Advice on deceased aunt estate

Jaymac1

Hi all,

My aunt died a few months back and was not married nor had any kids. In her will she left everything she had ie her house and car and money to the 10 grandchildren and her 5 neices.

The house has been valued by only 1 estate agent and the value is 320,000.

I wish to point out that not all the family gets on.

We were told last week that was the value which some of us thought was a little low and secondly some of us thought that it should be valued by more than 1 estate agent. The executors (2 of them) have now said that both of their sons are interested in buying the property.

The rest of us are a bit uneasy because we dont feel it has been valued right and the fact that their sons are interested in buying it seperatley is also sounding alarm bells to us.

Do we have a right to question it or is this the decision of the 2 executors? I am sure we can contact the solicitor but i wanted to try get some info here before we go and cause more agro between the family.

if anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated

Kosseegan

Usually there should be three valuers if the beneficiaries don't agree. They should not all be chosen by the executors. The executors can be sued for selling at an undervalue especially if the executor or a person connected to them buys the house.

coylemj

Kosseegan wrote: »

Usually there should be three valuers if the beneficiaries don't agree. They should not all be chosen by the executors. The executors can be sued for selling at an undervalue especially if the executor or a person connected to them buys the house.

I would have thought that if the beneficiaries don't agree with the valuation then the property should be sold at public auction. In some cases however the potential buyer pool could be small as a result of which the place could go for far less than what the current valuation says in which case the beneficiaries would lose out.

According to the OP there are 15 beneficiaries so I would have thought that even a contested undervaluation isn't really going to affect the individuals by much. They might be as well off accepting the valuation instead of paying yet more auctioneers to stick a finger in the air or risk getting far less if it's sold via auction.

Kosseegan

coylemj wrote: »

I would have thought that if the beneficiaries don't agree with the valuation then the property should be sold at public auction. In some cases however the potential buyer pool could be small as a result of which the place could go for far less than what the current valuation says in which case the beneficiaries would lose out.

According to the OP there are 15 beneficiaries so I would have thought that even a contested undervaluation isn't really going to affect the individuals by much. They might be as well off accepting the valuation instead of paying yet more auctioneers to stick a finger in the air or risk getting far less if it's sold via auction.

Manty houses simply wouldn't get a bid at public auction. The costs of a failed auction would be massive compared to a few hundred for valuations.
Usually each side in a dispute nominates a valuer and an agreed referee who arbitrates in the event of a difference.
If there are 15 beneficiaries a number of them could pay for another valuation and if there is a significant discrepency decide to take it further.

mathepac

Sorry to hear the death of a relative has activated all the "money" antennae in the family. It's times like this when you can see the worst as well as the best of people.

Yeah as suggested three valuations and a referee, but I believe the real challenge will be to find a buyer, especially if there is family interest and / or bad feeling about the property. This can tend to get known and may deter potential "outside" purchasers.

I'd suggest the expedient thing to do would be to get quick agreement on a price, discount it by the two lads share of the proceeds and sell it to them fast. The longer a property stays vacant and for sale the more it'll go down in price.

locomo

Jaymac1 wrote: »

The executors (2 of them) have now said that both of their sons are interested in buying the property.

Sell it by auction. Let them put their money where their mouth is. Its the most transparent way.

coylemj

locomo wrote: »

Sell it by auction. Let them put their money where their mouth is. Its the most transparent way.

If it was a semi-detached in Terenure that would be the ideal solution but if it is in a remote part of the country with few potential bidders it might not. The two sons could turn up, jointly bid €1,000 for the property and get a bargain.

nuac

With so many beneficiaries, and interest within the family, an auction may be t he best option. Should have a reserve.

Jaymac1

Thanks for all the replies folks.

The 2 nephews want to buy it seprately so they are not trying to buy it together.

The house is in a nice part of Dublin also so its not in the back end of the country.

Should i go to the solicitor or will this be fed back to the executors?


