Buying a Probate Property: What Every Buyer Should Look Out For

A probate property is a home that is being sold following the death of the owner. The sellers are not the people who lived there. They are the executors named in the will, or the administrators appointed where there is no will. Together they are known as the personal representatives of the estate.

These properties can be attractive. They are often priced to sell, there is rarely an onward chain, and the sellers usually want a clean and quick disposal. But they carry risks that an ordinary purchase does not. The people selling may know very little about the house. The paperwork may be old or missing. The building may have been empty for months. This blog looks at the transaction from the buyer's side and sets out what to ask, what to check, and what precautions to take.

The Grant of Representation

The personal representatives cannot complete a sale until they have the grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is none). This is the document that gives them legal authority to sell.

Many probate properties are marketed before the grant has been issued. That is not unlawful, but it matters to you. Applications to the Probate Registry can take several months, and longer where the estate is complex or the application is queried. If you are in a chain, or you have a mortgage offer with an expiry date, a long wait can cause real difficulty.

Ask the agent at the outset whether the grant has been issued. If it has not, ask when the application was made and whether it was made online or on paper. Be realistic about timescales and build them into your own plans.

Ask your conveyancer to check the following:

• That a certified copy of the grant has been supplied and matches the property being sold.
• That the names of the sellers on the contract are exactly the names of the personal representatives on the grant.
• That all personal representatives are joining in the sale. If one has renounced or has had power reserved, your conveyancer should see the evidence.
• That the grant is not limited in scope in a way that affects the sale.
• That the property was owned by the deceased in their sole name. If it was jointly owned, the surviving co owner may be the seller, or the position may depend on whether the co owners held as joint tenants or tenants in common. This needs to be understood before exchange.

Your conveyancer will need the certified copy of the grant to register you as the new owner at HM Land Registry. Without it the application will be rejected.

The Sellers May Know Very Little

When you buy from an owner occupier, the Property Information Form gives you a reasonable picture of the home. The seller knows whether the boiler has been serviced, whether there was ever a dispute with the neighbours, and whether the loft was converted with consent.

Executors often have none of that knowledge. The form will frequently be completed with the answer "not known" or "the seller has no information". Executors also commonly sell on the basis that they give no warranties about the physical condition of the property or its history.

This shifts the burden of enquiry onto you. Do not treat a form full of blank answers as a clean bill of health. Treat it as a warning that you must do more of your own investigation.

Ask your conveyancer to press for whatever the executors do have. Family members sometimes hold useful paperwork such as guarantees for windows or damp treatment, planning permissions, building regulation certificates and service records. Ask whether any surviving relative can answer specific questions.

Condition of the Property

Probate properties are often older homes that have not been modernised for many years. They may also have stood empty since the death. An empty house deteriorates quickly. Heating is switched off, gutters block, small leaks go unnoticed, and pests move in.

Commission a full building survey rather than a basic valuation or a condition report. This is not the purchase on which to save a few hundred pounds. Pay particular attention to:

• The roof, chimneys, gutters and drains.
• Damp, rot and timber problems.
• The electrical installation. Old wiring is common and there may be no recent inspection report.
• The gas supply and boiler. Ask whether there is a current safety record. Do not assume the system works.
• Asbestos in older properties, especially in garages, ceilings and floor tiles.
• Structural movement, which may have been present for years without anyone reporting it.

Ask whether the utilities are still connected and whether the water has been drained down. If the property has been empty over winter, burst pipes are a real possibility. Ask whether the executors have maintained buildings insurance while the property has been vacant, because most policies restrict cover after thirty days without occupation.

Title and Documentation

Older owners often bought their homes decades ago. That raises several title issues.

If the property is unregistered, your conveyancer will need to see the original deeds and prepare for first registration. Deeds can go missing. They may be held by a bank, a solicitor who has since closed, or a relative who cannot find them. Ask early whether the deeds have been located.

Even where the title is registered, ask your conveyancer to check for:

• Restrictions on the register that may need to be dealt with before you can be registered.
• Missing documents referred to in the register, such as old conveyances containing covenants.
• Unusual rights of way or shared access arrangements that were never formalised.
• Boundaries. Long periods of ownership often mean fences have moved and nobody has questioned it.

