Getting the best price on a probate sale
An executor's duty is to obtain a fair price, which is a lower bar than the best price and a higher one than the fastest sale.
An executor has a duty to the estate and the beneficiaries, and the standard is to obtain a fair price. That gives some latitude to accept a lower offer for certainty, but it does not permit a sale at a significant undervalue, particularly to a connected party.
The practical tension is between speed and value. Executors frequently want the estate closed, and the carrying costs of an empty property provide a real argument for speed — but the difference between a hurried sale and a properly marketed one is often larger than the carrying costs.
The steps that produce a strong price
The process is the same as for any sale, with a few additions specific to an estate.
- Obtain two professional valuations, which gives a defensible basis for the asking price
- Clear the property and present it, because an executor's property is often full of furniture and clutter
- Address anything that would make the property unmortgageable, because that collapses the buyer pool
- Market properly rather than selling to the first offer, unless speed is genuinely the priority
- Keep a written record of the valuations, the marketing and the reason an offer was accepted
The record that protects the executor
Beneficiaries can and do challenge executors, and the protection is documentation. A record showing that the property was valued, marketed, and sold at a figure within the range of the valuations is what answers a challenge.
Where an offer below the valuation is accepted for a reason — a quick completion, a difficult property, a buyer who will take it as seen — record the reason at the time. A decision explained contemporaneously is far more defensible than one reconstructed afterwards.
The speed question
The carrying costs of an empty property are real: council tax often at a premium, insurance, utilities, security and maintenance. Those costs are an argument for a prompt sale, and they should be quantified.
The comparison is between the carrying cost of an extra two or three months and the difference a proper marketing campaign would make. In most cases the marketing produces more than the carrying costs consume, which is why a hurried sale is usually the more expensive option even for an executor.
Common questions
- How do executors get the best price for a property?
- Obtain two professional valuations, clear and present the property, address anything that would make it unmortgageable, and market it properly rather than accepting the first offer. Keep a written record of the valuations, the marketing and the reason for accepting an offer, because beneficiaries can challenge an executor's decisions.
- Should an executor sell quickly or hold out for a better price?
- Compare the carrying costs of an empty property against the difference a proper marketing campaign would make. Those costs are real — council tax at a premium, insurance, utilities and security — but in most cases marketing produces more than the delay consumes. Record the reasoning either way.