No probate

Ganga

A friend asked me a question that i could not answer so asking for help.
A relative of theirs passed away leaving a house ( which has been sold for just over £210,000 ) and other funds but no probate has been posted on the gov.uk website.She asked surely if the house has been sold a will must have been left and why no probate?

Margot123

Houses can be marketed and sold subject to contract prior to grant of Probate.

It will show on Rightmove etc as 'sold' but this doesn't mean the sale is finalised.
Only when Probate has been granted, can exchange and completion take place. Then this is with the executor(s) signing the contract after providing evidence of Probate being granted to them.

Hope this helps.

getmore4less

Was the house owed only by the deceased?

Ganga

getmore4less wrote: »

Was the house owed only by the deceased?

Yes as far as i know,will ask the question,the house is definatly sold,she got the price off rightmove and has been told that new people are living in it.

Margot123

A conveyancing solicitor will not allow a sale to go ahead without Grant of Probate. I'm sure the same would go for letting agents and auction houses.

Seems an odd one; could it be that there is furniture in it to make it look lived in, or possibly someone temporary residing for security reasons?

Ganga

Margot123 wrote: »

A conveyancing solicitor will not allow a sale to go ahead without Grant of Probate. I'm sure the same would go for letting agents and auction houses.

Seems an odd one; could it be that there is furniture in it to make it look lived in, or possibly someone temporary residing for security reasons?

Will find out but get the impression definitely sold to new owners.

Mojisola

Have you looked at the ownership on the Land Registry?

Ganga

Mojisola wrote: »

Have you looked at the ownership on the Land Registry?

I will tell her to check,does she have to pay the Land registry for this information ?

Keep_pedalling

Ganga wrote: »

I will tell her to check,does she have to pay the Land registry for this information ?

There is a small fee of £3.

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Margot123

Sometimes the Land Registry doesn't update immediately but the £3 is worth spending, just in case.

Also Googling to see if it's been rented could be a good idea. Just type in 'to let' or 'for rent' followed by the road or area into an IMAGE search. Easier search than text only.

Mojisola

Margot123 wrote: »

Sometimes the Land Registry doesn't update immediately but the £3 is worth spending, just in case.

If it hasn't been updated, that will confirm the previous ownership - whether it was owned by the deceased or not.