Selling a property as an executor: probate property sales

Selling a home on behalf of an estate

When someone dies, the people who deal with their estate (everything they owned) are called personal representatives. If there is a will, these are usually the executors it names. If there is no will, or no executor can act, a close relative usually applies to become an administrator.

Selling the home is often the largest task in dealing with an estate. The legal steps are similar to an ordinary sale, with extra stages: proving your authority to sell, looking after an empty property and dealing with tax. This guide covers England and Wales, as Northern Ireland has its own procedures.

If the home was owned jointly as joint tenants, a form of joint ownership where the survivor automatically inherits, it usually passes to the surviving owner without a grant. Your conveyancer (the solicitor or licensed conveyancer handling the sale) will check how the property was owned before anything else.

The grant of probate or letters of administration

Before you can complete a sale, you need a grant of representation, the court document confirming who has legal authority to deal with the estate. Executors receive a grant of probate, and administrators receive letters of administration.

To apply, you first need to value the estate and deal with any Inheritance Tax (a tax on the estate of someone who has died) reporting, and if tax is due you usually have to pay some of it before the grant is issued. The wait from applying to receiving the grant varies, commonly from several weeks to a few months, and it is longer if the probate registry needs more information. You can apply for probate on GOV.UK. Gathering valuations and paperwork before you apply can take several months in itself.

When you can market, exchange and complete

GOV.UK advises against putting property on the market until you have the grant. In practice, executors can prepare the property and speak to estate agents while they wait, so that marketing can start as soon as the grant arrives.

Exchange of contracts, the point where the sale becomes legally binding, usually waits until the grant has been issued. The buyer's conveyancer will want to see it to confirm the right people are selling, and administrators have no authority to sell at all until it is issued. Completion, when the money is paid and the keys are handed over, cannot take place without it.

Who signs and who decides

Personal representatives act together. Where there is more than one, all those named on the grant usually need to sign the contract and the transfer deed, the document that passes ownership to the buyer, so decisions such as accepting an offer need to be agreed between you. Your conveyancer will also need to verify the identity of each of you, wherever you live.

Plan for this early. For example, if two siblings are executors and one lives abroad, documents may need to be posted overseas and signed in front of a witness there, which adds time. You must also act in the interests of the beneficiaries (the people who inherit), so many executors get more than one valuation to show the price is fair, especially if the buyer is a relative or one of the executors.

Looking after an empty property

An empty home brings practical risks, from burst pipes to burglary. Tell the home insurer about the death as soon as you can. Many policies limit cover once a property has been empty for a set number of days, so you may need specialist unoccupied property insurance, and the insurer may require regular inspections.

Other sensible steps include securing doors and windows, turning off or draining the water in winter if advised, redirecting post and taking meter readings. Councils usually exempt an empty home owned solely by the person who died from council tax while you wait for the grant and for up to six months afterwards, as long as it stays empty and has not been sold or passed to a beneficiary. Check with the council how this applies to the property.

Clearing the property

Check the will before removing anything, because some items may be left to particular people. It helps to make a simple inventory, photograph the contents, keep valuables somewhere secure and agree with the other personal representatives and beneficiaries what will be kept, sold or given away.

Keep anything that could help the sale, such as title deeds, planning documents, building regulations certificates, warranties and appliance manuals. Clear the property in good time, because the buyer will expect it empty at completion unless you agree otherwise, and keep receipts for clearance and other costs, as these may be paid from the estate. Fixtures and fittings you have listed as included in the sale must stay behind.

Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Tax on an estate can be complicated, so take advice from a solicitor or accountant who deals with estates. The main points at a high level are:

• Inheritance Tax, if due, usually has to be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death, with interest charged after that
• tax on property can often be paid in yearly instalments over 10 years, but the rest becomes payable once the property is sold
• if the property is sold at a loss within four years of the death, compared with the value used for Inheritance Tax, it may be possible to claim relief
• Capital Gains Tax (a tax on any increase in value) may be due if the property sells for more than its value at the date of death, after allowable costs, and on a UK property it usually has to be reported and paid within 60 days of completion

The sale price can affect both taxes, so keep your conveyancer and tax adviser in touch with each other. GOV.UK explains how to pay Inheritance Tax.

What your conveyancer does and what you do

Your conveyancer handles the legal side of the sale, while you, as personal representatives, give instructions and provide the information only you can. Here is how the work usually divides.

• Your conveyancer: checks the grant, the will and how the property was owned, and obtains the title from HM Land Registry
• Your conveyancer: prepares the contract and helps you complete the property information forms, where answering "not known" is acceptable if you have no personal knowledge
• Your conveyancer: obtains a redemption figure, the amount needed to pay off any mortgage or equity release plan (usually a lifetime mortgage, a loan secured on the home that is repaid when the owner dies), and repays it on completion
• Your conveyancer: deals with the buyer's enquiries, exchange and completion, then sends the sale money to the estate account or as you direct
• You: provide the death certificate, the will, the grant and identification for every personal representative
• You: arrange insurance, security, clearance and access for viewings and surveys
• You: mention any deadlines, such as repayment terms on an equity release plan, and keep beneficiaries informed

If the property has never been registered at HM Land Registry, the original deeds will be needed and registration can add time. Your conveyancer will tell you which documents to look for.

How long a probate sale takes

A probate sale runs on two clocks: the time to get the grant and the time to sell. Valuing the estate, dealing with tax forms and receiving the grant commonly takes several months. The sale then commonly takes 10 to 16 weeks from instruction to completion for a freehold, where the property is owned outright, or 12 to 20 weeks for a leasehold, owned for a fixed number of years under a lease.

You can save time by instructing a conveyancer while you wait for the grant, so the title can be checked and the forms prepared. Common causes of delay include missing deeds, disagreements between beneficiaries, slow replies from an equity release provider and personal representatives who are hard to reach for signatures.

Next steps

A Keyfolio probate sale quote sets out the legal fee, VAT and disbursements, so you can budget for the costs that will come out of the estate. You can get an instant probate sale quote or read more about selling a probate property. The law firm you choose confirms its fees in writing before you instruct it, and you are free to use any conveyancer.