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Original poster

How long is probate taking right now?

55 replies

takethegirloutofwales · 31/03/2022 14:21

We’re in the process of buying a probate property. We are not part of a chain ourselves and the solicitor said we should be in a position to complete by end of April. However I asked her to check what stage probate was currently at and the response from the vendor’s solicitor is that application for probate has been drawn up but not yet submitted. I also saw this ad in the paper which got my hopes up that perhaps we’ll be close to completion towards end of April but no idea if that’s the case or not really. Any recent experiences to share? My solicitor said probate is currently taking ten weeks from submission . It’s mainly so we can get our builder booked in so that work can start once we’re the legal owners.

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 31/03/2022 20:01

We bought a probate sale, probate took 3mths, didn’t hold anything up. Good luck OP.

NewHomeDream · 03/04/2022 22:15

@SoupDragon

We sold my mother's property before probate was granted. The solicitor has the money though.
@SoupDragon

I'm sorry for your loss.

Please can you say more about how this would work? Sadly, the seller of the property I'm hoping to buy has discovered that she's terminally ill and may not live long enough to see the sale through to completion. We've not exchanged contracts.

RidingMyBike · 04/04/2022 10:48

Our vendor is waiting for probate to be granted on the retirement place he's buying. It's all been submitted etc and our solicitor said 4-6 weeks from then.

Original poster
takethegirloutofwales · 04/04/2022 11:25

So the latest update I’ve had from our vendor is that end of last week she sent back, checked and confirmed, the list of assets and liabilities. She has asked they let her know when the application is complete and sent. We’ve spoken to our chosen builder - he is happy to provisionally book us in for July but happy to adjust time scales as necessary. Ideally we can at least complete before September as that’s when ur mortgage offer runs out.

OP posts:
crumblecrimble · 11/04/2022 21:49

Just to say I got the grant of probate today, so it's taken about five weeks from application

Loyaultemelie · 12/04/2022 09:10

April 2021 died probate March 2022

NeedleNoodle3 · 12/04/2022 11:41

It really varies, my DF’s took just under 4 weeks and I sold the property 2 weeks later.

Fuuuuuckit · 12/04/2022 22:01

I submitted my application online on 27/2, sent death cert on 28/2, got it back 4/3, had an email yesterday to say it was approved and paperwork to follow.

So, 6 weeks. For HM courts to rubber-stamp my self-completed application. I daresay that engaging a solicitor to do it all would have added a couple of months to the proceedings.

ThePittts · 11/05/2022 14:38

We have received probate today, took just under 6 weeks to come through

Barney777 · 13/06/2022 06:28

I've been waiting for solicitor to sort probate 0ut the gentleman passed away Aug 2018 over 3.5 years ago it is crazy.
soliciter keeps saying he's waiting for Hmrc.

CheltenhamLady · 13/06/2022 11:07

We did Probate for my MIL. It took 7 weeks and cost £280. It was granted on June 1st, so very recent.

We did all the chasing of accounts/shares etc. Then completed the online application. It was very simple.

We were quoted £7000 for a solicitor to do it for us.

I imagine that adding a solicitor into the mix adds months to the process to justify their fees. I think it is quite disgraceful to charge so much.

CellophaneFlower · 13/06/2022 12:06

It really does depend on circumstances and possibly area. I applied for probate in March 21, so covid was still at it's peak. I was applied online and received a text 24 hours later saying it had been granted, got the documents through a few days later. I actually called them after the text as I thought they'd made a mistake! I was told that as my case was straightforward (although still a sizeable amount) they can often just process quickly.

When probate is applied for through a solicitor, they have to wait a certain amount of time for any other beneficiaries to come forward, I believe. I didnt have to do this.

RidingMyBike · 17/06/2022 10:37

We've ended up waiting for it for our seller's onward purchase. It added 4-6 weeks to the process. That's April/May of this year.

Cattenberg · 24/07/2022 10:40

I’m still waiting for the probate for the top of the chain. If my SECOND mortgage offer expires, I will be furious, as interest rates have risen a lot in the last six months.

