Executor selling house below market value

BrassicWoman

elsa1982 wrote: »

brassicwoman we are not looking for the very last penny but for everything my grandfather worked so hard for is not undersold. And i;m sorry but I thought these forums were for people to ask questions on subjects they are not familiar with.

And for others to give their opinions; not just opinions you agree with.


What have you done to help the sale? Decluttered the house? Given it a lick of paint? Tidied the garden? These are practical steps to help, are they all done? Are you popping up and doing the lawn every couple of weeks?

elsa1982

Thanks for the advice everyone

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, sadly politeness and courtesy are getting rarer by the day.....

Brynsam

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

You are quite wrong on two counts. Firstly if the estate is close to the IHT level and unless theproperty is put up for auction HMR&C may well query ask the district valuer to value it.. Secondly what grounds do you say she does not understand the term IHT?

If the property is of standard construction and in an area where there are similar properties, HM Revenue and Customs advise you to check advertised prices with local estate agents for houses or flats of the same size and in the same condition.

Alternatively, get 2 or 3 local agents to value the property and use the average (bearing in mind it may be on the high side - agents tend to be optimistic!). HRMC have confirmed this is perfectly acceptable, provided you can explain yourself to the District Valuer if things look really out of line.

Someone else has already answered your other (equally wrong) point about OP and IHT.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]6 weeks is probably long enough to tease out an offers from any purchasers already in the market and the fact that only one low offer has been made seems to indicate that the flat is over priced or at the top of its range.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]That said a drop from £240k to £205k is quite a lot and I would have though your uncle would have considered consulted with you for your opinion before accepting. Ask you uncle if he would consider doing so in the future.[/FONT]

LobsterMemory

Well, this thread went in a different direction than I was expecting

A RICS valuation is all very well, but if no-ones's prepared to shell out at that valuation, it means damn all

Presumably

It's in the estate agent's best interest to sell at the highest price they can get
It's in your uncle's best interest to sell at the highest price he can get

Just let them get on with it

DUTR

elsa1982 wrote: »

Why has the Estate agent valued it higher and its the first offer?

The estate agents 'value' property higher to get the selling contract, but as others have said, any item is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
The Op needs to consider that a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush, and any extra has to be divided in any case.

getmore4less

elsa1982 wrote: »

Hi everyone

My grandfather recently passed away and as we've lost my mother her share of the estate is to be divided between me and my brother and the other half to be given to my Uncle who is the Executor. My grandfather's property has been on the market for 6 weeks at an asking price of £239,500, we found out that he had accepted an offer of £205,00 last week and told him that we were not happy especially because the house has only been on the market for a short while. He has put the property back on the market but has told us that he will be accepting £210,000 to £215,000, we think that its far too early to accept such low offers but we are not sure how much rights we have? Comments appreciated Thank you

If you really believe it is worth more buy it off the estate and do the leg work selling it for more money.

Offer to take over all the time and efforts etc. dealing with the selling of the house.

What does your own market research tell you what range(quick sale to great offer) it should sell at given the activity in the area?

30mins on right move will get you most of the way, and a bit longer if your local knowledge is poor

SevenOfNine

A house is only worth what potential buyers are prepared to pay for it. Limited offers after 6 weeks indicates that buyers may be getting more/better for their money with other properties.

You realise that 6 months from probate the estate will be liable to start paying council tax at the full rate (no discount for single occupancy that grandfather may have qualified)?

The executor is responsible for ensuring the property is secure & insured. The insurance available is severely limited given that the property is empty (presumably), & often comes with set requirements, eg heating must be kept on, or turned off but system drained down. Checked once a week, excluding........a whole list of exclusions!

Recently estate agents valued my late FiL's house then added £5k on to that, so that we would have leeway to accept a lower offer & still get what we thought was a fair price.

We were aware it was selling under market value, an immediate offer from the first viewer, followed by 2 more (identical) within 2 days was an indication of that, but you should weigh up other circumstances.

Eg Our buyer would dispose of a house stuffed full of shabby, mangy, ancient furnishings & a massive garden that looked like a building site. They were first time buyers, therefore no chain, hefty deposit available & a firm mortgage offer.

Perhaps your Uncle is also looking for some of these criteria, not just the maximum amount of money you feel he should be asking? Perhaps he feels you'll all be getting a nice gift via the inheritance & he wants to bring this to a close with a quicker sale, the role of an executor is time consuming, the most difficult part can actually be dealing with the beneficiaries!

Personally, if Uncle doesn't need the inheritance, I'd leave the house languishing on the market at the price you think it should fetch, heating on, basic insurance, instruct a beneficiary to check it every week & keep the lawn mowed, when council tax becomes due it will be paid from the estate funds (or deferred until sale if there's no actual cash available).

There we are, job done!

SevenOfNine

elsa1982 wrote: »

Why has the Estate agent valued it higher and its the first offer?

If he thought it was worth that, why hasn't he found a buyer yet?

motorguy

elsa1982 wrote: »

Surely it makes more sense to wait longer than 6 weeks and not take first offer?

There can be merit in a quick clean sale from someone who is in a position to buy rather than let the sale linger on, holding out for more money, perhaps from someone in a chain and it then all become a waiting game.

The estate agent hasnt put the house on for market value - otherwise it would have had bids in or around that price by now. Market value is what someone is prepared to pay, NOT what an estate agent says it might be. One offer of £205K in 6 weeks suggests £239,500 is wildly optimistic.

£50K in your hand right now to me is better than rolling the dice and hoping for maybe £55K at some variable point down the line - if at all....