Viewing a house… probate

Kirkii27

Hi,

The house we was going to sign for today has fell through. We are back to looking and only have 5 week mortgage offer left. 

Anyway we have booked a viewing for Wednesday on a property that’s in probate and the probate has already been agreed.

Could anyone tell me if this could be a quick sale due to no chain either side if our offer gets accepted?

I know we will probably need to extend our mortgage offer but it’s the same price as the previous property. I really don’t want anymore stress of applying for a mortgage again. 

Thanks for any help. 

Soot2006

You'll be needing a new mortgage offer since the mortgage is on the specific property not on the individual so to speak. Five weeks can happen if everyone is on the ball and everything is straightforward no major queries, etc ... However, since you're reapplying for a new mortgage, even if with the same company, it will be a longer offer anyway, Lenders are used to this, so please don't panic too much.

ic

By "probate is agreed" do you mean the executors of the house have had probate granted?  If so, yes, the delays will generally fall to your side in terms of mortgage application, surveys and searches.  If your solicitor asks questions, you might find yourself waiting on answers from the seller which could quickly add delays.  Your mortgage company will want a valuation on the new house, they might not consider it worth what you offered.

If probate hasn't been granted yet (and by "agreed" you mean there is no contention for probate), then you'll be waiting on the Ministry of Justice to process the application for probate.  That can take days, or months - and there is no way to speed it up, it happens when it happens!

My own purchase was blocked on probate for about five months, and myself and my buyers were ready with mortgages agreed, surveys and searches complete.  As soon as probate came through we exchanged in a couple of days and completed about eight or nine days later.

thegreenone

I'm selling a probate (granted) property and we are now at the 12 week mark from Offer Accepted.  I've signed the contract and returned it today. 

Kirkii27

Will Santander want us to reapply again with it being a different property? We applied direct and on the mortgage application page it says change property details… it will still be the same loan amount as we need to borrow 75,000. It was a pain last time applying kept asking for extra documents every time took bout 4 weeks to get approved. 

Slinky

We bought a probate property where probate had been granted (one of the beneficiarys, and executors, was a solicitor). Thought it would be a quick purchase, we were paying cash so it was a single property transaction.  It took 6 months because the vendors took that long to clear the property. Should have been alerted when we looked at the property that there was still food in the cupboards (lady had died a year earlier).

Kirkii27

The property is empty. If all well is it around 12 weeks if our offer is accepted. This property is more ideal than our previous one! 

canaldumidi

Kirkii27 said:

Will Santander want us to reapply again with it being a different property? We applied direct and on the mortgage application page it says change property details… it will still be the same loan amount as we need to borrow 75,000. It was a pain last time applying kept asking for extra documents every time took bout 4 weeks to get approved. 

Yes, of course. Your mortgage offer was based on both you (they borrower) and the property (the asset). Both have to be satisfactory.

With a new property, a new mortgage offer will be needed.

Yes, if there is no upward chain(it's a probate sale) and no downward chain (FTB?) then of course that simplifies and speeds things up. But both you and your lender still have to do all the due diligence on the purchase.

As others have said, does "the probate has already been agreed" mean Probate has been Granted? By the Probate Office. Or some informal agreement between executers, beneficiaries etc which has no legal standing.....?

GoogleMeNow

Kirkii27 said:

Hi,

The house we was going to sign for today has fell through. We are back to looking and only have 5 week mortgage offer left. 

Anyway we have booked a viewing for Wednesday on a property that’s in probate and the probate has already been agreed.

Could anyone tell me if this could be a quick sale due to no chain either side if our offer gets accepted?

I know we will probably need to extend our mortgage offer but it’s the same price as the previous property. I really don’t want anymore stress of applying for a mortgage again. 

Thanks for any help. 

Agreed by whom?  Has the executor got the Grant of Probate?

I'm assuming you've reviewed the title? You've reviewed the lease? You have read the restrictive covenants and have agreed to abide by them?  You know that any alterations and extensions have been properly signed off?  You know the property isn't built over a mine shaft?  

Chain free is not an indication that it is going to be straightforward.  People need to stop seeing it as such.

SallyCinnamon

Our offer on a probate house was accepted on 31st March and we moved in on 27th May which is 8 weeks. Thankfully everything was pretty straightforward. Our solicitor was in place at the point as we were sale agreed on our property. Good luck!