House sale after probate

[SickofCovid]

AIBU?
My parents have passed and probate has been sorted. The family home has been divided between myself and 2 siblings. I am married and have our own home and does my 2 siblings, however 1 sister is divorced and is struggling with the mortgage payments, she has been paying the interest only and will have to pay off the principal within the next couple of years. My other sister is married and wants to buy our parents home, this is where I'm wondering am I being unreasonable. So, the home has been valued at 600k but if it goes up for sale it should go for near 700k maybe more.
She wants to give me and my sister 200k each, however I feel we should put it on the market and see what's offered on it and then have our sister that wants to buy it, give us what we would get if it was sold on the open market. My sister that is divorced really needs every penny to keep her own home. It would all be going against her mortgage.
I'm not being selfish, I just feel like this is fair.
My sister that would be buying it is married, her husband has a well paid job, they already own their own property and would be selling it to buy the family home.
Aibu with my opinion? I haven't said anything yet, I've just spoken with my husband. He sees the logic of my thinking and agrees with me.

Tax will definitely be different, then.

I was going to ask whether your sister would need to sell her own home.

It always complicates matters when selling to family. You should really treat her as any other buyer. She should get her house under offer first and then make an offer on your family home when she is in a position to proceed.

In the meantime you market the house for sale as usual.

A bit unfair to a prospective purchaser when you have no intention of selling to them! I would just get a valuation and settle at that, a nice hassle free sale is worth a few thousand, and you will never know exactly what you would get after all the final negotiations with a potential buyer who will probably expect a cheap price on a probate property.

It depends on how long it takes for the sister's house to sell and what sort of chain she is in.

It won't be hassle free if she has complications, loses her buyer and has to put her back on the market, etc. which happens all the time as anyone trying to sell a house knows.

At least on the open market you won't be putting all your eggs in one basket.

If she does get hers under offer, then that would be the time to come along and make an offer to buy the family home.

In the meantime, how are the bills on the property being met? She should budget for her third of the bills and also her third of the legal fees for selling costs.

3 valuations on it. It's cruel to put it on the market and waste estate agent time and buyers time on a property you don't plan to sell. How you deal with estate agent when they've got you a buyer

We are not a sentimental family so in regards to being unfair to potential buyers, there wouldn't be. I want the house to sell for the most we can get, especially for my sister that needs it. I have no qualms in selling to the highest bidder. Whom ever that may be, I'm just asking, am I completely wrong to do this.
I don't know if the shoe was on the other foot, would they not want the best price for it, just because they want to buy and obviously want it at a cheaper price. I'm all over the place with it.
They spoke about this with me when our parents were alive, they had the figures in their heads already.

You're not wrong OP, but I would seriously consider the risk that you may end up not getting the price you want and it could take a significant amount of time. And that's not to say what the familial fallout will be. Presumably your sister who needs the money needs it ASAP (not in 8 months or however long it takes to sell) and presumably your sister who wants to buy the house has an emotional attachment to it?

Research the market in your area thoroughly, get several valuations, be realistic about how this property compares to others, be realistic about how long it will take to sell. Have a conversation between the three of you about what you all want and how you can best approach it.

I think I’d split the difference and sell it to DSis for 650k if other sidling and DSis are in agreement. Id prefer the money now than it possibly being in the market for ages or messed about in a chain.

If you do put the house on the open market, who is going to take responsibility for looking after the property. Admittedly DH and I 'bought' our house many Novembers ago, after a hefty price drop, but the market tends to be pretty quiet in the run-up to Christmas.

Insurance costs more, you'll probably need to keep it warmish clean and dressed for a buyer, tidy garden, clean windows etc. if you want a £700k sale versus £600k. That is assuming that the house was well-maintained when it was occupied. Will you notice a loose tile after a storm.

If you or your siblings live nearby, great, if not.....

What are you going to do then OP?

It seems that your options are

a) agree to sell to your sister and wait for her to get her own property on the market and under offer

b) put it on the market for sale at the same time as your sister marketing her own house for sale and see if you get any offers whilst you're waiting for her's to sell

There is no third option is there?

@SickofCovid I just sold my Dads house so I have recent experience of this.

Firstly - how many valuations did you get for probate? You should have got at least three, and the average of them goes on the probate form. If you didn't get the three, then do so now. Was the 600k valuation low on purpose for IHT reasons?
Estate agents will want to get the maximum for your property for their comission, so it would be weird for them to value it 100k under.

Also - if it does go for 100k over then you'll be paying CGT on the difference. Which is another reason you should get more valuations so you can have evidence of the under valuation if it needs to be proven.

I voted that you are being unreasonable. It's nice to have the house continue in the family and 200k is more than enough

It’s only 9 months now for CGT to kick in, you can deduct the cost of selling the property but it’s going to be a hefty bill if it sells for £100k more than probate value.

I agree.

If the probate value is 600 and you still it for 700 you'll pay cgt on the 100 between all of you after your allowances.

Also from Ireland, Look at the Property price register, keeping a eye on daft you should be able to find out what similar properties in the area sold for. This could give you an idea of true value.

Thanks everyone for your advice. It will all be taken on board.

Couldn't have explained it better. OP it’s an increasing liability all the time it is empty too.

We had a similar situation. We got about 5 estate agents and a surveyor to value the house for probate. I then got a few more to value again once probate was granted. My sibling wanted to buy me out but refused to pay the mean valuation or even the lowest valuation. They insisted the house needed a massive amount of work and would not sell for much. They would not let me get a surveyor in to verify this. They held out and it got to almost 2 years post death and I gave in. I have a mortgage and needed the money. They did not need the money and were quite well off and could afford to wait. It has left me bitter. I ended up selling my half for a lot less than the probate value we had both agreed.

This is the fairest way to do this. I had a sibling with a similar intent and we stuck to our guns! I have another friend who is having the same problem with her brother!

My friends MIL's house near me got a lower valuation and I told her so.
She told her husband but the difficult executor brother wouldn't be told.
It sold for £250 more in a bidding war, they all paid tax on the difference which annoyed them both.
I think your sister wants to make a killing.
Protect your other sister by each getting a valuation and perhaps come to an agreement.
So distasteful to try and make a killing from a shared parental inheritance.
Your divorced sister deserves to be protected.

1 in 5 houses in Ireland are making 20% plus of the asking price at the moment. It’s a seller’s market.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/1009/1537565-housing-asking-prices/#:~:text=It%20also%20noted%20that%20competition,to%20the%20Covid%2D19%20pandemic.

For those stressing the advantage of a quick sale, remember it might not be so quick because OP’s sister needs to sell her current house before purchasing the family home.

For clarity, 20% plus more than the asking price!