Question about property of deceased relative

jakes-mum

Hi, and thank you if you took the time to read
I have a bit of a strange question and I do not know where to ask it, so if anyone thinks another board would be more fitting please say!

My husband's uncle passed away last year, I am the executor of his will.  He owned an over 55's flat that is currently on the market to be sold and my husband is the main beneficiary with both of our children getting a set amount from the sale.

The flat has now been on the market for 9 months with very little interest, be it the current pandemic or just a lack of movement in that area of the housing market, our estate agent is pushing us to consider renting the property out for a year as it has quite hefty fees attached to it due to its leasehold status and the fact it is a wardened building which is quickly eating through the savings that our uncle had accumulated.

As it is not just my husband who has an inheritance from it, can we actually rent it out and if so, does the money from renting it go into the estate or is it classed an income for the beneficiaries that would need registering with HMRC?

Any thoughts would be very appreciated as the property is currently costing us £500 a month to sit empty and i'm not sure what we will do when the Uncle's savings run out

mjm3346

Presumably the rental will have to be to an over 55 - would there be any demand for this (apart from someone getting in then staying put as long as possible rent free)

Cut the asking price - with costs so far about £4,500 if it takes another year to sell that's a total of £10,000 

jakes-mum

mjm3346 said:

Presumably the rental will have to be to an over 55 - would there be any demand for this (apart from someone getting in then staying put as long as possible rent free)

Cut the asking price - with costs so far about £4,500 if it takes another year to sell that's a total of £10,000 

Currently there are 2 properties that are rented in the building, there are currently 4 up for sale including ours and we have been informed by the warden that 2 more will be going up shortly, none of them are getting interest with buyers.

We have already dropped the price and are currently the lowest out of the 4 that are up for sale by £5k, our current estate agent has had no-one in to view, and from what we have been told by the warden, the other sellers have also had no-one looking.

It is unfortunately a very niche market, 18 months ago there was a waiting list to move into the building, now we can't give them away which is why we are looking at the legalities of renting the property so we can at least cover the costs until the market picks up again.

Marcon

jakes-mum said:

Hi, and thank you if you took the time to read
I have a bit of a strange question and I do not know where to ask it, so if anyone thinks another board would be more fitting please say!

My husband's uncle passed away last year, I am the executor of his will.  He owned an over 55's flat that is currently on the market to be sold and my husband is the main beneficiary with both of our children getting a set amount from the sale.

The flat has now been on the market for 9 months with very little interest, be it the current pandemic or just a lack of movement in that area of the housing market, our estate agent is pushing us to consider renting the property out for a year as it has quite hefty fees attached to it due to its leasehold status and the fact it is a wardened building which is quickly eating through the savings that our uncle had accumulated.

As it is not just my husband who has an inheritance from it, can we actually rent it out and if so, does the money from renting it go into the estate or is it classed an income for the beneficiaries that would need registering with HMRC?

Any thoughts would be very appreciated as the property is currently costing us £500 a month to sit empty and i'm not sure what we will do when the Uncle's savings run out

There are plenty of articles on the internet addressing just this issue. I thought one of the best (and recent) was: https://propertygiraffe.co.uk/can-probate-property-be-rented-out/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-probate-property-be-rented-out

jakes-mum said:

mjm3346 said:

Presumably the rental will have to be to an over 55 - would there be any demand for this (apart from someone getting in then staying put as long as possible rent free)

Cut the asking price - with costs so far about £4,500 if it takes another year to sell that's a total of £10,000 

Currently there are 2 properties that are rented in the building, there are currently 4 up for sale including ours and we have been informed by the warden that 2 more will be going up shortly, none of them are getting interest with buyers.

We have already dropped the price and are currently the lowest out of the 4 that are up for sale by £5k, our current estate agent has had no-one in to view, and from what we have been told by the warden, the other sellers have also had no-one looking.

It is unfortunately a very niche market, 18 months ago there was a waiting list to move into the building, now we can't give them away which is why we are looking at the legalities of renting the property so we can at least cover the costs until the market picks up again.

What has happened to change a building with a waiting list into one where properties 'can't be given away' ? Are the service charges punitive, is the building in disrepair, or what? You may find that dropping the price even more is going to be your only long term solution.  Have you googled the name of the block with the words 'service charge problems' added to see if anything pops up? Your estate agent is likely to be best placed to advise.

Grumpelstiltskin

My thoughts are that as this situation drags on you are going to find fewer  people who would normally be interested in downsizing to this kind of accommodation.

They will not be prepared to go through the hassle of marketing their current home and all that involves and then the hassle of moving into a new property.

As others have said every property will sell at a price, you haven't reduced it enough to reach that price yet.

So you have to make a decision, mine would be cut your losses and get rid of it soon as you have no idea how long it will be before the situation stabilises.

getmore4less

When was the last sale?

There are a couple of blocks around us with assisted type accommodation.

1beds  come on between £100 and £130k.
They vary a bit  so some need updates some have been done

last sale July 2019 £110.

there are a few for sale the oldest from Feb 2020 at £125k, dropped to £85k last month still sticking
. 

thegreenone

A friend was in your situation.  They put the flat on the rental market and attracted a tenant quickly.  The tenant bought it two years later. A 'try before you buy situation'.