Probate sale

[MyEyesHurt]

IABU because it's absolutely none of my business but I just need to vent.

Grandma has died. Her house passes to her two daughters but also four step children, so the house must be sold and will go six ways. I'm told this is fair because her husband had put more money into the purchase, which I'm a bit suspicious about because when she married him aged 70, i know how much her previous house sold for. However, that part is none of my business, maybe she spent the money on biscuits. I don't know.

Anyway mum, joint executor with her sis, said she would put it on sale on the open market and asked the solicitor to do so. Auntie had the keys and solicitor asked auntie for them for viewings.

Before the keys were handed over, my cousin has made an offer on the house, of below what my grandma paid for it back 17 years ago. Similar sales on the street are about 60k-90k higher than this offer.

Mum had anticipated this and had decided to get it valued anyway for fairness.

Fast forward to now and my cousins offer has been accepted by the 6, as one of the step sons argued that they could save on estate agent fees that way. They also argued that the market has cooled.

If is absolutely not my business. The money will not be passing to me.

However in the back of my mind it feels like my cousin has just scored a huge discount on her house - which I shoukd be happy about, what's wrong with me? And the six all get a little less that could have been passed on to all the grandkids if they weren't that in need of it, though I'm sure they would all find uses for an extra 10k :-)

For context this is coming from me having seriously struggled to buy a house 5 months ago. My work hasn't been doing very well so I've been really cutting back, as in no new clothes for me for a few years.

So to the point:
I am definitely BU so I don't need MN to make me feel dreadful, and I haven't acted on my opinion at all. but what I do need is ways to bloody get over myself and forget it. Any tips please?

Last bit of context, I see the cousin next to never and she has me on restricted settings on fb, so we're not really close. That doesn't mean I don't like her, but I'll realistically never go to that house again, same as if it had sole on the open market.

Didn't mean to sound snooty on the "don't need mn to..." sorry - didn't mean it to sound like that, just a mini plea for advice on moving on rather than telling me what a dreadful grabby person I am! :-)

Not surprising you're unimpressed. Your cousin is taking advantage and basically taking some of the inheritance that wasn't meant for her.

However if all the beneficiaries have agreed it there's nothing you can do. If it's not final though you could point out to your mother how they are making a massive donation to this cousin and not to you, and you don't think that's remotely fair.

Well it won’t be anything close to the £60-90k that OP mentions similar houses have sold for lately.

Oh yes, my step grandpa was lovely. I don't know his children, who are now in their 60s.

Is the house an absolute wreck OP? Or in a really odd location? I find it hard to believe it’s worth less than 17 years ago. We viewed a house which sold for more than it was bought for just 18 months ago. And ours went up quite a bit over 6 years.

The 4 step children all live very far, met my grandmother in later life, and have said they want the money now rather than waiting x amount of time for a sale.

My auntie is in favour of sale to her daughter for obvious reasons.

My mum is outvoted so agreed to avoid a rift.

The family isn't close as I mentioned my cousin keeps me at arm's length.

Estate agent fees probably around 1%. You’ll still need solicitors. And I don’t think things have cooled THAT much. But then there is something to be said for not needing to bother presenting it for viewings, negotiating, surveys, tricky buyers. And the money being released sooner.
I totally get why you feel like you do, but possibly they aren’t being totally mad, there are a lot of factors.

Your house you worked for is your little home now. And you did that and it’s yours. You weren’t getting any money anyway.

It was a new build in 2006. It's furnished in a grandma style, but nothing shockingly bad. Chintzy sofas.

True. :-)

Quite a few houses round my way worth less than they were 17 years ago.

2006 was pretty much a high point in the market. After 2007 prices plunged and many didn't recover for years. Some still haven't recovered.

Anyway, the only important thing in this case is that the executor is happy and the beneficiaries are happy.

60K off a 200K house is a lot. 60K off a 600K house is not so much.

Maybe the beneficiaries feel happier grandmas house will still be in the family and are willing to sell it for less.

But if I was executor and if the house was going for significantly under market value (it would have been valued for probate) then I would want some protection in place no matter how "happy" the beneficiaries appeared.

To be honest, if you are neither a beneficiary or an executor, it's not really any of your business.

Sounds like as its a rushed sale there won't be any sort of comprehensive survey or anything like that. There could be expensive issues lurking which could chip away at that discount... Or maybe not. Sounds like cousin could be taking a bit of a punt and it could go either way. So for a quick sale without involving EA, solicitors and stress of viewings and flaky buyers - maybe it's priced accordingly.

Well I do based on some simple maths. For the estate agent fees to be in the region of £60-90k, this would then be a property worth several million pounds. And in that case I don’t think the £60-90k would be such an issue to Op. So yes, I can confidently say that selling fees are not going to be in this ball park.

And legally it is up to the two executors to decide if this is an acceptable offer. Not the six beneficiaries.

It is a newish house with no issues. The value is closer to 200k.

Your mother is not outvoted if there are two executors and she is one of them?

No, grandma sold her house she'd had since the 1950s and he sold his and they bought this new house together. Second marriage for both. He was a lovely man.

What I'm saying is I think she put more like 45% of the value of the new house rather than the 30% that the 6 way split would suggest.

Well she is at peace with it. I should be to!

And if the executors agree that is all fine. My comment that you have decided to pounce on was about whether the low price would be offset by estate agents commission and I have pointed out that it clearly will not be.

Seeing as you mention it though, it sounds like the two executors do not agree on accepting this price.

I don't know the 4, but I do think they are wanting a quick sale.