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Original poster

Sale of property left in will

37 replies

SugarPlumRoar · 14/07/2018 23:43

My a relative of my DH passed away a number of months ago and my DH mother was left a share of thr property in their will. However as she passed away several years ago ny DH has inherited this share.

Its taken us by suprise as the death was unexpected as was his DM being in the will as the family relationship broke down many years ago.

DH was told via his father about the will from another family member but other than they closed ranks and wouldn't communicate.

Its now transpired the property has been sold, however its been sold for over 50k less than it was valued at and being advertised for. DH has only found this out as a cheque has been sent to his DF house saying this is his share after the fees for funeral, estate agent and paying a family memeber to clean the house.

My query is should the house have been sold that much under the valuation? Is the executor of the estate allowed to do as they wish with the sale without getting consent from those whom have inherited?
DH has queried it and has been told he isn't entitled to see any documents relating to the sale.

OP posts:
Collaborate · 15/07/2018 06:59

Assuming it was sold to someone unconnected with them you’ll simply have to accept the sale price as genuine.

The executor must prepare estate accounts. He should ask for that.

Ifailed · 15/07/2018 07:14

they could have been dodging inheritance tax.

hendricksy · 15/07/2018 07:14

I would just be grateful for getting an amount you weren't expecting . I expect they wanted a quick sale and accepted the first offer . If it's been handled by people who have never had property etc then maybe they didn't know to hang on, haggle etc .
I doubt there is much you can do know unless you want an expensive legal battle ?
I would however insist on finding out the sale price in case they are hiding something.. this can be found on zoopla after a period of time.

shouldwestayorshouldwego · 15/07/2018 07:21

It's a falling market and so there could be a discrepancy between the initial valuation and sale price. Don't underestimate the time to clear a house either.

LIZS · 15/07/2018 07:25

Probate sales are often relatively lower, for expediency. He also has no idea of the condition the property was in , it may have needed work to modernise compared to similar ones. How does he know his dm did not agree to the sale? The will, probate and land registry are all a matter of public record.

adviceonthepox · 15/07/2018 08:56

When we sold my band house all the beneficiaries or the estate had to agree to the sale price. The solicitor wrote to us all and we had to respond.

adviceonthepox · 15/07/2018 08:56

Nans house even

HoleyCoMoley · 15/07/2018 15:38

You can find a copy of the Will online to see what share of the property you were left. You could ask for a copy of the valuations, do you know which estate agents sold it, you will be able to find out what it was sold for. You have inherited money that you weren't expecting so that is a bonus, who issued the cheque made out to your dh, did it come from a solicitor, you can ring them and ask if they can give you details of the sale.

Original poster
SugarPlumRoar · 15/07/2018 17:04

The cheque was issued by a family member.

I think the main concern DH has is that property has been potentially sold to a family member of another beneficiary for well under the market value.

It's not been to avoid inheritance tax. Basically the house was valued at 100k at they've sold it for 48k. They accepted an offer three days after the house went on the market.

I don't want to come across as ungrateful for the money recieved, there is a long and boring background to the family history before mil passed away which left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth and as this was unexpected money DH was planning on giving it to FIL to make repairs to his property that it badly needs. Thankfully we hadn't told FIL that so as not to raise expectation

OP posts:
PurpleWithRed · 15/07/2018 17:12

Blimey, that's a bit different - 50% under market value. But I think that at the end of the day the executor has discretion over these things. What would the difference to your DH be if the property had been sold for 80% of the valuation? Is it worth taking legal advice over or do you just draw a line under it and move on?

HoleyCoMoley · 15/07/2018 17:21

That's half the market value and I wouldn't be surprised if it had gone to family of another beneficiary, if that's the case then there may not have been estate agents involved and I don't see why funeral costs are included. Did you just inherit a share of the house sale or a percentage of the whole estate. Why did dh father receive the cheque, the solicitors or whoever dealt with probate would have known who the beneficiaries were if it was in the Will. I don't know the legal ins and outs but it's not fair if you've been diddled or denied the opportunity to have bought it yourself.

LIZS · 15/07/2018 17:33

Was the family member purchaser also a beneficiary, could the 48k represent just buying out the other's share (ie. Not full market value)? Although there would need to be mutual agreement unless the will specified it to be sold.

Original poster
SugarPlumRoar · 15/07/2018 19:24

We wouldn't want to take legal action to be honest the money wouldn't be worth it, we are more annoyed at how underhand this has been.

The whole estate is split equally between 4 people of them being DH. We have been told that the house is the only thing of any value and haven't been told what's happened to any possession including photos of MIl when she was younger some of which DH would have liked.

Despite having our contact details and having recently sent DH birthday cards theyve gone through FIL for evrything they've never contacted us directly again we've asked this to be done but they've persisted is using FIL.

So the 4 beneficiaries are DH, A, B and C we have reason to believe that B's son has been sold the property for over 50% less than the market value. B's daughter also happens to be the executor of the estate.

They're all being very cagey now that we have asked questions and have closed ranks and won't provide any details.

The trust has gone completely which is a shame as DH was trying to keep some sort of connection open to his DM family.

OP posts:
JaniceBattersby · 18/07/2018 00:11

You can find out the owner of any property through the Land Registry. It costs about three quid and it does take a little while to update but you can download all the info online.

LIZS · 18/07/2018 07:19

Or has B transferred his share to his dc and only A and C share the 48k?

Xtrah0urzz · 18/07/2018 10:27

I would assume if the house has been sold there is absolutely nothing that can be done. Empty houses the owner still has to pay council tax and possibly some bills if you want to keep water, electric connected. That's why probate houses usually sell under price, to achieve a quick sale. Has the house been sold to someone new or is it being kept in the family as a rental property for rental income. I would be grateful for the inheritance

Original poster
SugarPlumRoar · 07/09/2018 22:59

By way of an update today, got some documents from the land registry which shows the property was actually sold for 50k more than was originally told to us.

We haven't told family that we know this but by now there isn't much we can do, the money will be long gone and we wouldn't go to court.

OP posts:
Singletomingle · 07/09/2018 23:17

If the house sold for 98k you can get a lot of legal advice for that. Certainly worth a free consultation. Maybe you should also be looking at the expenses too, how much did they take for the funeral, estate agent and cleaning? Really £5k would be high also who cleaned the house was it B or his son?

wurzelburga · 08/09/2018 14:20

If the house sold for £98k and you were told by the executors that it had sold for £50k that is fraud - a criminal matter - and you should take legal advice.

Bellabutterfly2016 · 08/09/2018 15:05

No win no fee is your friend here
It's not the money it's the principle of it

bimbobaggins · 08/09/2018 17:31

Agree with wurzel this is fraud/theft and I certainly wouldn’t let them away with it.

notapizzaeater · 08/09/2018 17:41

Have you got legal civet with your house insurance ? Maybe run it by them ?

BadderWolf · 08/09/2018 17:42

Yep, sounds like fraud. You don't need to deal with them all...just the executor as they are solely responsible for this from a legal standpoint AIUI.

bimbobaggins · 08/09/2018 18:06

And I don’t agree you should be grateful for the inheritance! You should be given what is rightfully yours

FadedRed · 08/09/2018 18:16

So you were right in your suspicions that all was not above board. How disappointing for you.
Have you looked at the .gov.uk website in regard to the duties of the Executor of an estate. As pp's said, they have a legal requirement to do their duties to the letter, and can be prosecuted for sharp practice.