My neighbour died 18 months ago. Long story short some distant relation abroad is to inherit, and when I say distant something like step family of her sister.

Not a simple estate I don’t think as they owned various bits of land etc.

Doesn’t really impact me other than a beautiful old house that already needed work falling further into disrepair.

Without somebody pushing the solicitor this could go in for years couldn’t it?

Why the need for a timescale? Are you planning to use it for storage? Get ‘lodgers’ in? Use the garden as an allotment/dog toilet? 😀

If you want it and know the solicitor then make an offer!

If they died 18 months ago, then you expect most things to have been sorted out by now.

If I was the distant relative aboard, I would simply put it on the market at a price that would sell quickly.

Not sure I would be as concerned as you are?

Sounds like the OP feels sorry for the house – I also don’t like to see nice old properties fall into disrepair so can sympathise.

Well, they were loaded and I was planning to tunnel into their extensive wine cellar. Just don’t want to get caught.

But really would rather not see it become derelict. The roof already has some holes in it.

Our last house (and another a couple of doors down from it) had been empty for 50+ years when we bought it as the person that inherited them couldn’t be bothered to do anything with them so it took him dying and them being subsequently passed on to get them on the market. Not trying to say these things can drag on but if the person isn’t in a hurry to do anything then it can happen!

Still, they made nice homes for hay storage and keeping sheep sheltered in winter (until the local council found out about it LOL).

Enjoy it. First two years in current house next door was empty. Now got a lovely enough family, but with two young boys it’s a relentless wall of noise. And they’ve got Moto crossers to blast around the not massive garden this summer.

I’d be tempted to try and make direct contact with new owner or solicitor & remind executors that they are duty bound to maintain value of estate if it’s not yet been passed on. I’m dealing with my friends estate, 3.5 months in & only just applying for probate, so it will be another couple of months before house goes on the market & try to keep the neighbours informed when I see them. Good luck with the tunneling.

We have one on our road which went to a nephew or someone when the owner died. He left it for several years and it was a bit sad, pretty dilapidated and a massive pain for next door (it’s a semi) as bits gradually fell off it.

Fortunately he’s finally moved it on and it’s being put back together. Apparently the inside is ‘not too bad’ although they’re starting off by replacing all the ceilings!

I am the beneficiary for a distant relative who sadly passed away early in Jan 2021. Her estate is relatively simple but we are still waiting for her house sale to go through. Solicitors (also executors) don’t seem bothered. Hopefully will be concluded in next 6 months but I’m not holding my breath.

If people are overseas I expect it to drag on for a few more years.

Well, they were loaded and I was planning to tunnel into their extensive wine cellar. Just don’t want to get caught.

Where is this exactly? Asking for a friend, of course.

Where does one get a balaclava and crowbar from these days?

Our neighbour died a few years ago – house stood empty for nearly 18 months as family were holding out for a comical amount.

Eventually sold – new people moved in and started a massive and disruptive rebuild/renovation project. After a year of this it was obvious it was going to be a long job so we sold up and moved.

We’ve been gone a year and the renovation is still going on.

Sometimes an empty house is a bonus! 🙂

Where is this exactly? Asking for a friend, of course.

Where does one get a balaclava and crowbar from these days?

Thanks for accepting the job, if we agree on 50/50 split then I’ll ping you the coordinates.

If they died 18 months ago, then you expect most things to have been sorted out by now.

My mum died 11 months ago. I’d been running her finances for years, had LPOA. My brother and I are joint executors. Very simple estate as she’d moved into a care home a few years ago but it’s still not sorted. 2 small investments in Jersey that total just over £10k, so need Jersey probate as well as UK are still outstanding. House was rented, tenancy was coming to an end anyway 3 months after her death but the tenant just ignored the notice of end of tenancy. Finally moved out at the point just before we were about to start eviction – 5 months after notice. We then had to get the damage they left repaired before we could put the house on the market. First buyer fell through just before exchange due to a change in circumstances of the buyer. We now have a second buyer in process.

So I’m not surprised that it’s not sorted after 18 months.

A bungalow near us, a large house house on a large plot, on one of the most expensive streets in Leeds, was empty for at least 15 years that we knew of. The estate agent’s board had a number beginning 0532, which i think stopped being the Leeds area code in 1995…

This was a house and plot worth probably £1.5m if it was in reasonable shape.

