Probate granted. House repairs for sale. Brother idle.

captrico

Newly_retired said:

I was in a similar position with my parents’ house, although I did have some help from family with clearing household items. After that I got house clearance people in. We sold the house as a doer-uper. It needed new windows, electrics, central heating as well as redecorating. Easy to sell. Plenty of people want such houses so they can to it to their own taste/ budget/ requirements.  OK so we would have got more for it if we had renovated it first, but did not want the hassle while working full time with young families etc.

Thanks.  Yes, i think i will do some general maintenance and make it clean and presentable.  Box up everything and put in storage the things my brother may want, and sell the furniture and general household items. It is exhausting , and can really get heavy when you tuck into the thing.  Be sad to walk away from the house i have known for many years, but life goes on i suppose.   My parents ashes are in the garden, so there is definitely am emotional element to selling it to a new owner.  My mother did warn me it wasnt going to be an easy task. Shes right about that! 

Loza2016

I would also vote for just emptying the bungalow and tidy up the garden if overgrown. I bought a 1950s bungalow a few years ago that was in awful condition and not liveable. Was on a good plot though so people were still fighting over it. Ended up paying more than the asking price. These type of property sell quickly where I live. 

captrico

Loza2016 said:

I would also vote for just emptying the bungalow and tidy up the garden if overgrown. I bought a 1950s bungalow a few years ago that was in awful condition and not liveable. Was on a good plot though so people were still fighting over it. Ended up paying more than the asking price. These type of property sell quickly where I live. 

Thanks.  The place is very liveable as it is.  Just needs a tidy up.  Boiler is new, and windows, electrics are all fine.  Its just showing its age as far as deco is concerned.   Needs wallpaper off and walls painted, etc.  Im a bit of a nit pick so its probably ideal for an older retired couple who could hire a gardener once a week.     I would like to keep it for a place to have as i rent a flat at the moment, but my brother wants to sell it.  Unfortunately i dont have the finances to buy his half, but you never know.  

BooJewels

I really wouldn't waste time on decorating etc., the buyers are very likely to re-do it anyway - that was what I was saying about it being honest - new paint will make buyers wonder what you're covering.

If it's in a good sized plot, as already mentioned, it may even be pulled down and a bigger house built.  The house next to my parents' was a bungalow and a developer bought it to increase it into a house, but found the foundations weren't up to the task, so demolished and built a new place instead.   He priced it too high though, it was still for sale, long after we'd completed on my parents' place.

A bungalow in a good location will no doubt sell itself anyway - our two properties sold within hours of going on sale, let alone days - because they were in very sought after locations.  Both buyers were either the first or second viewers and made asking price offers the same day.  We maybe could have got more, but neither were in a chain, so that had value to us.

Savvy_Sue

captrico said:

My parents ashes are in the garden, so there is definitely am emotional element to selling it to a new owner.  My mother did warn me it wasnt going to be an easy task. Shes right about that! 

Have it got this right, you've put your parents ashes in the garden of their former home? I mean, no reason why not, but I've not heard of someone doing that in a property they don't live in ...

 captrico said:

Thanks.  The place is very liveable as it is.  Just needs a tidy up.  Boiler is new, and windows, electrics are all fine.  Its just showing its age as far as deco is concerned.   Needs wallpaper off and walls painted, etc.  Im a bit of a nit pick so its probably ideal for an older retired couple who could hire a gardener once a week.     I would like to keep it for a place to have as i rent a flat at the moment, but my brother wants to sell it.  Unfortunately i dont have the finances to buy his half, but you never know.  

Definitely worth getting a valuation as at Date of Death: would IMO be worth paying for a proper valuation for probate rather than an estate agent's finger in the wind. If you say there are reasons why it would fail a mortgage survey, this will be noted. But you may find that the valuation is low enough that you COULD afford to buy your brother out. And remember, it's that Date of Death valuation which counts for probate. 

Once you start tidying it up it's more difficult to establish that firm valuation. 

thegreenone

I employed a solicitor to do probate on my late Mum's flat and that was about £1200 for a small estate.  No idea why you were quoted £5k.  The EA told me to do absolutely nothing to the flat, which I did and it sold for the asking price.   

Whilst probate was going through, I emptied.  I sold lots of things on FB marketplace and carried out transactions on the doorstep.  A young lady who had recently opened a vintage homeware shop bought a lot and some other stuff is still in my loft!!!!  

I ran the vacuum over the carpets and handed the keys to the EA.

I don't want to appear rude but you are overthinking.  If you need time, why not hire a storage unit near to you and a Man with Van.  Empty the property and then you can go through everything at your leisure, while the property is sold.  You can charge the estate reasonable costs.