Offer on property - power of attorney issue

[Rockaroundthexmastree]

Hi,
In a nutshell : we made an offer on a house which has been on the market over a year.

The relevant parties have all agreed they accept the offer however the Mother who lives in the property has lost mental capacity and there is no power of attorney in place. She owns half and the ex husband owns half.
The daughter has contacted the solicitor and we’ve been told the mother needs to do a 2nd mental capacity assessment and if she fails that one as well then the daughter can apply for power of attorney for her financial matters. They are estimating this will be sorted by November. They cannot legally accept our offer until this is sorted.

AIBU to think there is no chance this can be sorted within a month if she has lost mental capacity before a POA is in place?
Feeling frustrated!

That sounds like a lengthy situation.

If someone has lost their Mental Capacity to understand financial affairs and decisions then it is too late for a PoA to be put in place. Someone has to have the capacity to understand what they are agreeing to when the PoA is set up.

If there's no PoA then it needs to go to the Court of Protection which takes months. I'd walk away from.this one.

This should all have been in place before the house went on the market. If she can't deal with offers then she's not in a position to sell.

I feel for you, as you've viewed and offered in good faith, but they can't sell it to you, so you can't buy it.

Wait around if you're in a position to do so, but I'd go back to the property search - this one isn't going to be sorted quickly.

The processes that the seller has to go through will likely be extremely lengthy so I'd let that offer stand but look around at different properties in the meantime.

It's will be a Deputyship through court of protection rather than a POA. We've just completed the process for someone with learning disabilities. Be prepared for a long wait. Took us 18 months and person had no tangible assets, just a pension through a parent.

Not a hope in hell.

As pp says if she has lost capacity then a POA won't work, and the process is MUCH slower.

Is she divorced? Is the ex in agreement with the sale?

Unless you have months and months and an endless supply of patience walk away now.

Yep walk away

Ex is in agreement with the sale but I am unsure if they are divorced or not. Estate agent originally said they both need to agree and she would be calling them individually when we made the offer.

Apparently her capacity has recently gone downhill and she was still of sound mind when the house first went up for sale over a year ago.
However ridiculous to not get a PoA in place knowing this time was coming.
The estate agents maintain they were not aware this was an issue until they put our offer forward and the daughter got in contact.
We are not in a huge rush and not in a chain but have expressed we would like to know the facts so we know where we stand with regards to a timeline and have been told November which I feel is absurd?

By the time you need a POA then its unlikely you have capacity.
The time to get one is when a person does have capacity so its usual to get one years in advance of needing one.
IF a POA is needed to sell this house then you would be better looking for another house, it could take a long time to get one

@Rockaroundthexmastree it sound like they are selling the house from under her!!!! that itself is horrendous! where are they planning for her to go?

No, I don’t think that is it at all. She cannot cope in the house which is far too big for her and which beginning to deteriorate with lack of maintenance and she is clearly unwell. She will be moving in with family I believe. She has agreed to the sale but is now lacking capacity to sign papers?

Her family can act in her best interests but they MUST go through the Court of Protection if there is no LPA. That can take up to 2 years. The family may not be aware of that. They can't just sell the property on her behalf if she owns it.