Buying a probate house

secla

KSS1991 said:

@km1500 but can you not extend your mortgage offer/just take a new one? Ours 'expiring' in June but I assume we could just take it out again?

some mortage companys will extend your offer some wont, best not to just assume yours will.
If it expires you will have to apply again at whatever the current rates are

RAS

secla said:

KSS1991 said:

@km1500 but can you not extend your mortgage offer/just take a new one? Ours 'expiring' in June but I assume we could just take it out again?

some mortage companys will extend your offer some wont, best not to just assume yours will.
If it expires you will have to apply again at whatever the current rates are

Best to talk to your mortgage advisor and find out if it can be extended, now.

And if it can't be extended, get the EA and your solicitor to pass that message on to vendors. 

They may be doing DIY and have sent in a paper form. They may have a solicitor who is really slow. 

Or they may just be caught in the randomness of probate where some estates take 2 weeks and some 6 months.

At least ask for the date when they submitted the probate form and whether on paper or electronically.

Tiglet2

KSS1991 said:

@EndlessStruggle have you found another house though? My worry is if we pull out , we might end up yet with another probate house or (even worse) a chain which can also take ages.. It seems there is no easy way to buy a house in England. The house is perfect for us, very good condition as well, very well looked after etc.

KSS1991 said:

@JM68 property itself is in a very good condition (as in you could live in it today). It is a bit dated (we will need new carpets etc) but nothing major. We are in two minds about it - on one side the unknown on the delay is killing me but on the other side maybe it is worth the wait as we would buy this house for long term (10years+) Also the question is - who can guarantee the 'next' house would not have a long delay. It took us 9months to find the current house. Arghhh why is it so difficult to buy a chain free house (it is literally just this house and no chain either side)

@KSS1991
You said that you were FTB's, so reading that and the posts above, you're saying this house is perfect for you, it is a long term buy (10+ years) and that it took 9 months to find this property, I would advise that you stick with it and wait it out until probate is granted. 

Yes, it must be frustrating that it's taking much longer than you anticipated, but once you're in you will forget about the journey to get there. 

As FTBs, you're not trying to appease an impatient buyer, or a chain below that, so just relax and let the process take its course. 

I don't know what your current situation is.  Are you living with parents or in a rental?  

You are not really in control of the process and getting stressed about it will not make it go any faster.

p00hsticks

Tiglet2 said:

I don't know what your current situation is.  Are you living with parents or in a rental?  

THe OP says they are currently paying rent

Tiglet2

p00hsticks said:

Tiglet2 said:

I don't know what your current situation is.  Are you living with parents or in a rental?  

THe OP says they are currently paying rent

Thanks, I missed that!

clive0510

I dont know about buying a probate house, but I do know I have one to sell. 
mum died dec15th last year and we are still waiting for probate to be granted. even then we still cant sell as the property has a flat attached with a tenant in it. the tenant has 6 months rights of tenancy and has informed us she intends to live there to the end, ie june 15th. 
so in the meantime we are still drawing rent from her, which is fair enough as that helps with the upkeep and maintainance of the main house and garden. 
just waiting for the summer now, so we can get the tenant out, put the house on the market, pay all the unpaid bills, and bring an end to the whole thing.

KSS1991

@Tiglet2 thank you. You are absolutely right and I think possibly we should just chill and wait till probate is sorted. We are in rental, so yes we are paying the rent instead of a mortgage but we would in any case even if we pulled out. The EA was really sneaky as they did not tell us the house was awaiting probate until after they accepted our offer (on viewing we were told the house ex rental) I dont know why they lied and also I am a bit shocked that the son of the owner (who passed away over 7months ago now) was allowed to market the house when he is not even officially the owner yet. Crazy system. But all in all we really like it and the price for the size of house and land (huge garden) is really good too. I rrally appreciate everyone's comments and thoughts on it and I realise it can take as long as it takes. Also good point re. the mortgage offer, will let EA know about expiry dates etc but I already know they will say they cannot do much to speed up probate process which is TRUE

Tiglet2

KSS1991 said:

@Tiglet2 thank you. You are absolutely right and I think possibly we should just chill and wait till probate is sorted. We are in rental, so yes we are paying the rent instead of a mortgage but we would in any case even if we pulled out. The EA was really sneaky as they did not tell us the house was awaiting probate until after they accepted our offer (on viewing we were told the house ex rental) I dont know why they lied and also I am a bit shocked that the son of the owner (who passed away over 7months ago now) was allowed to market the house when he is not even officially the owner yet. Crazy system. But all in all we really like it and the price for the size of house and land (huge garden) is really good too. I rrally appreciate everyone's comments and thoughts on it and I realise it can take as long as it takes. Also good point re. the mortgage offer, will let EA know about expiry dates etc but I already know they will say they cannot do much to speed up probate process which is TRUE

Unfortunately there are no laws about when you can advertise a probate property for sale.  Many people understand that a probate property cannot be "completed" until the Grant of Probate is received, but the marketing and conveyancing can all be done while the probate is being applied for. 

For the beneficiaries of the Will (or Executors), this means that the gap between the owner passing away and distributing the Estate is minimised.  Can you imagine how frustrating it might be if you were to inherit part of the Estate but you had to wait a year before the Grant of Probate was issued and then another year to find a buyer and the conveyancing concluded?  Many beneficiaries/executors want the Estate distributed as quickly as possible and hope that the marketing and conveyancing run alongside the application for probate so that everything is concluded in the shortest possible time.  No-one can predict which part of the process will take the longest and you have, unfortunately, now discovered that the granting of probate has delayed your purchase.

Hopefully, the Grant of Probate will conclude soon and you can complete in the very near future.

Wish you all the best.

CalJo99

This is a bit off the wall, but would it make sense to explore initially renting the house you are seeking to buy, while waiting for probate to be granted???

That would allow you to move in, and get redecorative work started and so on - and give you possession as well. A tenancy is quite powerful (hard to get tenants out if they dig in), but it would reassure the vendors you really are keen to own the house.

Maybe the rent could be deducted against the actual purchase price when it comes to completion?

I did this 'in reverse' when I bought a property whose owners wanted a six month rental to give them a window to do up the house they'd bought when they'd sold me theirs. I was, for various reasons, in no particular hurry to gain possession, so agreed. There was a risk they wouldn't leave in time, of course, but in the end good faith prevailed all round, and at the end of six months they moved out on schedule, into their now renovated new home, and I got possession.

All that said, I may be missing vital downsides of what I am floating here!!

Marvel1

CalJo99 said:

This is a bit off the wall, but would it make sense to explore initially renting the house you are seeking to buy, while waiting for probate to be granted???

That would allow you to move in, and get redecorative work started and so on - and give you possession as well. A tenancy is quite powerful (hard to get tenants out if they dig in), but it would reassure the vendors you really are keen to own the house.

Maybe the rent could be deducted against the actual purchase price when it comes to completion?

I did this 'in reverse' when I bought a property whose owners wanted a six month rental to give them a window to do up the house they'd bought when they'd sold me theirs. I was, for various reasons, in no particular hurry to gain possession, so agreed. There was a risk they wouldn't leave in time, of course, but in the end good faith prevailed all round, and at the end of six months they moved out on schedule, into their now renovated new home, and I got possession.

All that said, I may be missing vital downsides of what I am floating here!!

The seller would have to comply with the law of what a landlord does and they may not want the hassle.