Anyone purchased a property going through probate? Do we stick or do we twist?

[ErlingHaalandsManBun]

Bit of a situation with the property we have just made an offer on.

It was being sold by the owners daughter on behalf of her Mother who has had to be moved into a care home. Daughter had power of attorney. All going well, we agreed a price and began to get the sale underway. Then we had a call from the Estate Agent selling to say that the owner had unfortunately and suddenly passed away (for which I have huge sympathy for them having not long lost my Dad and gone through this process myself) So, daughter's power of attorney no longer exists upon death and she no longer has legal rights to sell the property. So this will now have to go through probate.

Understandably the Estate Agent didn't want to be insensitive and probe too much as to what the daughters intentions are now as this death had only just occurred. However she thought the daughter would apply for probate and still want to sell. So we have been asked what we want to do. We have asked for time to consider our options.

WWYD?

Would you walk away from this seeing as though it could take months for probate to be granted which will more that likely piss off our own buyers who have already had to wait for us to find a house.

Or would you stick with it and hope that in a few weeks time the daughter applies for probate and its granted quickly.

As I said, I went through this with my Dad's house earlier this year. The estate was very simple, just myself and my sibling as beneficiaries and just the house and contents of his accounts so probate was granted within 8 weeks. Although I do know of friends who have waited best part of a year!!

My head is telling me to walk away and find something else but my heart wants to wait. But then there is the risk of losing our own sale.

Help! 😬

From what I've been hearing probate has massively sped up at the moment and has often been taking less than two months. It depends how patient you and your buyer's are feeling I suppose. I'd probably wait if I really loved it.

we had almost the exact same issue. It was tough! We ended up selling our home and moving into a rental for a few months. We bought the house in January and probate came through 8 months later. Now that we’re in the house we have absolutely no regrets - but it was very long, stressful and frustrating throughout that time. Just a distant memory now though. If you really love the house and there’s nothing else like it on the market then stick with it.

Thank you. This is something we are considering doing to keep our own sale and still enable us to buy the house we want. If she still would like to sell then we did think this could be a good option. Its a faff, for sure, but it may work.

Stick with it and move to rental short term if necessary

I agree. It secures your sale and puts you in a good position for an onward purchase, either the probate house or another.

Probate is an unpredictable beast. I had a nightmare with my mum's but others are plain sailing. I'd go through with your sale and go in to rented if you really love the house

I loved dealing with probate sales. They’re very straightforward as long as you accept that the daughter will be selling with limited title and therefore you are unlikely to get any replies to enquiries. If you’re able to accept the potential risks once probate is granted it will be rather quick.

We were in this exact position. Probate was applied for and our solicitor carried on doing what they could in the meantime. It didn't hold things up as it came through quickly.

We’re in this boat. Our vendor died in July and I don’t think we’ll be in before Christmas! Our buyer is happy to wait though.

We love the house, so it’s worth the wait for us. If our buyer gets sick of waiting we’ll just sell and rent (though that’s extremely inconvenient and expensive).

Perhaps speak to your estate agent and have them contact your buyer to find out if they’re prepared to wait, then make your decision.

I guess it depends how much you love the house. If you are willing to go into rented than presumably you love the house. Just be aware that probate is an unpredictable beast and it will take as long as it takes,

My sister passed away in December last year. My parents started the process of probate in February and it's only just gone through this week.

Thanks. Its a difficult one isn't it? Its the not knowing how long this will all take and whether our buyers would be willing to wait. They have already waited a long time as we had issues with the title plan with ours being an old house. That took literally months to sort. So we think this might be pushing them a little too far. Going into rented would be an idea but not ideal with two dogs in tow and the expense but may be something we would consider.

We have had such bad luck all through this house sale having already lost one forward purchase and now this. But I feel bad moaning about it when the vendor has just lost her Mum which sucks.

We are going to take over the weekend to have a real good think and explore all our options then make a decision and stick with it.

