Death between exchange and completion - what happens to the chain?

DaveG1111

If there is a death of a seller between exchange and completion further up the chain, what would happen to all transactions below in the chain?  I appreciate the specific transaction has immediate complications however trying to understand if any transaction in the chain is affected in the same way.

jonnydeppiwish!

I may be wrong but I think the contract covers death and you have to wait for probate?

user1977

jonnydeppiwish! said:

I may be wrong but I think the contract covers death and you have to wait for probate?

Not really, it amounts to the same as the party just failing to complete the sale for any other reason - so the estate is in breach of contract (until they can get probate). In practice that's unlikely to happen before the point at which the buyers would be entitled to walk.

OP, is this just an academic question or a particular situation you're asking about?

DaveG1111

Someone is elderly and unwell in the chain (not unexpectedly) so would like to understand, hypothetically, whether the wait for probate on their transaction also affects all others in the chain, rather than just the buyer of their property?

I am not unsympathetic to the situation - I am just trying to understand the impact on the legal aspects.

user1977

If the deceased's buyer breaches their own sale contract (by failing to move out on time) then they'd be in breach of contract, and so on - easiest solution would be for them to break the chain and find somewhere else to live so everyone else can complete their transactions. 

Bluntly, it would seem unwise for a seller to exchange contracts if they're not reasonably certain that they're going to survive until completion.

silvercar

If money is being passed along the chain then everyone is impacted. It can put everyone in limbo for months.

propertyhunter

What are the circumstances of the elderly seller? Assume they are not purchasing a new property if they're unwell, perhaps terminally? If they're worried about dying after exchanging, the chain could agree on a shorter timeframe from exchange to completion (e.g. one week, few days or simultaneous/same day). You really don't want to go through the endless timeline of waiting for probate - people probably don't want to lose their mortgage offers in this economic climate. 

DaveG1111

I am hearing about the situation indirectly as not my transaction.  They are the top of the chain, so no onward purchase.  

Losing my mortgage offer / extra complexity / chain falling apart are all concerns in relation to my transaction.

UnderOffer

This exact scenario happened to elderly friends of ours. They had to complete on their own home sale (as advised by their solicitor due to the chain potentially suing for non completion) they vacated on completion date, home into storage but had no where to go. They were continually promised probate would be expedited due to the circumstances but in reality it still took 6 months of a very straightforward estate/will before they received the keys. Their conveyancers were awful and unfortunately were the well known conveyancers warehouse who were also representing the now passed away seller.
As they were promised it would be sorted “any day now”, they just stayed with family moving from one spare room to another but weeks dragged into months and in hindsight they should have found somewhere to rent from the outset. 

Yes, they got their new home after 6 months, but it was bitter sweet and I don’t think they will ever get over the trauma it caused, they only recovered their storage costs and nothing more as couldn’t bear the thought of having to separately sue for additional costs etc., conveyancer said they’d have to find separate representation for this. Ultimately someone lost a dear family member and our friends were too polite to put the grieving family through more upset. 
I continuously read that it is very rare for this to happen. I think I also read that had the seller been married or had a joint partner the sale would have completed as normal. 

jonnydeppiwish!

user1977 said:

jonnydeppiwish! said:

I may be wrong but I think the contract covers death and you have to wait for probate?

Not really, it amounts to the same as the party just failing to complete the sale for any other reason - so the estate is in breach of contract (until they can get probate). In practice that's unlikely to happen before the point at which the buyers would be entitled to walk.

OP, is this just an academic question or a particular situation you're asking about?

Yes they are in breach of contract but the sale cannot proceed without a letter of administration or probate. Given that this is a minimum or 7/14 days post death then it’ll be a long wait for the chain unless the buyer is willing to break the chain.

pinkteapot

If I knew there was someone seriously unwell in the chain, I'd be negotiating for as short a period between exchange and completion as the chain will agree to (normally I like a longer period to get organised with removals etc).