Selling property in role of executor to current tenants

km1500

You can use the same firm of solicitors but inadvisable to use  the same actual solicitor within that firm

user1977

km1500 said:

You can use the same firm of solicitors but inadvisable to use  the same actual solicitor within that firm

Inadvisable to use the same firm at all - how can they give best advice to both their clients? Mr Jones of Bloggs & Co is hardly going to tell you that Ms Smith of Bloggs & Co is asking for a load of unnecessary stuff...

And from other stories, it's not necessarily going to save you any time or money.

SiliconChip

user1977 said:

km1500 said:

You can use the same firm of solicitors but inadvisable to use  the same actual solicitor within that firm

Inadvisable to use the same firm at all - how can they give best advice to both their clients? Mr Jones of Bloggs & Co is hardly going to tell you that Ms Smith of Bloggs & Co is asking for a load of unnecessary stuff...

And from other stories, it's not necessarily going to save you any time or money.

I once sold a flat in Edinburgh to someone who used the same firm of solicitors as me, they refused to act for the buyer and provided her with an introduction to another firm to do the conveyancing.

OP, definitely get your own solicitor, the saving to be made is by not having to pay any estate agency fees. You might want to consider a RICS survey to get an accurate valuation that both you and the tenants can agree to.

user1977

SiliconChip said:

user1977 said:

km1500 said:

You can use the same firm of solicitors but inadvisable to use  the same actual solicitor within that firm

Inadvisable to use the same firm at all - how can they give best advice to both their clients? Mr Jones of Bloggs & Co is hardly going to tell you that Ms Smith of Bloggs & Co is asking for a load of unnecessary stuff...

And from other stories, it's not necessarily going to save you any time or money.

I once sold a flat in Edinburgh to someone who used the same firm of solicitors as me, they refused to act for the buyer and provided her with an introduction to another firm to do the conveyancing.

Yes, it isn't allowed in Scotland (apart from some very narrow exceptions) - no idea how the English get away with it.

Marcon

pjs493 said:

Marcon said:

pjs493 said:

cymruchris said:

I always thought they recommended different solicitors for buyer and seller no matter what, to prevent any conflict of interest that might affect either party. There will be savings, as there's no estate agent.

I have a recent EPC certificate too, so that’s all sorted. 

I thought I read in a guide somewhere, possibly on this website, that using the same solicitor was an option. But I could be wrong. 

It is an option. One of the better articles I could find giving an overview of such a situation was: https://www.homewardlegal.co.uk/news/post/do-home-buyers-and-sellers-need-separate-conveyancing-solicitors

OP, given you are selling as executor, are you selling with 'limited title' (ie 'don't live there, don't really know the property, can't provide all the usual info')?

While I don’t live there, as it is occupied by tenants and has been for over a decade, I know a lot about the property, spent a lot of time there before my husband and I were married (while he was living in it before we married), and did most of the leg work with the rental side of things while my husband was alive because I had the spare time and capacity to deal with it (especially when he was overseas with work and I was the first point of contact). I know the property well and have all the documents related to the property from the time my late husband bought it until now. I’ve got everything from the expiry dates on the fire alarms to the brochure my husband got when he first expressed an interest in the flat from the company that built it. I probably know more about the property than I know about the house I’m currently living in. 

I think you'll find your solicitor would still advise you to sell with limited title if possible...

Flugelhorn

Marcon said:

pjs493 said:

Marcon said:

pjs493 said:

cymruchris said:

I always thought they recommended different solicitors for buyer and seller no matter what, to prevent any conflict of interest that might affect either party. There will be savings, as there's no estate agent.

I have a recent EPC certificate too, so that’s all sorted. 

I thought I read in a guide somewhere, possibly on this website, that using the same solicitor was an option. But I could be wrong. 

It is an option. One of the better articles I could find giving an overview of such a situation was: https://www.homewardlegal.co.uk/news/post/do-home-buyers-and-sellers-need-separate-conveyancing-solicitors

OP, given you are selling as executor, are you selling with 'limited title' (ie 'don't live there, don't really know the property, can't provide all the usual info')?

While I don’t live there, as it is occupied by tenants and has been for over a decade, I know a lot about the property, spent a lot of time there before my husband and I were married (while he was living in it before we married), and did most of the leg work with the rental side of things while my husband was alive because I had the spare time and capacity to deal with it (especially when he was overseas with work and I was the first point of contact). I know the property well and have all the documents related to the property from the time my late husband bought it until now. I’ve got everything from the expiry dates on the fire alarms to the brochure my husband got when he first expressed an interest in the flat from the company that built it. I probably know more about the property than I know about the house I’m currently living in. 

I think you'll find your solicitor would still advise you to sell with limited title if possible...

I agree - I don't think there is any problem about limited title - certainly I found that the solictor had done that for the one I was selling and when I asked about they said that it was standard for probate properties

pjs493

Thanks for thanks for the advice regarding limited title. I see what the solicitor suggests when I choose one. Over the course of the weekend I plan to check out the websites of solicitors local to the property and I can then start making enquiries on Monday. 

Savvy_Sue

pjs493 said:

Thanks for thanks for the advice regarding limited title. I see what the solicitor suggests when I choose one. Over the course of the weekend I plan to check out the websites of solicitors local to the property and I can then start making enquiries on Monday. 

That may be helpful, but I used one local to me to sell my late mother's property, and that worked very well for me - I used to see 'my' solicitor on the train on our way to work ... and could easily get to his office to sign or collect anything. 

poppystar

Savvy_Sue said:

pjs493 said:

Thanks for thanks for the advice regarding limited title. I see what the solicitor suggests when I choose one. Over the course of the weekend I plan to check out the websites of solicitors local to the property and I can then start making enquiries on Monday. 

That may be helpful, but I used one local to me to sell my late mother's property, and that worked very well for me - I used to see 'my' solicitor on the train on our way to work ... and could easily get to his office to sign or collect anything. 

Ditto when selling a property some way away from me.. I used a solicitor local to me so I had easy access to them to collect and sign papers etc. 

pjs493

The rental property isn’t too far away from me and I have friends in that area so it would
be easy to tie in a necessary trip to the solicitor with visiting friends etc. 

But when I buy it may be easier to have a solicitor local to where I currently live because I’m looking to buy quite a distance away. So that’s useful to know.