buying a property in probate

noddy11

Hi All,

Thank you in advance for any help given.

I have made an offer on a property (that was listed as chain free) the offer has been accepted and I have now found out the property is in probate; I asked and the probate has be applied for 3 weeks ago (when the property was listed for sale which was also 3 weeks ago) but probate has not been granted yet.

I am very keen to buy the property and I was advised it could take up to 22 weeks to complete.

I think i am going to hold of doing a survey on the property until probate has been granted is this wise?

The company dealing with the sale and the estate agents are asking me for my Solicitors details  and I have passed these over to them, i am just worried about being charged by the Solicitors and probate is never granted and the house is not sold does this happen a lot in this situation ?

I don't want to slow down the process at all, and worried if I tell my solicitors not to do any work they will still charge me and also there is the risk of the estate agents putting the house back on the market if my solicitors are not moving forward?

Any thoughts would please be very welcome and please note I am in no rush whatsoever in waiting 6 to 12 months or more if needed I just dont want everything to fall though and be left with bills etc.

Flugelhorn

I am sure that the beneficiaries / executor will be keen to sell and if they are happy with the price offered then that is a good thing. 
Personally I find it annoying that people market properties without having got probate  , I know you can do it,  it can really hold things up though. 

Your solicitor can just open a file but if I were you I would do anything else until they have probate - you could for example get a mortgage offer which runs out before the probate is through 

Millsandovis

I wouldn’t do anything until probate is issued. You’re not losing anything that way. I’m going through the same thing with a house that may be unregistered. I’ve paid for searches but I won’t be forking out 650 quid for a survey for a property I might not get absolute title on. If they kick off then it’s their problem for not being clearer from the start. 

Did you ask at the viewing what the ownership situation was? Bit cheeky of them to not mention it if you did. 

RAS

I'd get the EA or your solicitor to ask:

Is there a will, or is this administration?
If probate was applied for personally, by the executors, or by their solicitor?
And whether the person concerned applied on-line or by mail?

On-line family applications with a will can be dealt with inside a month. Paper administration that requires clarification takes months.

You might be cheeky and ask if IHT is due? Depending rather on the value of the house? On one hand, HMRC have to liaise with the Probate Office so that delays everything a month, on the other hand the venders will want to get the sale completed PDQ if they need the money to pay off the full IHT bill. 

noddy11

Hi There,

At the viewing i didn't even know this was a thing to honest never heard about it before.

I really don't want to lose the property and worried if I don't let the Solicitors do some work they might put it back on the market.

I wont be doing a survey until Probate is issued I think, as the lead time on a survey will only be about 2 weeks i believe.

I have been told my offer is acceptable and there not considering any other offers (so far they have all been very good and upfront, apart from not knowing it was in probate until I made an offer which I think its ok).

What is the normal is this situation, do people normally let there Solicitors carry on doing there work as normal to get everything ready waiting for probate to be granted or do people normally hold off doing searches etc? and slow down the process?

Asking as I don"t want to seem unreasonable and lose the property.

noddy11

RAS said:

I'd get the EA or your solicitor to ask:

Is there a will, or is this administration?
If probate was applied for personally, by the executors, or by their solicitor?
And whether the person concerned applied on-line or by mail?

On-line family applications with a will can be dealt with inside a month. Paper administration that requires clarification takes months.

You might be cheeky and ask if IHT is due? Depending rather on the value of the house? On one hand, HMRC have to liaise with the Probate Office so that delays everything a month, on the other hand the venders will want to get the sale completed PDQ if they need the money to pay off the full IHT bill. 

Thank you very much, the only answer to the above I know at the stage is i was told by the executor that the family had applied for probate.

funny_bones

I viewed a property last year and during the viewing, I specifically asked if it was a probate property and if nt where was the owner as the property had clearly been empty for quite a while. The EA said the person had gone into a care home. 

It was only after my offer was accepted, I then found out it was a probate property! I withdrew my offer for a different reason.

I did a bit of googling and one of the things that came up was ‘how was the estate going to be split and if there’s any disputes between the beneficiaries on terms of the sale of the property’. I also spoke to my solicitor who said some of the information relating to the property may not be known in these cases. 

Have a word with your solicitor and see what they advise based on your situation.

RAS

It is commonplace for probate properties to be sold with minimal information about stuff like boiler checks, as the people selling it haven't been in the property.

So following up your survey is important but if you can get a second viewing, you can look at things like the electrical board, sockets and basic wiring( loose wires, broken covers), check for blown double glazing etc. Folk on this forum and the DIY can help you if you have photos.

Rodders53

From the other perspective although this was 2015...
M-i-L passed in August. Sole living Executrix and beneficiary was my wife. It was a simple Estate.  No IHT due.

We marketed and presented the house quite soon after the loss and about the same time as applying for Probate (September).  The house completed in December, with Probate having been granted in good time - long before Exchange let alone Completion.

Probate nowadays is taking a bit longer - especially if not done all online (not possible in 2015)... But that they have applied means all the main work is done...

If I were the Executors and you stalled the process by delaying searches and surveys it'd be back on the market the moment that was clear to me!  But perhaps ask the EAs to discover a bit more and advise you (ask your Solicitor for a view as well perhaps)?

NB Probate sales are usually pretty obvious due to the decor and furniture in the home.  The only other reason is for the owner going into care (with relatives or in a home), which may all go wrong if that person dies!

noddy11

Rodders53 said:

From the other perspective although this was 2015...

If I were the Executors and you stalled the process by delaying searches and surveys it'd be back on the market the moment that was clear to me!  But perhaps ask the EAs to discover a bit more and advise you (ask your Solicitor for a view as well perhaps)?

Thank you all for your replies, i am happy with the cost of the house and happy with the work needed to the house and happy with the wait.

I think I might go ahead then with the searches and Solicitors working but hold of on the survey as i don't think this will hold up the sale by much? the lead time on the survey being done is about 2 weeks.