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Particular situations
Before a property held in the name of someone who has died can be sold and the title transferred, the estate's legal authority has to be in place. That generally means a grant of probate where there is a will, or letters of administration where there is not, and the lawyer acting for the estate arranges it.
A lawyer is needed here, and from the beginning rather than when an offer arrives, because who has authority to sell decides everything that follows. The lawyer acting for the estate applies for probate or letters of administration and will tell you where the application is up to.
Preparatory work can carry on while that is underway: getting the record of title and the council property file, clearing and cleaning, quotes for repairs, an appraisal. Marketing can often start before the grant is through, but the title cannot transfer until the authority exists, so check the likely timing with the lawyer before agreeing any settlement date with a buyer.
The agency agreement for an estate is signed by the executors or administrators, not by the beneficiaries. Where there is more than one executor they sign together and decide together. Beneficiaries are kept informed by the executors, and disagreement between them is work for the estate's lawyer, not for the agent.
It saves a lot of friction to settle a few things among the executors before listing: the expectation on price, the method of sale, who is the single point of contact for the agent, who holds keys, and who authorises spending on marketing or repairs.
Clearing a house someone lived in for decades takes longer than anyone allows for. It is worth agreeing early what is kept, what is distributed, what is sold and what is disposed of, and booking that work in before the campaign dates are set.
Check the insurance with the insurer. Cover often changes when a property is unoccupied, and an empty house still needs rates paid, power on for photographs and viewings, and the lawns done.
Disclosure works the same as on any other sale. Known defects have to be disclosed. Where the executors genuinely do not know the history of the house, that can be said plainly, with the council file made available so a buyer can make their own enquiries.
Tax on the sale, including whether the bright line test has any application to the estate, is a question for the estate's lawyer or accountant. It is not something an agent can answer.
An appraisal is a written estimate of what your home is worth, with the sales it rests on set out beside it. It is free, it puts you under no obligation, and you will not be chased afterwards.
Book a free appraisal Work out what you would walk away with