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Hargel112
Posts: 32 Forumite
With my elderly parents having moved into residential care close to me, I've been trying to sell the family home 300+ miles away for a year now. We found some lovely buyers in July, who in turn were selling to an unencumbered purchaser so it should have gone through quickly, but their solicitor dragged things out. In September Dad began to deteriorate, so there was a push to complete asap. Two dates were agreed at the start of October for simultaneous exchange and completion on both properties, but both failed. On the last it was established that the unencumbered buyer was getting part of their money from a divorce settlement and that no one knew when it would arrive. A few days later (i.e. this week) Dad died and, as he and Mum owned the house as Tenants in Common, we must now go to probate. My buyers have now exchanged on their sale and need to find somewhere to rent asap to enable completion. Our house is empty and, whilst I know there are risks, for many reasons it would suit both parties for them to rent it until probate comes through and the sale can proceed. The house needs updating and whilst I'd obviously have to incur the cost of safety inspections, landlord insurance etc, I anticipated allowing them to do superficial decorating, put in carpets etc as it is in both of our interests. They have agreed to be responsible for any basic repairs, as required. I am sole executor for Dad as Mum no longer has capacity (I have PoA for her), but as the remaining tenant in common, should she be listed as a landlord or can I act alone ? In terms of income, neither of us are tax payers. Does it make sense for us to be joint landlords to reduce the overall burden or does my PoA status prohibit this ? Any advice would be appreciated plus an awareness of any risks I might not have already considered.
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I don't know the answer to your question, I'm sure someone will be along soon who can help but maybe you could clarify in the meantime what your late dad's wishes were in his will in terms of who he has left his part of the family home.Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time0 -
This is a bad idea.[STRIKE]With my elderly parents having moved into residential care close to me, I've been trying to sell the family home 300+ miles away for a year now. We found some lovely buyers in July, who in turn were selling to an unencumbered purchaser so it should have gone through quickly, but their solicitor dragged things out. In September Dad began to deteriorate, so there was a push to complete asap. Two dates were agreed at the start of October for simultaneous exchange and completion on both properties, but both failed. On the last it was established that the unencumbered buyer was getting part of their money from a divorce settlement and that no one knew when it would arrive. A few days later (i.e.[/STRIKE] this week) Dad died and, as he and Mum owned the house as Tenants in Common, we must now go to probate.
Has Mum died? When? If so,
* did she leave a will?
* if yes, who were the executers?
* has probate been granted on her Estate?
* who inherited her share of the property
My buyers have now exchanged on their sale and need to find somewhere to rent asap to enable completion. Our house is empty and, whilst I know there are risks, for many reasons it would suit both parties for them to rent it until probate comes through and the sale can proceed.
No. Or to put it another way: NO!
* do you want to be a landlord?
* do you understad the tax and legal implications?
* what if the sale falls through and you can't evict your tenants?
NO!
The house needs updating and whilst I'd obviously have to incur the cost of safety inspections, landlord insurance etc, I anticipated allowing them to do superficial decorating, put in carpets etc as it is in both of our interests.
and if they paint it purple and then leave rather than buy?
They have agreed to be responsible for any basic repairs, as required.
No - as a landlord YOU are responsible for repairs
I am sole executor for Dad as Mum no longer has capacity (I have PoA for her),
Ah! OK - so ignore my Qs above
but as the remaining tenant in common, should she be listed as a landlord or can I act alone ?
She'd be the LL. You could act either as her POA, or as her agent.
In terms of income, neither of us are tax payers. Does it make sense for us to be joint landlords to reduce the overall burden or does my PoA status prohibit this ?
YOU do not receive income - your mum does
Any advice would be appreciated plus an awareness of any risks I might not have already considered.
Just sell.
* New landlords (1):advice & information :see links in next post
* New landlords (2): Essential links for further information
* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?0 -
Your mother is now the sole legal owner and you do not need probate for her to sell the house.
