Probate Property

[Tinseltangle]

I am interested in buying a property, however when I contacted the estate agent they advised me it was still going through probate, so I could not view. I am not in a mad rush, but would like to discount this one if I can, any idea why they would refuse viewings? I think I probably need to call and ask but wondered if anyone else had been in this position and the pit falls of a probate sale.

@Tinseltangle

I am not a lawyer but have been an executor twice and had to dispose of MIL’s home.
It was my understanding that until such time as probate was granted I did not have the legal right to dispose of assets and could not appoint estate agents to begin to action the sale.

As it was explained to me by an estate agent if I appointed her and probate then fell through or was horrifically delayed for some reason I could become personally liable for any costs incurred by her. She also stated that no reputable solicitor would agree to act for me in the sale as I lacked the required legal status to sell.

I decided to wait before trying to market and then had the pleasure of in laws grumbling about waiting for share of the assets.

I do wonder if the property was put on the market and then the owner died. I have tried to call the agent this morning with no luck.

That possible or perhaps they were simply testing initial interest.
Could even be agent went further than the one I spoke to, to try and lock in the executor before they could proceed by making a show of being all keen and eager?

@Tinseltangle and @Grumpyunleashed that’s not quite right. You can put a property on the market, have viewings and agree a sale all before probate is granted. The only thing you can’t do is exchange and complete. It usually makes sense to get the ball rolling before probate is granted because the sale process can take a while and most executors and beneficiaries like to get everything sorted out asap.

How long has the property been on the market? It could be that the property went on if the owner had to go into a care home and then they have died, in which case it would make sense to delay a sale for a bit while the relatives sort out the funeral and paperwork etc.

Its been on and off the market since December 2019.

We bought a probate house. We had an offer accepted at the same time as the probate application was made. It was a very straightforward probate sale, but nobody had any idea how long it would take, so everyone else in the chain had to wait for probate to be granted. You don't have any idea how long it will take - it can be 3 months, it can be up to a year - one day out of the blue it gets granted! In the end it took just over 4 months and luckily the chain remained intact.

If I did it again, I'd ensure probate had been granted before I offered and became emotionally (and financially) attached to a house.

I showed a house while awaiting probate but everyone involved agreed that the house was to be sold and I was to arrange it.. Probate went ahead through Covid and there were no delays. Perhaps there is some disagreement within the family?

I only pay my estate agent on completion and if I withdraw there are no costs to me.

Viewings are being conducted under protocols atm: EAs are not showing to buyers who are not immediately ‘proceedable’ and are presumably not offering viewings of properties which cannot yet be legally sold.

The executors of a will can put a property on the market before probate is granted, but cannot sell until probate is granted. I'm not sure why you can't view though, unless there is a concern about items in the house going missing or somehow damage to the property?

That would ring warning bells for me. If the property is actually on the market the reason the EA won’t allow viewings, could be because it’s earmarked for a mate who’s hoping to get it cheaply. Such things are hardly unknown. Especially if (as many probate properties are) it’s very dated and needs a good deal of modernising.