About two weeks ago, we had an update from the Probate Office after a lot of chasing. Apparently, they will get to the case in 1-2 weeks. GET TO? WTF have they been doing for the last few months?

I’ll never let myself get into this situation again. I wouldn’t try to buy a property which was awaiting probate and if my sellers did, I’d pull out. IMO no one should put a probate property on the market until the probate has been granted.

RidingMyBike · 24/07/2022 15:08

@Cattenberg was it clear it was a probate property initially? Ours wasn't and we were told vendor was chain-free, then it turned out his onward purchase needed probate granting which delayed everything!

We did view one property where the EA was very cagey about whether the owner had died or gone into a home and so couldn't answer about whether it was a probate sale or not! It makes quite a difference!

Cattenberg · 24/07/2022 15:57

@Ridingmybike, there are three properties in my chain (not including me as I’ve already sold). Everyone else took a while to find, so it was a long time before I knew anything about the property at the top.

It’s awful if your estate agent wasn’t honest and possibly even illegal.

RidingMyBike · 24/07/2022 16:03

EA was on dubious ground - there was nothing mentioned on property details about the chain or lack of but we were told at viewing that it was chain-free. But nothing in writing. With hindsight I'd have asked for that in writing! The probate problem only emerged once our solicitor started digging for info so they weren't exactly forthcoming.

After that the EA told us the vendor would move into rental whilst waiting for probate on his purchase so we could still complete early. This idea then totally vanished - have no idea if it was a genuine offer and the vendor then couldn't find anything or didn't realise what was involved. Or if the EA had pushed him into the idea.

We have now completed but it was eventually two months later than we'd originally planned.

SuperCamp · 24/07/2022 16:16

Ours has just taken about 6 weeks from application.

perfectstorm · 25/07/2022 12:09

We had an offer accepted on a house in August 2021. Mortgage offer was made in Sept. Probate went in Sept as well.

Probate was granted July 4th. We exchange this week, complete in August.

We've been incredibly lucky, and the sellers are honouring the agreed price despite sharp increases in the area, and our mortgage offer was renewed at the same rate in March to expire at the end of Sept - so we are buying at last year's prices, with a 5 year fix at Sept '21interest rates. But I couldn't rely on the bank or the sellers honouring those, and can't quite believe both have. We would, without question, be priced out not only in that area but any similar one in this town if either factor had not gone our way, and we've been extremely lucky.

Our sellers were honourable about it, and I think like the fact we're a family buying the home they grew up in, not developers. But I wouldn't buy again when probate wasn't granted as this has been a bit of a rollercoaster.

Cattenberg · 25/07/2022 21:59

@perfectstorm , would you mind saying who your mortgage provider is? Mine hasn’t been so understanding.

housemaus · 25/07/2022 22:23

It took us 5 months for a simple estate probate (no property, just cash), bloody nightmare - was granted in Jan, so things might have changed a bit.

Surprisingly, the most recent update from The Law Society is:

digital applications took 15.8 weeks when stopped and 4.2 weeks without stops

Assuming they've got their paperwork properly in order and it doesn't get stopped because they lost something like it did with us it looks like they're moving a bit quicker now!

(www.lawsociety.org.uk/campaigns/court-reform/news/probate-service-update-march-2022)

perfectstorm · 25/07/2022 22:58

Cattenberg · 25/07/2022 21:59

@perfectstorm , would you mind saying who your mortgage provider is? Mine hasn’t been so understanding.

It's the Skipton. They've been excellent all through.

Cattenberg · 26/07/2022 10:36

Thank you @perfectstorm . If there’s ever a next time for me, I’ll look at them first.

perfectstorm · 26/07/2022 10:55

They weren't the cheapest at the time - just sub 2% in fact, albeit for a 5 year fix - but I prefer a mutual, if at all possible, as they don't have quite as venal an approach to sales if they don't have shareholders.... and they've won a lot of awards for service, which we figured was important given the financial turbulence clearly ahead. I'm really relieved that we did, now.

I hope you haven't been priced out of your house, with this delay impacting interest rates?

Cattenberg · 28/07/2022 23:13

I hope not as well. But we will see.

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