Have I understood this correctly about probate / could there be problems?

[SusanSmithy]

I've now sold and in temporary accommodation
and considering making an offer on a house.

Situation is parent has died and property being sold by son and daughter who told EA they'd made application for probate 8 weeks ago. I take this to mean that the certificate of probate wont be issued for at least another 8 weeks.

Is that correct? What could make the wait time much longer?

EA says daughter is currently living at the property - unclear whether she's moved in after parent died or has lived there long term. EA says she has 'plans to move on'.

Could this be a problem? What if she doesn't want to move and refuses to do so, or refuses to consider offers?

Anything else I need to consider ?

Had no dealings with probate so learning as I go along

Are the son and daughter the executors as well as the beneficiaries?

In any case, if they’re selling the house I can’t imagine that the fact the daughter is currently living there should be a problem. It would surely be just like anyone else selling their house — they live there until the sale is completed.

As you rightly surmised, the sale cannot proceed until probate is granted, although they could accept an offer before then. It’s just a question of how long the buyer is prepared to wait if there is a delay in granting probate.

Two different issues. Probate and then selling the house.
As previous poster said, the sale can't go ahead until probate granted.
Once granted, it'll be a discussion for the siblings as to what to do next.
If there is inheritance tax to pay, they'll probably need to release the equity in the house and want to sell ASAP.
If no inheritance tax, they can take as long as they want or need. They just need to be aware, that if they decide to keep the house on, and sell it later, there may be capital gains to pay.

If one sibling wants to sell and the other doesn't, and a compromise can't be reached, then the sibling who wants to sell, may have to consider legal action, but I'd strongly advise against this as it's a long arduous and expensive process.

Just to add if only one sibling is an executor and wants to sell they can do this straight away. If one sibling is an executor and doesn't want to sell, then the other sibling will need to consider legal advice. If both are executors, they they'll need to discuss and agree on a course of action.

I’d keep looking !

I think the fact that the house is on the market is a good sign that the family want to sell. Also positive that they have told you probate has been applied for - it can take up to 6months sometimes less/more depending on the size of the estate.

we’re in the middle of buying a probate property and no one’s been able to tell us when exactly it’s been submitted - so just a waiting game now to get in. It’s actually a positive that there’s someone in the property at the moment because it’s being heated, and someone is there to notice burst pipes/leaks etc. the property we are buying is lying empty and I have the fear about what could be happening. I wouldn’t worry too much if you like the house.

My family sold a probate property last year.
I may be wrong, but I think the family can’t actually agree the sale till probate is granted because they aren’t legal owners - and our experience was there were huge delays in granting it on a straightforward estate. (Ie: months and months - and you can’t get any info from the probate office about what is going on so very hard to understand the hold up / when it might eventually come through.)

Unless it’s perfect, I’d keep looking!

*NewFriendlyLadybird *I believe the son and daughter are the executors

Frida2023 Good to hear a positive spin on the daughter being resident

Appreciate all the insights