Buying a probate house

Alis0nW

We are buying a house and have just been told by our solicitor they will be charging an additional £200 as it had been in probate (we were not aware of this as all legalities in that respect had been completed). The estate agent cannot understand why they would be charging more. Can anyone shed some light on this before we agree to the extra payment.
Thank you

-taff

Ask them what it's for?

Alis0nW

We are going to do that but didn't want to be blinded by legal jargon

Flugelhorn

how odd! I sold a house through probate, don't think that cost any more to do than a normal sale? Maybe they are charging ££££ to check the probate / ID of the executors / death certs / registration of property etc etc - ask them as then let us know!

Scotbot

They have to confirm the vendor is dead and that no one else has a right to the property.  So they need to ensure probate has been granted accordingly.  An extra £200 is probably only 2 hours work.
Perhaps whoever told you that all legal formalities had been completed wss misinformed ?

Alis0nW

Thanks for your comments. We are waiting to hear back from the solicitor. I'll let you know what they say.

ameliarate

We are selling my fathers house. We simply gave a copy of probate and his will to the solicitors. Easy as that. 

Alis0nW

Mystery solved. Apparently its to check power of attorney. The estate agent should have made us aware it was not being sold by the beneficiaries directly. 

MovingForwards

If the property is being sold whilst still in the estate, only the grant of probate is needed. 

If the property has already been transferred to the beneficiaries, the GoP would not be needed as it would be a normal sale, unless one or more of the new owners lacks capacity and a POA has been put in place.

You need to revert back to your solicitor and clarify what the position of the property is and why POA is needed as you were under the impression it was being sold by the executors (if that's what you did believe).

Thrugelmir

Alis0nW said:

 The estate agent should have made us aware it was not being sold by the beneficiaries directly. 

Doubt that they they considered it to be an issue. As not within their area of expertise. 

greatcrested

Alis0nW said:

Mystery solved. Apparently its to check power of attorney. The estate agent should have made us aware it was not being sold by the beneficiaries directly. 

That does not accord with your initial description.

POA only applies to living people. If the registered owner is alive, then yes, someone with POA could sell on their behalf, but Probate would not apply.

If the registered owner is dead, then POA lapses and is irrelevant. The deceased's Executers (if there's a will) or Adminisrrators ( no will) could sell using the Grant of Probate.

But it's not uncommon for estate agents to either not know the circumstances or even if they do, to not understand the lagalities involved.