Most people’s experience of selling a property is that you engage an estate agent who helps you decide on a guide price, takes some photos and draws up a floorplan, and then places the property on the market so that people can come and view it.
However, when it comes to selling a probate property, there are other options open to you that may be a better approach, depending upon the property and your circumstances.
Selling Probate Property by Private Treaty
If the probate property is in good condition, then selling it via by the conventional means that we’ve described above can often be the best approach. This way of selling is known as selling by Private Treaty. We will treat the property just the same as a conventional property and approach the marketing in the same way too. We also offer some additional services for probate property, which can help with the whole process.
However, probate property is quite often in a dated condition or in a poor state of repair and so it may be better to sell the probate property either by Informal Tender (which can also be referred to as Sealed Bids) or by holding an Auction.
Selling Probate Property by Informal Tender (or Sealed Bids)
A sale by Informal Tender (or Sealed Bids) can often be the best way to sell a probate property that needs modernisation or refurbishment, is in a poor state of repair or has an obvious potential to be extended. These kinds of properties are often referred to as ‘fixer-uppers’ by potential buyers.
Selling by Informal Tender (or Sealed Bids) works by setting a deadline for potential buyers to submit a formal written offer for the probate property. This submission must also include all evidence that the buyer is able to proceed and includes details such as having a mortgage offer in principle or evidence of funds in the case of a cash buyer. Once the deadline for the Informal Tender is up, you can choose to accept the offer from the highest bidder who is in the best position to proceed.
As part of the Informal Tender process, we would market the property for you which involves the usual floorplans, photographs, advertising in property listings like Rightmove and Zoopla, and organising an Open Day a week or so prior to the deadline for bids to be received.
We find that Open Days are an excellent way of maximising interest in the probate property and at generating a sense of competition between bidders at the same time. This, and the tender deadline, forces buyers to make the best possible bid, which often results in achieving a higher sales price for the property.
Selling Probate Property by Auction
The third option open to you when selling a probate property is to sell by Auction. A sale by auction is where you gather a room full of potential buyers and they make competitive bids, all controlled and encouraged by a professional auctioneer. When the gavel falls at an auction, the winning bidder is legally obliged to buy the property. At this point you have effectively exchanged contracts and completion usually happens 28 days later. As you can see, an auction has the added benefit of ‘fast-tracking’ the selling process.
There are circumstances when selling by auction is the best option, such as when a probate property is in need of refurbishment or in a poor state of repair, and especially when a probate property has major structural issues that will make it hard to mortgage, or has considerable development potential, or for one-off properties that will generate very high levels of interest.
An auction is a more expensive way to sell a probate property as there is a lot more work involved, but the competitive environment of a professionally run auction can achieve excellent prices for the right kinds of property.
If you are in a position of selling a probate property and are unsure which is the best way to proceed, unlike many estate agents, we’ll help you make the right decision while giving you the option to choose any of the three sales routes described.
For more information about how we can help you to choose the best way to sell your probate property, contact us on 020 3758 7650 or e-mail enquiries@theprobatepropertyshop.com.