However since it is owned as tenants in common she will need to appoint a second person (who could be you) to act as the second trustee.0 -
as he and Mum owned the house as Tenants in Common, we must now go to probate.
You may be going to probate anyway but in respect of the TIC
see
https://www.land-registry-documents.co.uk/information/joint-ownership-tennants/
To get past this restriction and sell the property, the sole surviving tenant in common can appoint a second trustee along with himself. This can be done either in the transfer or by a separate deed. The trustee then signs the transfer along with the proprietor and receives the sale proceeds jointly. It is then the responsibility of the trustee together with the surviving tenant in common to ensure that the beneficiaries receive their share. As long as the purchase money is paid to two or more trustees the purchaser is protected from any claim that the beneficiaries might have if they do not receive the money they are entitled to.
It would be worth exploring whether you (as PoA for the remaining beneficial owner) could appoint another Trustee as above and get on with selling the property?
Are you the sole executor of your father's will or is there another named executor? Or do you have siblings?0 -
The buyers are not legally allowed to rent the property and then buy it (or so my solicitor says).
We are buying a 3 bed probate property and the plan was to rent it and do it up whilst the mortgage was going through, but we were told by many solicitors and mortgage advisors that we spoke to that we weren't allowed to do this.
We are still doing the property up whilst the mortgage goes through but our solicitors are aware and have informed up that no money is allowed to exchange between me or the sellers as this will cause the mortgage to get declined instantly :O0 -
The buyers are not legally allowed to rent the property and then buy it (or so my solicitor says).
We are buying a 3 bed probate property and the plan was to rent it and do it up whilst the mortgage was going through, but we were told by many solicitors and mortgage advisors that we spoke to that we weren't allowed to do this.
We are still doing the property up whilst the mortgage goes through but our solicitors are aware and have informed up that no money is allowed to exchange between me or the sellers as this will cause the mortgage to get declined instantly :O
Plenty people buy off their landlords.0 -
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Correct.I don't think your solicitor is right.
We had a prospective buyer suggest this and our solicitor said it was a very bad idea for a list of reasons but not that it was illegal.
I suspect you misunderstood what your solictor told you, dgooch93x.
The list of implications which would burden you with legal responsibilities is long.
The list of implications which would burden your landlord/seller with legal responsibilities is longer still.
But provided you both accept the implicatons, and live up to the risks and responsibilities, it's perfectly legal.0 -
Thanks everyone for your replies. I had to appoint a new Trustee at the request of my buyers' solicitor to be able to act as PoA for more than one of my parents to sell the house when Dad was alive, so that is already in place. However, my Licenced Conveyancer (I'm not using a solicitor) advised me that I would still now have to go to Probate to get permission to sell Dad's share. I will have to investigate that further given people's comments above. He fully supports the idea of me renting it and has advised that the rental would effectively lapse as soon as completion took place. I am only child who lives 300+ miles away from the house, which has now been empty for 18 months and the only people involved in my Dad's will are myself and my Mum (with dementia), who are both named as executors. I fully acknowledge the risks re mad decoration etc, but have met my buyers and believe them to be genuine, young professionals who recognise that the house is well priced for the potential it offers. My selling options are considerably limited by the fact that I have been trying to sell a well built and maintained steel-framed house in a market dominated by Brexit. Having finally found buyers who work in the building industry and fully understand what they are taking on I am loathe to give up and start again. I would prefer not to be a landlord, but if that's the best option in this case I'd take it on.0
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I had to appoint a new Trustee at the request of my buyers' solicitor to be able to act as PoA for more than one of my parents to sell the house when Dad was alive, so that is already in place. However, my Licenced Conveyancer (I'm not using a solicitor) advised me that I would still now have to go to Probate to get permission to sell Dad's share.
If there is a living owner you don't need a grant for the deceased owner to sell.
POA for the owner and a second trustee should be enough.
What is delaying the sale if you have an buyer lined up?0
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