Mortgage refusal/letters of administration

[Noideawhatimdoing1985]

I could post this in a few different topic areas but I'll try here.
My late father passed away in May 2022, he didn't leave a will, so through a solicitor, we were granted Letters of Administration in August this year. All assets to be split evenly between myself and my brother and sister.
I have expressed interest in buying my brother and sister out of my dad's house, which they have agreed to, so I have pursued a mortgage (no mortgage remaining on the property so just for me to be able to buy them both out).

After getting a mortgage in principle, the application has now come to a halt because the mortgage company are wanting the Grant of Probate. They are unwilling to accept the Letter's of Administration as an alternative.
I'm now at a loss with where to go next as I've spent money on valuations etc and now stuck.
Has anyone had any experience of something similar and what was the solution? Any ideas happily welcomed.
Sorry its long 😁

Did you apply for Probate? I am no expert but does Letters of Administration only give you permission to act as Executors.

You don't get a grant of probate when a person dies intestate. You get a grant of letters of administration. The bank really ought to know this.

This is what I'm now unsure of. The solicitors have done all of the work for us, so would assume that if probate could be applied for, it would have been done.

Sorry letters of admin is the same as probate, just in a case without a will and intestatecy rules apply. I wish people would not post when they do not know what they are on about.

Yes and this is where the problem lies. We have the Letters of Administration but the mortgage company won't accept these. Obviously if this is the case with all mortgage companies, then any properties with Letters of Administration rather than a Grant of Probate will never be able to be sold. My mortgage broker has tried to argue the case but they're not having it. Not sure where to go next

Can you escalate it within the bank? It's obviously being looked at by someone too junior.

The other option is you settle the estate first, become joint tenants with equal shares as tenants in common and then do the buy out.

It sounds like there’s been a bit of a miscommunication with someone along the line.
Someone is probably just repeating the phrase Grant of Probate and don’t actually know what it is or how to get it.
Id go back to them and reiterate as he passed away with no will you won’t receive grant of probate and have letters of administration and if they push back more I’d escalate to a complaint.

I'd say that you're possibly right with this assumption. I have stated numerous times that we will not be granted probate. My mortgage broker has spoken to the underwriters to explain but has come away with nothing. I think they just have a checklist and won't budge from it

It is absolutely not the case that all mortgage lenders insist on a grant of probate. Most of them know that letters of administration are the same thing. You need to escalate this with the lender. If that doesn't work, try another lender.

This is ridiculous! Can the solicitors you used for the estate write to them to clarify?

Is it bloody NatWest?

I've contacted the solicitors and they have contacted the broker. Although the issue isn't the broker, its the underwriter. We'll have to see if anything changes this week. Fingers crossed 🤞

I am doing probate without a will for my dad's estate at the moment.
When probate is granted you are named as the personal representative with the letters of adminstration. People still refer to you as an executor as a generic term but executor is term is for wills. Just a thought but has the property been assigned into the names of the beneficiaries ? I thought this has to be done before you can buy it ?