Probate nightmare!

Kmat25419

I'm hoping someone can help me, 
So basically my father in law sadly passed away last August, and it's been down to myself and my husband to sort out his estate.
We were told probate would take around 8 weeks possibly double that because of backlogs.
So we didnt put his house on the market straight away, we waited but then someone I know wanted to view it, so we said yes she wanted to make an offer. She was made aware of the probate situation from the beginning. So we accepted the offer.
It's now been 6 months waiting for probate to granted, our solictors claimed they have been chasing. The buyer has since completed on the sale of her house, so she is homeless effectively!
I was getting sick of waiting so we complained via twitter to the hmcts, they have now told us they have no records of anything being submitted at all! What the hell!! 
But they sent us back the death certificate, doesnt make sense! 
They have now admitted they have lost the application, utterly devastated not just because our purchase of a house was relying on our buyer of his dads house, but this lady is so lovely and shes homeless now!! I feel absolutely awful, weve told her we will resend everything on Monday morning ourselves and the probate have said to include a cover letter for expediting it given the circumstances and it was their fault. But I've told her we will knock money off the sale to go towards accommodation is there anything I can do to try and convince her not to pull out??
I wouldn't blame her if she did, but just desperate to try and save the sale. 
Just cant believe how useless the probate service is and they just dont care.

canaldumidi

Who is/are the Executors? You? The solicitor you mention? Both?

I'm afraid agreeing a sale before Probate is granted is inevitably a risk, and both you and the buyer should have recognised this.

Your buyer will now have to decide whether to continue to wait (for an uncertain period of time) or look elsewhere for a property. Nothing you can do except keep her informed in an honest way, and let her decide.

Kmat25419

So he died intestate, no will, just my husband and his brother as official beneficiaries but my husband was the one applying for the letters of administration. We did it through the solictors, theyve been a nightmare to deal with, but when a professional tells you a rough time frame 2-4 months you believe them I guess. She made the offer in February, we applied for the letters in November. 
Just cant believe theyve lost the paperwork. Yes weve got a really good relationship to be fair always been honest with her from the beginning there were no half truths. The probate office told us if it gets expedited time frame theyve given us is 4-6weeks so weve passed on this information, and just hoping and praying she might take a chance and wait, it's an awful situation for her either way, if she pulls out and finds somewhere else that might take 3-6 months depending on the chain. And then ours might be back by then, I've told her to give it a think over the weekend and we can speak on Monday once weve filled in the forms and spoken to the conveyancer (who also deals with probate) to see what her advice is. 
Just a nightmare situation.

propertyhunter

It's so frustrating but at least you are being up front with the buyer. Just keep the lines of communication open, and explain the situation. I'm sure she will understand and be willing to wait. If she's completed on her purchase, she's obviously found somewhere to live, and is happy to make the compromise for a home she really wants. I think you offering to pay for her accommodation is more than anyone else would normally do. Is it a buyer's market where you are? Most places are in a seller's market, so as much as you like this buyer, it's not the end of the world for you if you need to find another. I suppose there would be estate agent fees to consider though. 

GDB2222

Your buyer completing on the sale of her house was entirely her decision. She knew that you didn’t have probate/letters of administration. It was a risk she took, and it has backfired through no fault of yours. You owe her nothing.

You have not even marketed the property yet, so why are you so keen on that particular buyer? 

Kmat25419

GDB2222 said:

Your buyer completing on the sale of her house was entirely her decision. She knew that you didn’t have probate/letters of administration. It was a risk she took, and it has backfired through no fault of yours. You owe her nothing.

You have not even marketed the property yet, so why are you so keen on that particular buyer? 

Mainly because it's all been down to myself and my husband to sort out his dads property (emptying, paying insurance, keeping up with the garden etc) since he passed last August.
We just want closure now, its exhausting, and we really like this lady shes just so lovely they are a retired couple he has dementia, they are downsizing. And we know they will really look after his dads house, and we know he would approve of them. I'm probably too emotionally invested but it camt be helped in this situation. Weve resent the forms the buyer has agreed to wait, so heres hoping they dont lose them this time round 

canaldumidi

Posting multiple threads on the same topic is against forum rules.

GDB2222

Kmat25419 said:

GDB2222 said:

Your buyer completing on the sale of her house was entirely her decision. She knew that you didn’t have probate/letters of administration. It was a risk she took, and it has backfired through no fault of yours. You owe her nothing.

You have not even marketed the property yet, so why are you so keen on that particular buyer? 

Mainly because it's all been down to myself and my husband to sort out his dads property (emptying, paying insurance, keeping up with the garden etc) since he passed last August.
We just want closure now, its exhausting, and we really like this lady shes just so lovely they are a retired couple he has dementia, they are downsizing. And we know they will really look after his dads house, and we know he would approve of them. I'm probably too emotionally invested but it camt be helped in this situation. Weve resent the forms the buyer has agreed to wait, so heres hoping they dont lose them this time round 

Just as long as your emotions are not getting in the way of your duty to other beneficiaries, I guess it’s up to you. 

If her husband has dementia, I wonder how he can cope with these changes?