We had to sell and move out before our onward purchase was ready. I put the money in a savings account with 4.75% interest. The interest I earned from the proceeds helped to cover the extra costs.

Speaking as someone who is an executor right now, we would LOVE a buyer who is willing to wait for probate. To give an insight as to what it could be like for your vendor...

Insurance on an empty house is expensive, you have to get it and it could cost loads. Waiting for months to market and sell the property means she will be paying for this. Houses through the winter with nobody living in them are liable to have burst pipes etc - the daughter will be constantly thinking she has to go and check the house. In fact there insurance will compel her to do so every week. Maybe she lives hours away. This is a faff.

If her mum didn't leave any liquid money, she will be paying all the costs herself, ongoing water bills etc - and it will feel like a scary and open ended cost.

With a buyer she would have the certainty that your money is coming through reliably, to cover her tax liability, and is therefore a more reliable vendor. She will plan the dates to happen as soon as probate is granted. She would not mess you about like a vendor in an onward chain might.

She would know you wanted to buy it from now, and could liaise easily on fixtures and fittings while clearing the house - would you like the washing machine, fridge etc?

Honestly, it's such a good thing to have a confirmed buyer that you could even say you'll promise to wait for probate for a consideration, such as 5 or 10k off the price or something. It also saves her any costs of re-marketing it.

@Samhainduality when my house was unoccupied I didn't have to pay the water bills anymore. It might be worth checking with your water company.

So difficult to say. My mil took 19 months and only granted this August. Friends mums took a week! Both uncomplicated estates.

I believe probate can be expedited if you let the probate office know there is a sale already in progress. I bought a probate house, not in the same circumstances as you but it went through in less than 3 months.

if You love the house I would keep with it either by renting for a few months or getting your buyers to wait. You coukd find another house for it all go pear shape!

Yes , exactly your story but it was a man . For us it was around 6 months but that also included at the very start a need to go through a court of protection because he had dementia and no poa was in place .
It was 15 years ago . So likely to have changed since then .

Is there actually anything else on the market of interest? If there isn't, you might as well stick with the house (at least for now) as your buyer will need to wait anyway.

But I would say to the EA that you are prepared to wait as long as probate is applied for promptly. Luckily you don't need to think about how to word it sensitively, but I think it's fairer on the seller to understand your position with your buyer etc

Friend has a house going through probate now, their dad died in April and no sign of it being granted yet (executor is solicitor). Also, I’d get advice from the rental side of EA if they have one since, with the new RRB but even with pressure on rental property, you may not easily find a short-term rental (unless you go for AirB’n’B).
I would wait for a bit but keep looking too - would you even know who the executor(s) is or are, or even who benefits from the will? The family may make a different decision now, but I do hope everything works out as you’d like!

If her mum didn't leave any liquid money, she will be paying all the costs herself, ongoing water bills etc - and it will feel like a scary and open ended cost.

My sons have recently completed on their late father's empty house. The solicitor contacted all the utility companies, banks, and council etc - non of the bills needed to be paid until probate and sale were all sorted.

I applied for probate earlier this year. It was granted five days later!

So I'd give them a few weeks at least. It shouldn't take long unless it really complicated.

It could be quick. I applied for probate for my Mum earlier this year. The IHT application took 3 weeks, and then the probate took 8 days.

Could you speak to the estate agent to find out when they are applying for probate?

Thank you. I do believe, from what the Estate Agent has already told us, that the daughter is the only beneficiary and that she had told them that the estate was simple and it was just her accounts and the house. So technically, if she applies for it fairly quickly, then it could be granted in plenty of time before completion. Luckily we were right at the very beginning of the buying process and only agreed the sale very recently. So we are hoping that it won't affect things. We have asked the Agents if they can try and 'gently' find out some information and what her intentions are.

We may just give it a couple of weeks and see where things are and make a decision then.

Funnily enough, this last week another property has come onto the market a few doors down. The one we were buying is a bit of a do-er upper and this one is already done. But is more expensive but in our price range. We will go and view it next week and then we at least can hopefully decide what to do.