House sold to a company, What could it mean?

[MovingOn13]

Hi
i’m hoping someone can offer some advice, I don’t own a home and an unlikely to ever be in that position so my knowledge is limited.

However, a relative of mine passed away, and I am one of the beneficiaries of the estate.
All she really had was her house.
The Will was straightforward, the estate to be split in percentages between family members, so naturally the executer (her daughter) put the house on the market, and the estate will be divided when it sells.

It has been reduced s couple of times and then suddenly disappeared from all online listings.

i know the obvious solution is to speak with the executor but without going in to all the specifics, she will communicate what she wants you to know, when she wants you to know it, and nothing more. Despite the Will being straightforward there has been numerous accusations flung around in the family and she has already ‘decided’ some people don’t deserve their share (I know that’s illegal but that’s a separate issue) So I don’t particularly want to ask her anything if I can help it, for fear it will spark something else.

Anyway, I don’t care about the money, but I am keen to know where I stand as I am on long term disability benefits and this money, whilst well intended could have a negative impact on me.
i need to have a rough idea of what I’m likely to receive and when so I know how it will affect me

Anyway, I contacted the former estate agent as a prospective buyer just to enquire why the house wasn’t listed either as for sale or STC and they advised that it has been ‘sold to a company’

All Google is giving me is those ‘webuyanyhouse’ type companies Who I gather give very low offers

But are there other companies who would buy a house?
Honestly, if I was told today I was getting nothing, I know it wouldn’t be legal given what the will specified, and certainly wouldn’t be what my relative wanted, but I’d be relieved to just know it was all finished

The stress the uncertainty is causing, alongside the grief, and other family issues is making me Ill.

As an aside, if anyone has used any of the webuyanyhouse kinds of companies, how low was the offer compared to market value?

some councils have 'buy back' schemes.

but they are quite cumbersome. when we looked at it (admittedly years ago) council requested boiler/electric less than 5 years old, all level flooring, double glazing, rood insulation... and some other things I forgot.

basically our very average victorian terrace would have been very expensive to bring up to that standard.

I think if it's going to have a negative impact on your disability awards then you could consider making a "disclamation".
You need to write to the executor and officially decline to accept the share of inheritance. Your share would then be divided between the remaining beneficiaries at the same percentage rates.
The executor has to respect your wish.

Wills are public documents so once probate is settled you should be able to get a copy of the Will to see who is entitled to what %.

That would give you an approximate guide to what you should receive.

Not all benefits are means tested. PIP for example.

@MovingOn13 It may be a webuyanyhouse type company or it could be a developer.

I was a beneficiary where the executor was very high handed so my advice just be patient. Difficult but in the long run.

Just a note of caution if you are on means tested benefits it is very unlikely you can refuse the inheritance as DWP will treat you as though you had received it.

@DrySherry have you a link that says this would work and is legal? with means tested benefits the DWP have a ruling that you cannot refuse any money that you are legally entitled to in order to claim, enhance or continue your claim for income based benefits, by doing so the DWP could see it as deliberate deprivation of assets if they found out about it, obviously non means tested benefits like DLA/PIP

Thanks for all the repkies
im on ESA, so it is means tested, I have considered refusing the inheritance but as has been pointed out, I could still be treated as having the capital of the DWP feel I refused I to retain my benefits.

I have a copy of the Will and am entitled to 1/16th of the estate when it was on the market the property was up for £240k and the probate document gives the net worth as 205k so I’d be looking at about 12.5k which would impact, but not stop my esa.

However, since it’s been sold to a company it could have been sold well below market value, which would obviously alter things so unfortunately knowing the % or even the probate figured isn’t helping much at present.

From what I know of the executor she wouldn’t be above selling for a ridiculously low price just to ensure others got less

Or a Deed of Variation that would divert your share to your children before it reaches you.

There are templates for the wording of a Ded if Variation on the internet and instructions for how it needs to be signed and witnessed.

Anyway, I don’t care about the money, but I am keen to know where I stand as I am on long term disability benefits and this money, whilst well intended could have a negative impact on me.
i need to have a rough idea of what I’m likely to receive and when so I know how it will affect me

YAB a bit U here OP. If you don't need benefits because you have inherited some money, then that is a good thing. Benefits are to help people who would otherwise struggle to pay for daily life without them, whether that be due to illness, disability or otherwise.
Not all benefits are means tested, but it's right that those that are should be withdrawn if you acquire another source of income.

The Executor is legally obliged to get as much as she can for assets.
In theory she could be sued but in reality executors can get away with all sorts unless beneficiaries have deep pockets.
If you feel she is mishandling the Estate, you can apply to have her set aside but I don’t know the ins and outs of it.
What a nasty situation for you.

Seems unusual that the house isn't left to her DCs. Haven't heard of someone spreading the money around like this unless they were childless.