I dont really care about the money but its the principal of it being done correct and not half arsed.

schemingbohemia

How much lower do you think the valuation is from what you think it's worth? Given the current property market, having a definite buyer in the hand as it were is worth an awful lot. You could all be waiting months to sell the house if it's not bought by the nephew and have to pay 1-2% to an estate agent for the pleasure.

If you think you'd get 400k then by all means get other valuers if its 360 or less I'd suck it up, especially as it's going to be divided by 15!

CIARAN_BOYLE

Jaymac1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies folks.

The 2 nephews want to buy it seprately so they are not trying to buy it together.

maybe they can compete with each other to bring the price to a level above tha valuation.

coylemj

Jaymac1 wrote: »

The 2 nephews want to buy it seprately so they are not trying to buy it together.

If they are genuinely looking to each buy the house then maybe the executor should tell them to submit sealed bids by a certain deadline, the higher bid gets the house.

Public auction is probably not an option for a regular house in the present circumstances. Reason is that before you bid at an auction you have to have the survey done and finance arranged beforehand because the successful bidder at an auction is expected to slap down a deposit on the spot i.e. before he leaves the auctioneer's premises. Bar you have cash, most people aren't in a position to do this because they can't be 100% certain that their lender's surveyor will pass the house as being sold at a fair price.

Financial institutions are being extremely cautious with lending these days so the only way to sell a house is to ask for offers and hope that the guy who offers the most can actually come up with the finance which can take much longer than was the case a few years ago. So in the OP's circumstances, if you have two genuine prospective buyers I'd say you should count your blessings, let them bid against each other and let the executor accept the higher bid.

gigino

coylemj wrote: »

Public auction is probably not an option for a regular house in the present circumstances. Reason is that before you bid at an auction you have to have the survey done and finance arranged beforehand because the successful bidder at an auction is expected to slap down a deposit on the spot i.e. before he leaves the auctioneer's premises. Bar you have cash, most people aren't in a position to do this because they can't be 100% certain that their lender's surveyor will pass the house as being sold at a fair price.

many buyers in todays market woud have the cash for the deposit, as banks are not giving 100% mortgages anyway. And there is nothing to stop people getting a survey done before an auction. They know they will have a good chance of getting the property for a good price at the auction because of the state of the property market, and not everyone nowadays may want to get a survey done. It may not make much difference to the 2 nephews because they may know the house better than a surveyor ever will, and be confident of an acceptable survey if needed. An auction open to the public is the fairest way and most transparent of selling a property.
It will sell for whatever its worth. If you or someone sees it selling for less than its worth ( eg a grand ), you or someone will buy it + flip it.
The other advantage of an auction is that is will sell quickly. It will be worth less the longer it remains unsold.

Kosseegan

gigino wrote: »

many buyers in todays market woud have the cash for the deposit, as banks are not giving 100% mortgages anyway. And there is nothing to stop people getting a survey done before an auction. They know they will have a good chance of getting the property for a good price at the auction because of the state of the property market, and not everyone nowadays may want to get a survey done. It may not make much difference to the 2 nephews because they may know the house better than a surveyor ever will, and be confident of an acceptable survey if needed. An auction open to the public is the fairest way and most transparent of selling a property.
It will sell for whatever its worth. If you or someone sees it selling for less than its worth ( eg a grand ), you or someone will buy it + flip it.
The other advantage of an auction is that is will sell quickly. It will be worth less the longer it remains unsold.

Most people will not want to gamble the price of a survey and legal costs before an auction. If the loan approval does not come through, the deposit and all expenses are thrown away and there is also the possibility of a lawsuit as well. Nobody will be confident that it will sell or flip. Setting a reserve means having an accurate valuation done before it is agreed and monitoribg feedback. The number of houses that would sell at full market value by auction is pitifully few.

gigino

set a reserve so, but if there are already 2 interested parties, an auction is the cleanest and most transparent way of getting the asset value. Many properties are not moving by private treaty. The house is in a nice part of Dublin so should sell for whatever its worth in todays climate. Do not forget a lot of buyers have cash. Just my humble opinion.