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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I refuse to pay for the ongoing costs on our deceased father's house?
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Eileenpamela said:I think you should all be grateful for having anything left from your father’s property. Many of us had sell our parents house to pay for nursing home fees.2
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I had a similar situation. I am one of four siblings. Two of us were executors. So that’s the first question - are all 3 executors?, because if not, those who aren’t don’t get to say.This annoyed one of my siblings immensely as they wanted to cut out the youngest sibling out of decisions (they’d fallen out), but I gave a choice - either the 2 executors decide or all four of us. Not just 3 of us. They agreed all four reluctantly, but legally I could’ve insisted executors only.Secondly, as executors, you are acting for the ESTATE of your father, not his behalf as he is deceased and not the beneficiaries’ behalf because they are beneficiaries. I was both executor and beneficiary (one of), but when dealing with the estate it had to be in the interests of the estate, not what the beneficiaries agreed. They do t call the shots.There should be a bank account held by the executors in the name of the “estate of ….” This bank account is where all transactions to do with the estate should go through. So, all the money in other bank accounts, and savings, life insurance payouts etc should go in this account, as should the proceeds of the sale of any possessions including the house. Once all is done, it is FROM this account beneficiaries are paid. Keep a paper trail. Always.So the bills for the house should be being paid from the executor account, not by you 3 personally. Keep receipts. Until the Will is fully executed and the payouts to beneficiaries are made, that house does not belong to any of you. It belongs to the estate, and the estate should pay for the bills.So the simple answer to your question is to get legal advice. Who is/are the executor(s)? They should be dealing with this. No one should be accessing the house or messing with contents without the prior knowledge and agreement of the estate executors.If the executor is a solicitor -they get paid for it so tell them to get their finger out and sort out the expenses on the house! None of you should be paying bills for a house you don’t legally own (yet).As for accepting the offer - it’s a personal choice. I persuaded the others to accept an offer £15k below the asking price, but that was because the others were greedy and were holding out for a figure that house would never have fetched. The price was over estimated by the estate agents and my siblings decided to put it on the market for the highest price proffered. They hadn’t even seen the house when they gave that price. It had dangerous electrics and water pouring in a wall!It has caused numerous problems, and a rift in the family, but to be honest I think there would have been something else to cause the rift if not that. My conscience is clear because I did my best for the estate (and therefore for us all) and most importantly, kept a paper trail and remained within the letter of the law.Let the executor deal with this and if you are executor, remember you are executing the will, on behalf of the estate, NOT the beneficiaries. They cannot tell an executor what to do.Hope it works out for you. If unsure, get legal advice. It’s a minefield. I had help from a company mum and dad paid for to take us through step by step. Invaluable - and I still had to educate my siblings on the law!0
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who is the executor of the estate? That person alone has the power to sell or not sell regardless of what the other siblings want. The housing market is slow and will only get slower in the near future, forcing the prices down even further. Also, the executor will be liable for the costs not the family members, so whoever is in charge needs to make a decision.0
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Coming at this from the opposite end we purchased our current property 14 years ago from a deceased estate with two siblings in the mix. We offered 6.5% off the asking price to reduce the cost to a stamp duty threshold which saved us several thousand pounds. We then used those savings to legitimately purchase a number of pieces of furniture in the property and garden from the siblings. We had a cash buyer for our old property who was itching to move to secure school catchment deadlines. The siblings agreed as it wrapped things up quicker for them - and they didn't need to clear as much from the property either - a win-win for both parties.
In your case, as others have commented, it's dependant on the value of the property but £10,000 between three isn't necessarily that significant (obviously depending upon circumstances). And after estate agent fees (unless fixed fee) and other costs (council tax, standing charges, property insurance) that could erode the potential upside if you waited for an uptick in the market (if it came).0 -
Also re council tax - inform council (and water rates) that the house is unoccupied due to your father’s death and the council tax should be suspended. I think from memory you get 12 months but would have to check. Give the council a call.0
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£10,000 isn’t that much split between 3 If you add up council tax gas & electricity to keep frost protection on PLUS MORE IMPORTANTLY BUILDINGS INSURANCE IS INVALID AFTER AN OCCUPANCY CLAUSE APPLIED!
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Whether the £10k reduction upon sale is a bad deal may also depend on how close your total sale price is to a Stamp Duty threshold, bearing in mind stamp duty rises for most people shortly and is payable at the rate prevailing on date of sale completion. There may be just enough time now (only just) to get a quick sale in ahead of the stamp duty rise, after which many buyers might not be so keen to purchase and/or may be trying to knock you down even further.
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Ensure your estate agent is not letting on it is a deceased estate's sale, as that might encourage reduced offers. Have estate agent do the viewings, removing ability for buyers to ask awkward questions on the spot. Get your estate agent on your side for whatever asking price your family will agree on, the agent should be fielding offers and making objections to low offers; don't let the agent make it too easy for the buyer offering less.
Also, try to 'stage' the property in show-home fashion, go round it and pretty it up, spritz it. Not talking decorating, but a good dusting, hoover, elegant display of any ornaments, pictures, furniture, a few cushions scattered, tea towel & hand towel on the kitchen & bathroom racks, loo roll holder not empty, a couple of pretty mugs by a teapot. Weed garden, perhaps even trimming grass might be needed now. Remove clues to being unoccupied. Have new photos taken by estate agent if necessary.
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House Insurance; check policy, most want higher premium or even a different policy altogether for unoccupied properties, and many won't do that type of cover at all. Even the current policy could be void by now. Get the Executors to check.0 -
If the estate agent is advising you to consider, then you should. Estate agents have a lot to gain by pushing potential buyers to make the biggest offer possible, and if they don’t think they’ll get better than £10k short of asking, then they probably know the asking was too high in the first place. I’d ask the estate agents to contact your siblings and explain in layman’s terms why accepting the offer makes financial sense, and why holding off might not lead to a better outcome, and then hope that reason overrides greed so you can all move on.0
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No point in telling the OP to sell. They want to sell but the other beneficiaries don’t.
oP , all costs should be paid by the estate until the house is sold.You are entitled to a share of the bet proceeds of the estate after all expenses have been paid.
You do not have a share until then,0 -
Whatever you do, it may still take a while to sell. We accepted a low offer in the interest of a quick sale and it still took another 5 months - and a lot of grief. Be mindful you need to advise the house insurers if the house is empty and they will reduce your cover and require regular checks.0
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