Executor disputes

If the executor won't speak to you then maybe need to take some legal advice you can get free advice from CAB for example. I am dealing with a probate property where there was no will so I am currently a personal representative with letter of administration ( similar to an executor).
The advice I have been given is that it is best to keep other beneficiaries up to date with updates on progress otherwise I run the risk of legal action being taken against me by the other beneficiary if they feel they have been disadvantaged in the distribution of the estate. I am not legally obliged to update them but I have been strongly advised to do so. I don't know if situation is different when there is a will. In your case it looks like the executor has gone ahead and sold the property without discussing it with the other beneficiaries.
Have you contacted the other beneficiaries to see what they know ?

Do you know what kind of hoops you have to go through in order to get benefits though?

It can be a living hell.

I would suggest that OP doesn't want to deprive the taxpayer of her being off benefits or on lower benefits for a year or two, more that she doesn't want to have to face it for a second time if her ill health is ongoing. And I don't blame her for a second.

OP, those home buying companies are quite ruthless. They seem to offer about 85% of the full value as standard but then lowball people to 65-70% of the asking price just before exchange, just because they know most people using them are vulnerable enough to need it.

If the ampunt you get will notvtake your savings above 16k dont worry.
You can put some immediately into a pension and it wont be counted the max amount a tax year check it out with a finsncial adviser but

You can contribute to a pension even if you don’t pay tax, or have no earnings at all – this includes children. The annual pension contribution limit for non-earners is £3,600 gross - a payment of £2,880 to which the tax adds £720.

For Universal Credit all one hundred percent of contributions made to a personal or occupational pension are disregarded when calculating income see entitled to

https://www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/pensions-retirement/starting-a-pension/what-is-a-stakeholder-pension

@KnickerlessParsons As pointed out uo thread, it’s not just about having enough savings to not need benefits. It’s that this money won’t last forever, and once it’s gone, I will face numerous assessments to prove I have disabilities that I have already proved and been awarded for.

But looking at the amounts of money.
mid I inherit £15,999 assuming my bank balance is 0
Then I will lose £40 per week/£160 per month and will have a healthy savings balance.

if however, I inherit £16,001
Then I will lose £325 per week or £1300 per month, meaning that in 12 months I will have noyhinh and all I will have done is had the same monthly income I currently get. If we were talking about an amount of money which could offer financial security long term then of course I wouldn’t be concerned about the benefits, it’s the system that’s wrong, not the people who are part of it.

@FrenchandSaunders
The estate is being split as follows
1/4 to each of her 3 children
1/16th to 4 of her grandchildren. I am one of the grandchildren. One of her children is executor and none of the family speak.

@KievLoverTwo Thank you, this is similar to the info I was finding online.

Since the changed in tax I believe that developers/ landlords buy homes through a limited company they've set up.

OP could only put £2880 net into a pension as she is on benefits, for whoever suggested it.

She could put £2880 before next April 5th and £2880 after that though 😉

Of course she actually has to receive the cash first!

OP - I don’t think notional income works quite that way, you would only lose X amount ABOVE the savings limit, not the whole lot.

Yes so anything over 16k put straight into a pension tgen it will be disreguarded
If the amount is around 15 to17 k easily managed and it does not seem will be much more can spend 1000 on s nice holiday, 500 on new clothes or househood stuff, 2880 into pension etc

Lots of buy to lets are owned by the landlord's company rather than the individual. Has it been sold as a rental property?

it was a buy to let investor i sold my late mums house to, they offered the home report valuation (scotland) so paid what it was pretty much worth all the paperwork showed them as a company

@KievLoverTwo You & I understand it.
The fight to get what you are legally entitled to when you are sick, disabled & even dying is traumatic, torturous & demoralising so the thought of losing what you have had to fight so hard for is a terrifying prospect for many.

@MovingOn13 If the amount you inherit is more than £6000 you will lose £1 for £1 anything over that amount & £16,000 is the point at which I believe your ESA would stop completely.
If there is going to be more than £16,000 I believe you can have some put into a trust fund that you can receive a nominal amount from over time & it isn’t seen as a deprivation of assets but you will need to clarify that.
There may also be an amount of time in which you can keep your ESA before anything you inherit will effect it, possibly 12 months, but again whatever you spend the money on will have to be necessary to not be seen again as deprivation of assets. I believe you can’t gift money to people to bring the amount down as that is direct deprivation of assets.
I’m almost certain my info is right but please get it verified by someone at the DWP/job centre.

Sorry for your loss & I hope the money helps alleviate some financial stress for you.

We used them when we needed to move swiftly for various reasons. The price was contractually agreed on the outset and once agreed neither party could adjust it (at least when we did it, this is 5 years ago now). The price we agreed was about 8% under the value and they covered the legal fees. We felt it was actually quite fair as we'd have accepted an offer of around that anyway. Like I say though, this was some time ago and things may well have changed now.

You may need to re do your sums.
if the split is 1/4 each to 3 children, tht only leave 1/4 to split between ( I think you said 16)
if the house sold for 240K, that only leves 60k to share between 16, only gives you 4K or am i misunderstanding?