beneficiaries of will one wants to buy house

avenue12

Hi all, sorry for delay I didn't have a copy of the will, now seen it again. It says the beneficiaries inherit from the same of the house, so Macron that's better isn't it?
So did probate online yesterday, so fingers crossed.
So when probate clears anybody can but the house as long as they pay the full price. Then the beneficiaries are given the proceeds I think.

Marcon

avenue12 said:

Hi all, sorry for delay I didn't have a copy of the will, now seen it again. It says the beneficiaries inherit from the same of the house, so Macron that's better isn't it?
So did probate online yesterday, so fingers crossed.
So when probate clears anybody can but the house as long as they pay the full price. Then the beneficiaries are given the proceeds I think.

Much better! Onus will be on the executors to get the best price they can (which may not be the 'full' price, if by that you mean the probate valuation price - or you could be offered a higher price if sold on the open market) and then shell out the proceeds in due course.

lisyloo

Marcon said:

avenue12 said:

Hi all, sorry for delay I didn't have a copy of the will, now seen it again. It says the beneficiaries inherit from the same of the house, so Macron that's better isn't it?
So did probate online yesterday, so fingers crossed.
So when probate clears anybody can but the house as long as they pay the full price. Then the beneficiaries are given the proceeds I think.

Much better! Onus will be on the executors to get the best price they can (which may not be the 'full' price, if by that you mean the probate valuation price - or you could be offered a higher price if sold on the open market) and then shell out the proceeds in due course.

So a beneficiary can buy the house but needs to pay "full market value" (not necessarily asking price) as otherwise executors may be liable? Perhaps a bit of wiggle room for no estate agents fees.
I'd be careful about making sure the offer was enough if I was executor.

pjs493

qwert10 said:

Hi no my sister and I are executors. Solicitor said if there are 5 beneficiaries each needs to agree? isn't that true? We are 2 of them and our children the others.

The executors need to agree on the value, not the beneficiaries. In order to avoid any disagreements it would be wise to get a RICS valuation. You could also get estate agent valuations too, but the paid for RICS valuation is the most important and means a beneficiary can’t argue that it’s been under valued to benefit the buying beneficiary. 

As far as the beneficiaries are concerned, a lot will depend on the wording of the Will. Have they been left a percentage each in the hope they’ll all share use of the property? Or is the intention that the house is sold and the proceeds divided between the beneficiaries in the percentages you mention?

I’m struggling to work out why the solicitor thinks it’ll cost more to sell to a beneficiary than it would to sell on the open market. You’ll avoid estate agent fees for one. I’m currently selling a property in my role as executor. It’s a private sale to the current tenant so no estate agent fees are due, just the usual fees associated with conveyancing for the sale. In your case the estate will cover the conveyancing fees related to the sale so the cost of this would be deducted before any funds are given to beneficiaries of the Will. 

If one beneficiary wishes to buy, they need to secure the funds (eg with a deposit and mortgage). They will have to pay the buyers costs out of their own pocket (survey, conveyancing fees, etc) and once the sale is completed, the funds would transfer to the estate for distribution to the beneficiaries. 

There are two options I can see: 1. the buying beneficiary has their % deducted off the agreed selling price (although if it’s the proceeds of the sale that will be divided, that figure wouldn’t be exactly known until the house is sold) and doesn’t receive their cut at the end with the proceeds divided between the other beneficiaries. This option could be quite messy from an administrative point of view. 2. the buying beneficiary buys the house off the estate and once the sale has completed, they get their cut from the proceeds. From what you’ve mentioned their cut is quite small so they may not be counting on their cut for their deposit. They may be happy to receive their % after the sale if they plan to redecorate, refurbish, etc. 

I suppose a 3rd option could be if the buying beneficiary is a cash buyer, in which case it makes options 1 and 2 easier. 

theoretica

lisyloo said:

Marcon said:

avenue12 said:

Hi all, sorry for delay I didn't have a copy of the will, now seen it again. It says the beneficiaries inherit from the same of the house, so Macron that's better isn't it?
So did probate online yesterday, so fingers crossed.
So when probate clears anybody can but the house as long as they pay the full price. Then the beneficiaries are given the proceeds I think.

Much better! Onus will be on the executors to get the best price they can (which may not be the 'full' price, if by that you mean the probate valuation price - or you could be offered a higher price if sold on the open market) and then shell out the proceeds in due course.

So a beneficiary can buy the house but needs to pay "full market value" (not necessarily asking price) as otherwise executors may be liable? Perhaps a bit of wiggle room for no estate agents fees.
I'd be careful about making sure the offer was enough if I was executor.

There is a distinct aspect of 'who might complain'.  If the only beneficiaries are the five mentioned so far - the two executors are unlikely to kick up a fuss about their own actions and doing fairly by the two grandchildren not looking to purchase the property seems fairly manageable. 

avenue12

thanks yes only the 5 mentioned!