Buying out siblings of inherited property - how's it done?

xylophone

Your brother is the executor and  therefore has the legal right and duty to deal with the estate's assets.

The will left the estate to be shared equally between you and your siblings.

 The cash in the estate has already been distributed but  the major asset is the property which currently stands in the name of the late testator.

You have asked the executor if you may purchase the property from the estate for 2/3 market value as you are the beneficiary of 1/3 by virtue of the will.

The executor engages a  solicitor on behalf of the estate.

You are the buyer of the property and engage your own solicitor to act on your behalf.

You pay the equivalent of 2/3 value of the property (the "consideration") to your solicitor who passes it to the executor in return for his signature on the deed which will transfer the property into your sole name.

The executor either  requests that the consideration be paid into the executor's account or into the personal accounts of himself and the other beneficiary.

Chip73

xylophone said:

Your brother is the executor and  therefore has the legal right and duty to deal with the estate's assets.

The will left the estate to be shared equally between you and your siblings.

 The cash in the estate has already been distributed but  the major asset is the property which currently stands in the name of the late testator.

You have asked the executor if you may purchase the property from the estate for 2/3 market value as you are the beneficiary of 1/3 by virtue of the will.

The executor engages a  solicitor on behalf of the estate.

You are the buyer of the property and engage your own solicitor to act on your behalf.

You pay the equivalent of 2/3 value of the property (the "consideration") to your solicitor who passes it to the executor in return for his signature on the deed which will transfer the property into your sole name.

The executor either  requests that the consideration be paid into the executor's account or into the personal accounts of himself and the other beneficiary.

Thank you, Xylophone, for your clarity. I have spent quite a bit of time collecting quotes for conveyancing for a regular house purchase but it seems I may not need this. If the executor's solicitor effects the transfer, what does mine do? (I need to know this in order to get quotes.)

Marcon

Chip73 said:

xylophone said:

Your brother is the executor and  therefore has the legal right and duty to deal with the estate's assets.

The will left the estate to be shared equally between you and your siblings.

 The cash in the estate has already been distributed but  the major asset is the property which currently stands in the name of the late testator.

You have asked the executor if you may purchase the property from the estate for 2/3 market value as you are the beneficiary of 1/3 by virtue of the will.

The executor engages a  solicitor on behalf of the estate.

You are the buyer of the property and engage your own solicitor to act on your behalf.

You pay the equivalent of 2/3 value of the property (the "consideration") to your solicitor who passes it to the executor in return for his signature on the deed which will transfer the property into your sole name.

The executor either  requests that the consideration be paid into the executor's account or into the personal accounts of himself and the other beneficiary.

Thank you, Xylophone, for your clarity. I have spent quite a bit of time collecting quotes for conveyancing for a regular house purchase but it seems I may not need this. If the executor's solicitor effects the transfer, what does mine do? (I need to know this in order to get quotes.)

Not sure where your financial adviser is coming from; ask him why he thinks it will cost much less than normal conveyancing. 

Your solicitor will need to do pretty much the same as they'd do if you were buying a house from executors selling on the open market. They are basically protecting your interests, which needs to be done even though you are familiar with the house. For instance, they will do searches which could uncover the possibility of some major housing development which could impact dramatically on the value of the house - in which case the 3 of you would need to rethink what 'fair value' means here.

You don't need to know the fine detail to get quotes: you simply tell the solicitors that you are buying out your siblings in respect of their 2/3rds of the property left equally to the 3 of you when your mother died  on [date] and give details of whether or not there is a mortgage currently outstanding (doesn't sound like it) and whether or not you will be buying with the aid of a mortgage.

TBagpuss

A transfer of equity can be cheaper in some cases - it's often going for joint owners to a single one of them and may not involve oa mortgage or searches set.

OP, in this case, you are buying from the estate, so your solicitor will do all the things they would be doing is you were buying from a third party, and if you are using a mortgage then they will also act for your lender.

If you are buying mortgage free then it is up to you to decide what searches , survey etc. you want to have done.  If you are getting a mortgage then the lender is likely to require all the usual searches etc. 

Chip73

Thanks all for your input!