Buying a probate house

KSS1991

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!!

@CalJo99@CalJo99 yes Ive heard of people doing this however I see  a big problem if it does come to sellers pulling out in the end we would be screwed. At the moment we are in a rental but at 50% less than market rate rent due to amazing landlord not raising any rent for the last 5 years. If we left this house and then something bad happens with probate house we will end up with no home and with the hassle of renting something else at double the cost. Thats the only thing really... 

CalJo99

True, but then they might risk losing their buyers if they don't!

Bit of a stand off....

Tiglet2

I think it highly unlikely that the seller's solicitor would advise the sellers to agree to renting out the property.  What if you moved in and then decided you don't like the property after all, so pull out of the transaction?

GDB2222

Tiglet2 said:

I think it highly unlikely that the seller's solicitor would advise the sellers to agree to renting out the property.  What if you moved in and then decided you don't like the property after all, so pull out of the transaction?

Worse still what if you simply like renting? It could take the best part of a year to get you out.

KSS1991

Singlemummy_2 said:

I’m in the same situation. Offer was accepted mid January, no probate has been granted though i’m told it was applied for at the end of October.

I’m now looking at other properties online and if something comes up I like the look of I’ll view others but not backing out just yet, and haven’t seen anything on the market that would take me away as yet anyway. My mortgage offer expires mid-end July. I do want to get a structural survey done on the property following homebuyers survey but as I’ve already had some outgoings I’m not prepared to spend anymore until we’ve had movement from the seller 

I agree properties shouldn’t be made available if they don’t have right to sell yet, it’s so frustrating. I was told the owner had passed but I didn’t know to ask about whether probate had been granted at the time. I won’t make that mistake in the future 

Have you asked your sellers to chase the probate up? After 16wks they can call the probate office and ask...

I can totally relate with you, I also keep an eye on properties online however there is nothing coming up to match the size/location of the house and the price. Annoying as it is we will keep waiting. Not much else to do at this point

User9943

KSS1991 said:

Hi all, we are buying a probate house, currently in week 17/ 18 whilst waiting for probate to be granted. Looks like seller was told by the probate office that it will be 'escalated' and will be granted within 3 weeks. However how reliable is that? It has not even been looked at yet. Can people who dealt with probate houses share their experiences of buying/selling in the last year or two? How long is too long?

Are we better off looking for another house? Bearing in mind the offer we made was based on December's 2022 prices and now prices are decreasing and with every month we keep paying rent whilst the other house is stood empty! I wonder if we should give seller a month and then start negotiating the 'cost of waiting'? At the end of the day, why on earth are people allowed to sell a house that is not even yet theirs! This is madness in itself but we really really love the house... it ticks all the boxes and more (we are FTB) so unsure what to do. (We sorted all the docs, mortgage, surveys within the first 4 weeks and have been ready to move since; the only outstanding query left is probate)

Hello, I am just going through something similar at the moment (the house we are buying is ready but the seller is buying a house in probate) we have just approached week 16 and I was wondering how longer after being escalated did you get the probate granted?

Thanks in advance

propertyrental

very old thread.

and why the duplicate posts?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6471469/buying-a-house-from-an-onwards-chain-waiting-for-probate-advice-please#latest