If you are an executor and the estate includes a property, you may feel pulled in two directions: sell quickly so the estate can be settled, or wait for the best price for the beneficiaries. Often you cannot fully have both, and it helps to decide early which matters more.
Timing and the grant of probate
You can get advice, value the property and even find a buyer before the grant of probate (or letters of administration) is issued. But you cannot exchange contracts or complete until it has been granted. Any buyer, agent or auction house will need to plan around that.
Looking after an empty property
Inherited homes often stand empty, which brings practical problems:
- Many home insurance policies change or stop covering a property once it has been empty for a set period. Tell the insurer.
- Turn off or drain water in cold weather, keep the property secure and arrange regular checks.
- Council tax rules for empty properties in an estate are different. Check with the local council.
Agreeing with beneficiaries
When several people inherit, everyone needs to agree on the route and the price. A transparent process can help. Auction, for example, lets everyone see that the property sold for what buyers were willing to pay on the day.
Choosing a route
- A cash buyer suits an empty or tired property where speed and certainty matter more than the last few thousand pounds.
- Auction suits a property that needs work or is hard to value, and where beneficiaries want an open, time-limited process.
- An estate agent suits a property in good condition when there is no urgency and the beneficiaries can wait for the best price.
How we help
We explain the options to you and, if you wish, to the other beneficiaries, so that everyone has the same information. Once you decide, we deal with the buyer, agent or auction house and keep in touch with the estate’s solicitor until the sale completes. We know this often happens at a difficult time, and we take that into account.