Planning and Building Regulations

Extensions, loft conversions, conservatories and replacement windows may have been carried out without consent, or the paperwork may simply have been lost. Executors are unlikely to know. Ask your conveyancer to compare the local authority search results with what you can see on the ground, and to raise enquiries about any work that appears not to have been approved. Indemnity insurance may be available, but it does not make unsafe work safe. Your surveyor should comment on the quality of any alterations.

Claims Against the Estate

This is a risk that catches buyers by surprise. Certain people, such as spouses, children and dependants, can bring a claim against an estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The time limit is six months from the date of the grant. A disappointed relative can also lodge a caveat at the Probate Registry, which stops a grant being issued.

Ask your conveyancer to enquire whether there is any dispute about the will, any caveat, and whether any claim has been made or threatened. A sale by personal representatives to a buyer in good faith will normally be protected, but a dispute can delay or derail a transaction, and it is better to know before you spend money on searches and surveys.

Occupation and Vacant Possession

Find out who, if anyone, is living in the property. A relative or carer may still be there. There may be a tenant or a lodger. In rare cases there may be a long standing regulated tenant with security of tenure.

The contract should require vacant possession on completion. Your conveyancer should ask what steps have been taken to secure it. Do not rely on assurances that a relative will simply move out.

Contents and Clearance

The house may still be full of furniture and personal belongings. Executors sometimes leave clearance to the last minute or hope the buyer will take everything. Make sure the contract is clear about what is to be removed and what, if anything, you have agreed to keep. Insist on a final inspection shortly before completion and be prepared to delay if the property has not been cleared.

Price, Offers and Gazumping

Personal representatives have a duty to the beneficiaries to obtain the best price reasonably available. That duty works against you in one respect. Executors are more likely than an ordinary seller to accept a higher offer received after yours, and they will feel little loyalty to you. Some agents run sealed bid processes for exactly this reason.

You cannot remove this risk before exchange, but you can reduce it. Move quickly. Instruct your conveyancer and surveyor immediately. Keep the agent informed of progress. Ask whether the executors will agree to take the property off the market once your survey is booked.

Leasehold Probate Properties

If the property is a flat, ask your conveyancer to check whether the landlord or management company must be notified of the death and of the grant, whether any ground rent or service charge arrears have built up while the estate has been administered, and whether the management pack has been ordered. Estates frequently fall behind on these payments and the arrears must be settled before completion.

A Checklist for Your Conveyancer

Ask your conveyancer to confirm in writing that they have checked:

1. The grant of representation, the identity of all sellers and the authority of each to sell.
2. Whether the title is registered and whether all deeds and documents are available.
3. Whether any caveat, will dispute or claim against the estate exists.
4. The extent of the executors' knowledge and the effect of any exclusion of warranties in the contract.
5. Planning and building regulation history and any gaps.
6. Who occupies the property and how vacant possession will be delivered.
7. Contents, clearance and the arrangements for a final inspection.
8. Insurance cover while the property is empty and the position on utilities.
9. For leasehold, arrears and landlord notification.
10. Realistic timescales for exchange and completion in light of the probate position.

Practical Precautions

• Do not exchange contracts until the grant has been issued and seen, unless you have taken specific advice on a conditional exchange.
• Budget for a full survey and for the repairs it is likely to reveal.
• Keep your mortgage lender informed if the timetable slips, and check the expiry date on your offer.
• Visit the property more than once, and inspect it again immediately before completion.
• Write down every question you have and give them to your conveyancer in one list rather than piecemeal.
• Do not be pushed into a rushed exchange by an agent who is keen to close the estate.

Final Thoughts

Probate properties can be good purchases. Many buyers secure a home with real potential at a sensible price and without a chain. But the absence of an informed seller means the usual safety nets are missing. A buyer who asks the right questions, instructs a thorough surveyor and works closely with a conveyancer who understands the probate process will avoid most of the pitfalls. A buyer who treats it as an ordinary purchase may not.