How to Sell an Inherited Property Quickly in the UK

As counterintuitive as it sounds, with so many people struggling to get on the property ladder, there are times when a property is unwanted and you need to sell your house quickly. One of those can be when you inherit a property.

You can inherit a property when someone dies, usually in one of 3 ways:

• You could be named in the deceased’s Will as the beneficiary, making you the new owner. You could become the sole beneficiary or one of multiple heirs who each receive a share of the property.
• You could be awarded the ownership of a home according to the laws of intestacy. Intestacy is when someone dies without leaving a Will.
• You could automatically inherit a property thanks to a joint tenancy. This is when a property was owned as a partnership and the surviving partner becomes the sole owner by default.

6 reasons you may want to sell an inherited house quickly

1. You don’t want the hassle of becoming a landlord: a quick house sale is a great solution if you don’t want to rent out the inherited home. As well as a complex set of legislation to abide by, being a landlord means you have to pay extra tax – on annual income and when the property is sold if there are capital gains. Keep the inherited property and you’ll also increase the value of your estate when you die, with the cycle beginning again.

2. There is someone living in the property: if you inherit property from a landlord, you’ll also inherit their tenants as death is not a reason for the tenancy to end. A quick house sale is virtually impossible if you sell with tenants sitting tenants via an estate agent but you can sell to Open Property Group with people living in the dwelling – no need to serve notice, go through the eviction process or disturb the tenants.

3. You don’t want to live in the property: you may prefer where you currently live or don’t want to move into an inherited property for emotional reasons. Even if you inherit a property while living in a rented home, it may be the wrong type of property in the wrong location to live in, rendering it a useless asset unless sold.

4. The property needs work to make it habitable: sadly, many inherited homes we buy are in a state of disrepair – especially if there has been a lengthy probate process. The new owner may not want to or be able to afford repairs to make it habitable. Additionally, the ongoing maintenance may be too costly to afford.

5. You can’t agree with other beneficiaries on how the property should be used: you may need to sell your house quickly if the situation is in any way acrimonious. Beneficiaries often disagree on whether they should rent the property out – a situation that is made more complex if one co-owner wants to move in themselves.

6. There is an inheritance tax bill to pay: estates that exceed the inheritance tax threshold – which is currently £325,000 - will incur a bill. All well and good if there is liquid cash to settle debts but in many cases, a property owned by the deceased will need to be sold to pay the inheritance tax bill.

Frequently, the tax bill needs paying quicker than the house can be sold – that’s unless you sell to Open Property Group. Our quick house sale solution can deliver exchange, completion and money in the bank in around 42 days. This allows estates to clear debts and avoid paying tax bills out of their own pocket.

Don’t forget, executors and administrators of a Will can sell any property within the estate after ‘grant of probate’ or ‘grant of letters of administration’ are obtained. This can happen even if the executors or administrators are not themselves beneficiaries, as they have a legal duty to settle the estate’s debts.

If you have inherited a property and identify with any of the reasons above, contact us for a quick house sale and probate advice. Reading this outside of office hours? Request an online property valuation and cash offer.