Is there a time limit when house of deceased must be sold?

[Deleted User]

My brother died suddenly in April of COVID-19 (no symptoms, no underlying conditions).
Our parents are his executors, but no one is able to get to his home because of control of movement and no one being local. The keys for his house and car are with his local solicitors. My question is, is there a date by which the house (he owned on a mortgage) has to be sold by law? If so, what is that time limit usually and what is it now under pandemic rules?  Does anyone know?  I'm not sure if we can lock up the house until the restrictions on movement are over or if we need to pay someone to go in and clear the house (with family getting the personal effects). I don't want the house to be emptied by strangers, but maybe we can't wait until September?  Is anyone else dealing with similar or have any suggestions where I can look for advice please?

xylophone

Condolences on your loss.

The house is empty and presumably you/your parents  would travel there by car - could the solicitor not arrange for the  keys to be put in a sealed packet and handed over while respecting social distancing rules (or have them couriered)?

The  lender will know that the property cannot be sold before probate is granted.  Have you been able to contact the bereavement team for advice?

You do not say whether your parents are aware of any policy your brother may have taken out to cover the mortgage?

AnAnonUser

I am sorry for your loss, even more difficult under these circumstances.

But, I dont see why going to the house, collecting the car etc doesn't fall under essential travel.

Removal firms can work, EAs can show people round houses, people can go to work if safe.

Just go and clear it out and do whatever you have to do..

[Deleted User]

My question is: "In law, is there a time limit in which a mortgaged house of a deceased person must be emptied and sold?" Just wondering if there is a general rule or whether the answer is almost unique to each situation.

Flugelhorn

the regulations changed last week and you can now visit a property in connection with preparing it for sale

(iii)preparing a residential property to move in;

(iv)moving home;

(v)visiting a residential property to undertake any activities required for the rental or sale of that property;

You need to check on the property - it needs to be insured by the executors (I think the current insurance ceases on death), speak to mortgage company / utilities / council tax bereavement teams and take it from there. 

The house  will be sold when it is sold so don't worry about that  - you have enough to cope with as it is at the moment

AnAnonUser

In that case, your last point applies, "it depends", because who is due the money from the sale of the house? If he left his estate  to someone who wants their money quickly there will be more pressure than if he left it to you, or intestate it goes to parents.

In general its the mortgage company but if the mortgage is being paid they wont mind. Have you told them?

As said by someone else, is there a policy in place that may cover the mortgage?

Alter_ego

Deleted_User said:

My question is: "In law, is there a time limit in which a mortgaged house of a deceased person must be emptied and sold?" Just wondering if there is a general rule or whether the answer is almost unique to each situation.

There is no time limit for this.

Mojisola

Deleted_User said:

My question is: "In law, is there a time limit in which a mortgaged house of a deceased person must be emptied and sold?" Just wondering if there is a general rule or whether the answer is almost unique to each situation.

There is no such time limit in law. 

However, the longer a property is left empty, the more it costs the estate and it could also start to deteriorate.

AnotherJoe

It took me two years to sell my mums flat. But since me and my brother were the two main beneficiaries there was no issue, though I suppose there would have been had one of us been desperate to get the money and the other wanted to hold out.
no mortgage involved .
You read in here of houses that haven't been sold for many years passing down a couple of generations that cause an issue when they are needing to be sold.
So there can't be a legal limit (IANAL)

Yellow_mango

Deleted_User said:

My question is: "In law, is there a time limit in which a mortgaged house of a deceased person must be emptied and sold?" Just wondering if there is a general rule or whether the answer is almost unique to each situation.

I am aware of a distant family member whose house remained uncleared and unsold for years following their death (and is in fact now being lived in by another family member do was never sold). This will be the case in many scenarios where the ownership of the house passes to a beneficiary. 

The distinction in your case I assume is the mortgage. In which case any time limits would be governed by the policies of the lender, rather than “law”.  What has the lender said?

I travelled a significant distance last weekend to clear my sisters house following her death. Her property was a housing association property, so time limits were imposed by them (although they did offer a degree of flexibility under the circumstances).  I was comfortable that this fell under essential travel. It did not require contact with any other person as the house was empty (although the neighbour insisted on coming too close for comfort on several occasions!). 

I even managed to find a B&B to allow me to stay overnight. It’s possible. But if the lender will allow it, you may of course prefer to wait. I assume that interest will continue to accrue on the mortgage, even if payments are put on hold, so that will be a cost to the estate of waiting. 

[Deleted User]

Thank you for all your replies, they have been very helpful and give me clear guidance for the way ahead.  It is a simple case, but sometimes, you just don't know what you don't know.