house vendor dies before completion- renting that house while in Probate?

jimbo6977

You might be waiting a while but if you need temporary accommodation I'd suggest trying some of the holiday parks that open all year, I think Tattershall Lakes does and there may be others. 

uralmaid

You dont say what your budget is but currently there are 33 houses for sale in Coningsby.  It's only a small village but depending what your budget is there are also nearby locations such as New York and Mareham le fen. The area around is quite inexpensive compared to some areas such as Woodhall Spa and Tattershall. We live in Lincolnshire and when we first moved here from Yorkshire we viewed quite a lot of places around that area Although we settled further up towards Louth.

GDB2222

R.j.Belcher said:

user1977 said:

If the executors don’t have power to sell, they don’t have any greater power to lease (albeit that doesn’t involve getting approval by third parties such as the Land Registry). And any seller may well wish to avoid the hassle and obligations in becoming a landlord, and the risk that the (potential) buyer will just become a difficult-to-shift tenant.

The executor is already a landlord, his father rented out 'our' house for many years, been empty since March. Thankfully the other sons wife is a solicitor so their legal advice should be swift and in their best interest. 
Plan B will be to rent short term somwhere else but thats easier said than done with no firm time frame.
Rob

I’m sure that their legal advice will be swift and in their best interests. You need to look at your best interests.

if I said that I would let this house to you, or agreed to sell it to you, you would laugh at me. You would say that it is not my house, and I can’t legally sell the house or rent it out.  You need to understand that the deceased’s relatives are in exactly the same position as me. 

Until the executor named in the will gets probate, he has no right or power to grant a valid lease or make any promises about the house. For a start, how do you even know that the will is valid? Or, perhaps there’s a later one?

It is possible that the executor will forge ahead and get probate quickly. And in theory that can be done in a month or two after all the paperwork is completed. However, he probably won’t even think about it until after the funeral. Then, there’s Christmas and the new year… 

And, the executors are not bound to sell at the previously agreed price. They might decide to remarket the property at a higher price. Or do the place up themselves and then sell it. 

You really need to rethink your options from scratch. 

Keep_pedalling

Don’t expect probate to be quick where the deceased owned multiple properties as this will probably involve an IHT return as well. The executors may also decide not to sell or may think they can get a better price so put it back on the market again once they have probate.There are several other things that could delay this way beyond a year, frankly I would be looking at alternative properties as there is so much that could go wrong here. 

FreeBear

There was a thread a couple of years back of someone buying from an elderly vendor that died just before exchange. The poster hung out and finally purchased after about 18 months as I recall.

thegreenone

Could you find an AirBNB for a few months?  If need be, explain to the owner why you need months, not weeks.  I realise this would involve two moves and a storage facility,

peterhjohnson

This article is more optimistic https://www.spiresolicitors.co.uk/buying-a-house-but-the-seller-has-died-before-completion-what-happens-now/
In particular:

A delay in obtaining the Grant can mean that the sale does not complete on the day that the contract says it should. If the completion date is missed, a breach of contract will have occurred for which the seller may be liable to pay compensation or damages in accordance with the terms of the contract.

The Probate Registry does operate an emergency system to expedite the Grant of Probate or for a limited Grant of Probate to be issued. This may be used to enable to sale of the property to take place with minimum delay.

user1977

peterhjohnson said:

This article is more optimistic https://www.spiresolicitors.co.uk/buying-a-house-but-the-seller-has-died-before-completion-what-happens-now/
In particular:

A delay in obtaining the Grant can mean that the sale does not complete on the day that the contract says it should. If the completion date is missed, a breach of contract will have occurred for which the seller may be liable to pay compensation or damages in accordance with the terms of the contract.

The Probate Registry does operate an emergency system to expedite the Grant of Probate or for a limited Grant of Probate to be issued. This may be used to enable to sale of the property to take place with minimum delay.

That appears to be where there’s already a contract though. I presume the OP hasn’t exchanged.

peterhjohnson

user1977 said:

That appears to be where there’s already a contract though. I presume the OP hasn’t exchanged.

Yes, a lot of people have assumed that but I'm not sure it's clear

Surrey_EA

I had exactly this scenario earlier this year. 

The executor was a solicitor and they granted permission for the buyer to rent the property whilst probate was going through. The rent was a nominal amount and the executor absolved themselves of the normal landlord responsibilities.

Sale all now completed.