not been informed of the death.

Jenniefour

OP, I think you may need to have a discussion with your aunt and find out what's going on. Are you sure your aunt knows how to fulfil her duties as executor? Could you look at the information in the sticky on this board and then talk with her?

You definitely should not be paying the mortgage, nor should anyone else, and this would not prevent you from buying the house if you were in a position to do so.

System

The mortgage was frozen for 3 months. I have paid may and June. I don't have an obligation to do so but I asked the bank about it and they said if I could make payments after frozen period that would be great.

Another reason why I paid was to buy abit of time to decide what to do with the house.

It should be an automatic process when my aunt goes to the bank with the grant of probate that the bank tell her there and then ok you have to sell the House?

That is my understanding of it.

However my aunt doesn't want me selling the house and having the cash. I know she has no right but she was very close to my mother and if there was a way we could rent it out for a short time say 1 year while the dust settles we would do this.

My problem is that no one ie solicitor or bank has said sell the house so my aunt is of the impression we can rent it short term. I know this isnt right and I have said this however at 24 and dealing with adults in their 60s they tend to play that they know best.

System

The bank has been told she died 6 months ago.

Basically My aunt was trying to find ways of keeping the house. I work abroad so that's a no go so we were just seeing options.

I have said it seems selling is the only option however she keeps pushing back and going ahead with renting it.

Yorkshireman99

cclem345 wrote: »

The bank has been told she died 6 months ago.

Basically My aunt was trying to find ways of keeping the house. I work abroad so that's a no go so we were just seeing options.

I have said it seems selling is the only option however she keeps pushing back and going ahead with renting it.

Your aunt, as executor, needs a reality check. The mortgage agreement will almost certainly not allow tyhe property to be rented. As executor she has a legal obligation to deal with the estate in a legal and timely manner. She will be personally liable for her failure to deal with the estate in a timely manner. Once she has probate assuming the assets are not enough to pay off the mortgage then she has no option but to sell. It is not up to the bank to tell her. A forced sale by the bank is likely to result in a lower price for the house and the estate will have to pay the costs. She would be laible to the estate if it can be proved she did not act in a timely manner. Don't be afraid to tell the harsh facts. You might also want to make sure the house is insured.

System

It's a situation that has me baffled. Because everyone I have asked her has told me the same thing.

I have asked enough times to which I get the reply " as long as the bank is being paid they won't push to hard for a decision to be made say 6-12 months" and in that time we can see if we can find a solution.

I know this to be !!!!!!!!. Everytime I challenge it it comes with dont worry we will look into it and find a way.

My aunt has absolutely nothing to gain by messing about. I do honestly think she just doesn't want me to sell the house and have perhaps 70k sitting in my bank account.

However that is not her problem my problem or anyone else's. It's the legalities.

Do you reckon when she goes with the grant of probate she will be then told by the bank ok there is 47k owing. How do you intend to raise this?

This is what I want to happen just because I believe it I forcefully say something which I am near at it will cause family troubles.

The problem too is the house is almost at the stage of being rented which I know hasn't even been allowed by the bank.

It's a disaster and with living abroad and solely being a beneficiary I have f.a say in anything at the minute.

Yorkshireman99

I suspect that your aunt has not told the bank the true position. I can only suggest you write to her formally setting out the realities. Making sure the house is insured is crucial.