Does the best offer on a house need to be accepted?

AnotherJoe

Linton said:

AnotherJoe said:

OP I think the executor would clearly be liable for the losses of the other 4 executors and they would be a slam dunk to  win in court, which might only be small claims court since whatever sum it is is divisible by 4 so presumably under the limit ? So cheap for them to take action. 

I would sell to the cousin unless at the very least the sibling makes up the difference as it will be harder for them to claim losses if it's delay rather than a specific amount of money they are complaining about. 

I'm surprised the executor evens think it's a reasonable position taking a lower offer that's less certain and will take far longer.

i think the siblings need to be sending letters before action now. 

Err, how can the beneficiaries sue the executor if the executor has not actually sold the house and distributed the estate?

An LBA is not suing someone. 

SpannerMonkey78

Thanks everyone for your advice and thoughts. Some questions have been asked, so hopefully by me answering them, it will clear some things up:
- Linton asked if any of the people wanting to buy the house live there: No, neither of them do. It's vacant. He also asked if the two offers are significantly different. They're a few thousands apart, but the main difference is that one has the money available and the other relies on a house being sold whilst Grandad's house possibly loses value if the housing market goes down. Linton also suggested Dad handles this as he sees fit. He will do that, but I thought that I would use the power of the internet to see what people think who know more than him and me and who might have been through a similar situation.
- Mojisola asked if we can be sure that the rest of the estate has been dealt with properly. Dad thinks so; besides the house there was some money in the bank (not huge amounts) and just the personal items in the house.
- Xylophone asked how long my cousin will wait. My cousin will wait until things are resolved and just wants the house and has made the best offer.
- Mickey666 thought that the better and available offer would be in the interests of the majority of the beneficiaries and asked how the executor acting in the interests of one of the beneficiaries could be right. The simple answer to that one, speaking on behalf of Dad and his siblings "We don't know".
- Dox questioned the need to wait and suggested that it's not about sentiment. If only it were a bit more about sentiment. The brother wanting to buy the house lived closest to my Grandad, rarely called, almost never went to see him, never offered to do the shopping, take him out etc. All the other siblings did, as did some of the grandchildren (especially the cousin who wants the house). 
- TBagpuss wonders if the brother or the executor are offering to "make up the difference" between the offers. No; there has been no discussion of this at all. The executor is refusing to discuss the matter of the house sale at all and is getting very wound up about the whole thing and the solicitor won't communicate with the beneficiaries (I know that they have no duty to tell the beneficiaries very much, but the executor simply says "talk to the the solicitor").
-Xylophone asked if the will directs the executor to sell. Yes, it does, along with any other assets which don't "consist of ready money". Grandad had no car or anything other than the stuff in the house.
- theoretica asked if Grandad hoped one of his children would buy the house. To my knowledge, he never mentioned children having the house, but mentioned a few times about hoping "someone in the family will want the house". The lack of interest in him from the brother interested in the house had irked him for some years, not enough to write him out of the will, but he would spin in his grave to think that he would actually be favoured to buy the house. I know that this isn't relevant in any legal sense, but it's to give a picture of a messy situation.

I don't know if this clarifies the situation for anyone. I hope so. 

Mickey666

It sounds like the buyer with ready funds is the best deal for the beneficiaries because maintaining an empty house is going to cost money for every week the sale drags on. 

So the question now is how can the four beneficiaries put pressure on the executor to sell the house to the highest and fastest bidder?  I'd suggest the first step is a firmly worded letter from all four stating that they will not hesitate to sue the executor for any losses arising from a delayed sale at a lower price to the other brother.

OTOH, the above approach is not likely to help with family relations in the future.  Is there any chance that the brother could raise his offer by the 'few thousand' and the four other accept a delayed sale?  Even if this could be agreed, there would still be a chance of things falling through or even the brother dropping his offer at the final moment six months down the line.

Seems to me that the 'four' either have to play hardball now and try to force a sale to the highest bidder, or just acquiesce and let things play out ni he interests of family harmony, albeit at a small financial cost to each of them.

getmore4less

This could fall under self dealing/conflict of interest  by the executor as there is a close connection to the preferred offer.