Anyway, it seemed to gradually fall to bits, the roof went, the doors and windows went, yet strangely the porch light stayed on the whole time. It was eventually demolished about a year ago and i expect someone will be building on it shortly.

Without somebody pushing the solicitor this could go in for years couldn’t it?

In theory, it could be indefinite!  If the estate is left in its entirety and there’s no IHT to pay then there’s no need to sell it at all – it can just transfer across no need to liquidate the assets.  Its then up to the new owner(s) what they do with it, if anything, until such time as it crumbles away and the council intervene for safety.

My dad’s place took 18 months to clear probate, partly through my brother cocking it up going through a dodgy probate handling firm who slowed it down a lot and us starting again, in a pandemic, but these things are common enough.

Theres some law that if you occupy an abandoned property for such a length of time you can effectively take full possession of it.

Edit- looked it up. Called Adverse possession.

OP, how are you at horticulture? And discrete retail distribution of recreational pharmaceuticals?

I’m up for some adverse possession! If I had a spare house it would be sold very quickly.

OP, how are you at horticulture?

Pretty good.

And discrete retail distribution of recreational pharmaceuticals?

Lacking experience. But I have watched breaking bad. Sick of my career too…

Can I be your Jessie Pinkman?

OP, how are you at horticulture?

Just make sure the roof and windows are well covered with a foil-backed material, the roof will glow like a volcano with an IR camera, which could well happen if someone twigs something iffy’s going on. 😁

My dad died 18 months ago. The estate was very simple (my mum was a legal secretary for a solicitor who did a lot of conveyancing) yet the probate is still not sorted. Complicated to explain, but if there’s people involved who can’t be arsed doing their job properly and really couldn’t give a shit, then yes, it can really drag on!

My dad’s estate was all sorted including selling the house in under 6 months. Good lawyer. Dad’s paperwork tidy and up to date. All the family agreed that we wanted a quick sale rather than holding out for months to try and squeeze another few quid out the house. Involved banks/pensions in USA and Canada as well as UK stuff.

Your local council can look into an EDMO (empty dwelling management order) and effectively take ownership of the property. They can also use a compulsory purchase order if deemed necessary.

Homes which have been empty for 2+ years are quite rightly liable for more council tax.

Theres some law that if you occupy an abandoned property for such a length of time you can effectively take full possession of it.

Edit- looked it up. Called Adverse possession.

Could not be used here following the Land Registry Act 2002, as the people inheriting the property would presumably just serve a counter notice.

This is in Scotland, so the applicable bits of law probably differ.

It was bought long enough ago that there is no digital record on the land register of Scotland. This has caused a boundary dispute in the past with the neighbour on the other side, it appears the owner didn’t really know what their boundary was. Another complication to drag the process out.

Robola,

I have some gym equipment and 50’s trousers with turn-ups… can I join the tunnelling team though I appreciate you don’t want every Tom, Dick or Harry in on your project…

Theres some law that if you occupy an abandoned property for such a length of time you can effectively take full possession of it.

Edit- looked it up. Called Adverse possession.

there are laws for Adverse possession in Scotland too – but on neither side of the border is it intended to allow you to simply move into an empty house and claim it as your own.

A house down the road has been empty nearly 20 years.
The old lady (late 80s) had a fall and was taken into care. Refused to let her kids sell it for her. Because she hates them all.

She died about 8-10 years ago, and the kids have spent the time since arguing about what to do with it. They last visited about 8-9 years ago.

The plot has an AMAZING view over the valley and the river.

But the house also has a tree growing through the roof and wrapped round the chimney.
And the entire drive is full of rhododendron, probably a five tonnes of plant material.
And all the cladding on one side has fallen off.
And i understand the downstairs bathroom has fallen through the floor and is now in the basement/underfloor void.

Bunch of idiots not selling.

Mind you I might have similar issues in the future given that my brother is a complete **** that I’m no longer on speaking terms with (following another inheritance/will dispute, suitably enough). TBH he’s grasping enough that he’ll probably be happy for a quick sale so long as I do all the work at my own expense.

OP, how are you at horticulture?

Pretty good.

And discrete retail distribution of recreational pharmaceuticals?

Lacking experience. But I have watched breaking bad. Sick of my career too…

Would you mind being a bit quieter upstairs (and turning the heating down, it’s sweltering!) I’m trying to dispose of this expensive wine down here.

Hick!

mañana mañana