Chain question- Probate

Sophie_508

Hi all,

A quick question to see if anyone can shed some light. We are currently in a 4 person chain.
At the end of the chain is a lady who is purchasing an empty bungalow. A couple of weeks after her offer was accepted we were told that the empty bungalow is awaiting the grant of probate to come through and it had been sent off in April 2023. They said they expected it back end June/ start July and now today say mid-end July.

Would my buyer, myself and the lady we are buying off be able to exchange and complete if the person buying the probate house was happy to either move in with family/ rent somewhere else? This would mean that she can exchange and complete on her probate home once this has come through but allow the rest of the chain to keep moving. Does anyone know if something like this is possible?

Thanks

unforeseen

I'm sure they would agree to that if the other 3 were willing to cover all the additional costs such as storage costs, house rental etc. 

anselld

It’s possible, but the problem for the purchaser of the probate would be what happens if it falls through after they have exchanged on the sale.  They would be stuck in rented or with family.  Might not be a risk they are prepared to take even if their expenses were covered.

propertyrental

Perfectly possible (legally sd financially).

Would I do it? No. Too much risk of getting stuck living somewhere I don't want to be!

km1500

Probate sent off April 2023 is likely to come back at the end of the year if not next year

Flugelhorn

Oh the frustration when people market properties without the grant being issued! Very unfair on others in the chain

propertyrental

Yes..... and no.

It's understandable given how long some chains take to complete, but the important (and fair) factor is communication. As long as everyone in the chain knows about the Probate and potential time impact, they can plan or decide to offer on a different property accordingly.

There are countless things that can hold up Exchange......

tetrarch

km1500 said:

Probate sent off April 2023 is likely to come back at the end of the year if not next year

This is nonsense. There are delays but a statement that this is "likely" is completely unfounded. 

Regards

Tet

tetrarch

Flugelhorn said:

Oh the frustration when people market properties without the grant being issued! Very unfair on others in the chain

Purely maths. 

Currently a £100,000 mortgage at 6% would be costing £500 a month in interest or £16.44 per day. Whilst you may deem it unfair, the monetary incentive NOT to delay a sale is perfectly understandable

Regards

Tet

p00hsticks

tetrarch said:

km1500 said:

Probate sent off April 2023 is likely to come back at the end of the year if not next year

This is nonsense. There are delays but a statement that this is "likely" is completely unfounded. 

Regards

Tet

Agreed - there is a least one example over on  the Death, Funerals and Probate board of an application made in April this year already having been granted. Statsitics on HMCTS performance are published regualrly and the average turnaround time for digital probate applications as at April was given as 13.2 weeks
HMCTS management information - April 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Sophie_508

Thanks for all the info. I think the lady was up for doing a move but I wasn't sure if it was actually possible as I wasn't sure if everything had to exchange at the same time . 

Thanks for all your help. Guess it's up to her at the end of the day .