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Hi There, My fiancee and I have recently gotten into property investment and are finding our feet. It is an amazing journey thus far and this community has been very helpful. Through some hard work and persistence, we have found three very desirable properties that are part of a deceased estate. There are four siblings which have turned over the properties to a solicitor to handle. We have made contact with one of the siblings and are now preparing to contact the solicitor directly. Any pointers on how to get these properties before they go on the open market? They all need a bit of refurbishment done to them (some more than others). We would appreciate any wisdom and experience anyone may be able to offer! Thank you, C&L

Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. the flat is in need of a full refurbishment. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the freehold during sale? How am I able to find out how long is left on the leasehold for that flat? Is there any issues which I would need to look out for if the number of years left on the lease is lower than expected? Would how many years left on the lease be an issue if needed to extend as with owning a quarter of the freehold the flat you basically own the freehold on the flat in question? I am not so clued up on leasehold /freehold so if any of the above is incorrect please correct me and any information given would be appreciated. Thanks Joe Forrester

Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?

Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?

Hi, Just wondering if anyone could give me any pointers / shed some light on a flat which has just became available. The flat is up for sale as a probate sale , it is not up at market yet but I know some of the details as the man was part of our cricket club. What I have been told is the estate agent has came around and valued this ground floor flat at around £100,000, this was before she realised it was a leasehold flat. It is not an external company who owns the freehold, each of the four flats in the block own a quarter each. I am unsure how long is left on the lease though. my questions are: Is this an easier sale than a normal leasehold as I would be gaining a quarter of the reehold during sale?

Hallo all just a few words of warning that I hope may save your loved ones from some sleepless nights at an already very stressful time. My husband sadly died a year ago...we owned several properties, some in my name , a few in his name and one jointly as tenants in common. We had the usual Wills leaving all to each other. So do you know what happens to the Mortgages on your properties if you die?...to be honest we hadn't given that one much thought.....and it does vary between mortgage companies. What would you do if you found your mortgages were payable on death, or could your loved ones raise remortgages ...which again isn't straightforward on a probated property. In my case some of the mortgage companies will allow the mortgages to run to the end of term in my husbands name In others I have to take out a 1st day Probate remortgage , which a higher interest rate and very few lenders to choose from..I have in fact paid down some of the mortgage and it will still cost me double the existing mortgage on a 2 year fix but at least that gives me the time to decide if I want to move my tenant on and refurbish/sell. (their policy was repay within 6 months of death but that had passed by the time Probate issued/contact made... and has now been extended but has been very stressful The jointly held mortgage still cant be transferred to me as it is held as tenants in common and there are 2 executors (please DONT have 2 execs listed in your will!)as this really complicates everything andI will need their written permission to sell or refinance my property! (not a problem in my case but just more hassle and paperwork) So what would I do now with the painfull knowledge that I now have?...providing that you want your other half, married live in or business to inherit with NO complications whatsoever then the easiest , cheapest, least painful option is to hold the properties as JOINT owners....(not tenants in common)....that means that on either death the other party automatically owns the property outright...(that also overrides anything in your will) ..the same applies to bank accounts, hold jointly or the account and all your money will be frozen while Probate takes place which can be lengthy, expensive and very stressfull...this of course applies to your own home as well as investment properties. So I would urge all of you mortgage holders to give the matter some urgent thought, check the small print on your mortgages for a Payment on Death clause or get a written decision on what their response will be to your unfortunate demise. Think about holding your property/assets jointly. Take steps...find out NOW and ensure that your loved ones do not have any additional stress at a time when they really really don't need it. I believe that holding in a limited company could also work but I don't have much knowledge of that scenario....maybe others have other solutions or experiences Kate x

If someone dies and leaves a house that is to be sold. I assume that the beneficiaries are beneficial owners. If one of the beneficiaries wants to live in the house until it is sold, do they have legal right to do so?

I am trying to buy a flat with share of freehold, but one of the freeholders is deceased, and the beneficiary of the estate has been non responsive to sign the transfer of title and the required lease extension. There are 3 flats so it is just one of the shares of freehold that is causing the issue. The freehold is not owned by a company unfortunately, it is owned directly by each of the freeholders. Is there a way to force this matter to a close through some sort of process as the flat is basically unsellable otherwise? Is it possible to seek an order for the remaining 2 freeholders to be allowed to sign over the title as the third freeholder is 'in effect' unable to act? Is it even necessary for probate to be granted to transfer the title or to extend the lease? (The lease only has 62 years remaining and the mortgage offer is conditional on at least 80 years remaining so lease will need to be extended also). Would purchasing a 'missing landlord indemnity policy' cover this type of scenario? Hopefully someone out there has some definitive answers on this. Let me know if you need any more information to clarify.