Probate property - dodgy electrics?

I've recently sold my late parents house, and faced similar issues.
Do NOT attempt any modifications etc, as the buyer will be aware of buying a sixty year old property will have issues.
Obviously complete any issues affecting the water tightness ie leaking pipes, blocked gutters and down-pipes etc. Roof slates missing ?
UPVC windows with no FENSA certs - tell the truth no certs, friend of the family installation.
Internal wall removed (Lounge-Dining room), no building regs held.
Asbestos in the garden, shed roofs, cold frames and raised planters, path edging, etc. - purchaser informed.
When completing the purchasers legal questionnaire, reply honestly, often with the comment 'I have not personally lived here, no documents traced' etc.

The new buyers will probably gut the property, rewire, re-plumb etc.
Get the property onto the market asap, properties are selling very rapidly at present (Stamp duty savings).

I had a lengthy delay due to Covid delays (shouldn't be an issue now), but lengthy delays due to money-laundry checks - all clear in the end.
( I had to pay full general rates, whilst the property was empty, £160 per month, but I have now discovered, too late, that if the house was inhabitable no rates would have been payable - ie remove the kitchen and/or bathroom fittings !)

Driving by the house today, I can see a builders lorry parked up, all chimney stacks removed ! Kitchen ripped out, loft insulation removed, etc etc, yet the house was lived in just weeks prior to the house going onto the market.

Best regards

 

As tricky says, be honest on the property form, but brief.

You do have to be a little hard ball with property, if the sellers want surveys, EICRs, asbestos surveys etc. fine, but they pay the costs of that - never pay for that yourselves.

A good friend has just made that mistake when selling a property in need of renovation, and that the buyers intended to pull down, they had him spend thousands on this survey, that inspection, then mucked about and pulled out. They wre builders, so knew what they were buying without surveys, they were just time wasters.

Be fair, but firm, don't let a buyer pressurise you, its a sellers market right now, so if someone starts messing around, put it right back on the market.

 

The original faceplates are probably better than the more recent ones, the old 60's ones were built like tanks and just go on and on - so long as there are no cracks or burn marks they are not an immediate issue.

The tingle is very likely not a shock from the socket, but from your relative to the screw head. static is readily formed especially on older nylon carpets and will give you quite a thwack if you touch a socket box screw. The number of call outs i've had over the years to folks convinced they have a fault, and all they have is very good earthing!

 

Thanks Ceebee,
After the sale had been agreed, and with the new purchasers agreement, we could have removed the kitchen fittings etc.
The house was purchased by first time buyers, and it took a while for funds to be collated and money-laundering checks to be made.
Emptying the house, garage, brick outhouses, sheds and storage 'sheds' took time whilst memories where rediscovered over fifty years of storage.
It was a great shock when my father died, in the garden one day and the next day a major stroke, clarifying the legal ownership of the house and then
still sorting his will with 21 beneficiaries to satisfy, only a few to go now.
Get the house on the market, and sold, as there will be more duties to be undertaken.
Kind regards

 

it's always a bad time. My sister died suddenly and unexpectedly last September leaving me (130 miles away) as sole executer

Her house was only 20 odd years old but in a terrible state (think extreme hoarders on cable). I filled 1x12 and 3x8yard skips, the house clearers another 2x8 yard and this on top of the mass of stuff that went to charity shops. No maintenance of any kind for at least 10 years I guess.

I went soul searching about what work to do and in the end apart from getting in a professional cleaning service (well worth the pretty modest charge) and getting a small leak in the roof repaired I left is as it was. I looked at house prices (thanks Zoopla), estimated what I'd have to spend and set my sights accordingly. I was very fortunate to find a sensible estate agent who was totally realistic.

In the end a couple of the neighbours bought it as an investment so they wnew exactly what they were getting.

One other thing: the question of council tax suspension does seem to vary from council to council both time and status (ie just unoccupied or unlivable). Also the house insurers and stats were happy to continue supply and only get paid once the property was sold.

Good on you for helping out Ceebee.

 

CeeBee ...

It looks as though you ae trying to guide them through and they are still taking the strain. If you are willing to, they can pass the responsibility to you even if they are the named executors and allow you to sort it out, get it with an agaent and negotiate - all they need to do is have confidience in you and sign the documents. It may make it simpler all round and you may well make a better decsions - not stalling "well it was mums/dads favourite chair" or being too hasty and accepting a silly offer.

No where near as large a problem as yours but with two family deaths recently I have just taken a significant task and dealt with it relaying just teh essential back to the others which took weight off them.

 

It would not be a cop-out for them - it is about making a sensible decision. They will employ an estate agent to actually market the property, a solicitor to do the conveyancing, &c so they will already be planning to offload those aspects, so why not the preparation for sale and day to day work on it?

And they don't know what will come next.

Put the message across that it is becasue: you want to help, you don't want to see them suffer unneccessarily with worry, stress and overwork, point out you friendship/fondness/love/connection with te deceased and them and you know the deceased would not mind you helping in the difficult time.

And will you want paying for it? NO - just a momento or two and a decent bottle or two of wine.