Losing a loved one, especially if it’s a parent, is a very difficult time. Unfortunately, it also means a lot of work for the executors – most of whom will be family members – who are required to deal with the estate’s Probate. One of the first things executors will have to do is to value the deceased’s property, and this includes their home. Big Black Hen has launched a new Probate Properties service to help shoulder this responsibility at a very sad time.
Free valuation
It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re intending to sell the property, you will need a valuation for tax purposes. If there is a surviving spouse, they’ll probably want to continue to live in the family home, and in such cases, a lot of estate agents will charge to do a valuation. However, we are happy to value the house free of charge in order to ease the pressure and expense of dealing with probate, so you have one less thing to worry about.
Selling probate properties
When people live in the same home for many years – especially for older people who don’t want the fuss and upheaval building work will bring – their property tends to become a bit out-dated and many will need to have quite a bit of attention. Depending on how much work will be involved, properties like this tend to be sold to developers or ‘doer-uppers’ who are always keen to find new projects to take on. The benefit of selling to a developer or builder is that you will probably get more money than if you sell to a private individual who’s taking on a cheaper property in order to make improvements over time.
Another advantage of selling to a developer is the time factor. There’s no chain involved or the possibility of changes of personal circumstances affecting the sale. You will, therefore, spend less time with an empty property you’re responsible for and the expense and worry associated with it. We have a number of developers on our books with whom we’ve developed a good working relationship. This means we know the type of properties each developer is looking for and can move quickly to inform the right people about a property, which can decrease even further the amount of time it takes to sell.
There may also be better ways of selling the property than the traditional viewing system. For houses with potential, for instance, auctions or selling by informal tender work very well, as developers and investors will be bidding against each other which could encourage them to offer more than you’d otherwise get.
For expert and sympathetic advice on any aspect of valuing or selling probate property, please call Nigel Adams on 01992 878580 or email [email protected]