Selling an inherited home rarely comes at a good time. You’re navigating grief, often alongside siblings or other beneficiaries, and suddenly there’s a house — usually empty, often dated, sometimes distant — that needs dealing with. This guide is written for executors and beneficiaries who want to understand what’s actually required and what to realistically expect.
We’ve deliberately kept it plain. If you want legal or tax advice specific to your situation, please speak to a solicitor or an accountant — this is a general guide, not advice.
Probate basics: what you actually need
“Probate” is shorthand for the legal authority to deal with someone’s estate after they die. In most cases involving property, you’ll need one of the following before you can complete a sale:
- A Grant of Probate — if the deceased left a will.
- Letters of Administration — if they did not.
Collectively these are called “grants of representation.” You apply to the Probate Registry (now part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service) once you have the death certificate and, if relevant, the original will.
How long does probate take?
In 2026, Probate Registry turnaround has improved from the post-pandemic backlog but remains variable. Realistic current timings:
- Simple estates, online application: 6–12 weeks from submission.
- More complex estates, paper application: 12–20 weeks.
- Estates with inheritance tax (IHT) due: Allow an extra 4–8 weeks — you must file IHT forms before grant is issued.
You cannot legally transfer the title to a buyer until the grant is issued.
Can you start the sales process before probate is granted?
Yes — but only up to a point. You can:
- Market the property.
- Receive offers.
- Instruct a solicitor to start preparing the paperwork.
- Accept an offer “subject to grant of probate” (a standard clause in most conveyancing contracts for probate sales).
You cannot:
- Exchange contracts (in most cases) until the grant is issued.
- Complete and transfer ownership.
This is why an experienced cash buyer familiar with probate is often useful — they can start the process alongside the grant application, so that the moment probate is granted, everything else is ready and exchange can happen immediately.
Common problems with inherited property
1. The property has been empty for months
Empty properties deteriorate surprisingly fast. Within 6 months you can expect damp, mould, tired paintwork, and sometimes seized plumbing. Insurers often refuse cover on properties empty for more than 30 days without notification, and limit cover on those empty for more than 90 days.
What to do: Notify the insurer immediately. Consider setting the heating to a low constant temperature in winter. If you’re selling to a cash buyer, condition matters less — we buy as-is, so there’s no pressure to “tidy up before marketing.”
2. Multiple beneficiaries, different timelines
When two or three siblings inherit together, they rarely agree on everything. One wants to sell immediately for cash. One wants to maximise the price. One wants to rent it out.
What to do: Agree early, in writing, on the ground rules: What’s the minimum acceptable offer? Who has final say on decisions? Who communicates with the solicitor? Many executor disputes are really communication disputes — front-loading the agreement prevents later friction.
3. The property needs significant work
If the deceased lived in the property for decades, it’s likely to need modernisation — kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring, sometimes structural. Open-market buyers discount aggressively for this, and many will only buy with mortgage funding that the property condition can’t support.
What to do: You have three options: (a) do the work before selling (expensive, slow), (b) list on the open market at a sharp discount for cash buyers, or (c) sell directly to a cash buyer. Option (c) is often the highest net return once you factor in carrying costs and avoided capital outlay.
4. The property is unmortgageable
Short leases, non-standard construction, subsidence history, or knotweed can make a property uninsurable by conventional lenders — which means no mortgaged buyer can purchase it. This narrows the pool dramatically.
What to do: Auction and cash buyers are effectively your only realistic options. Both can work; it depends on the property and your timeline.
5. Capital gains tax considerations
Inherited property is valued at market value on the date of death. If you sell at that value (or below), there’s typically no capital gains tax. If the property appreciates between death and sale — and it might, particularly if probate takes a year — CGT may apply on the gain.
What to do: Speak to an accountant. Depending on the estate’s value, there may be benefits to selling quickly after grant (limiting CGT exposure) or delaying (e.g., to complete probate cleanly). This is a personal decision based on tax position.
Realistic timelines for a probate sale
If you sell on the open market
- Death → grant of probate: 3–6 months (often longer with complex estates).
- Grant → marketed → offer accepted: 4–10 weeks, depending on market.
- Offer → exchange → completion: 10–16 weeks.
- Total: 9–16 months from death to funds in executor’s account.
If you sell at auction
- Death → grant of probate: 3–6 months.
- Grant → auction → completion: 6–10 weeks.
- Total: 5–8 months.
If you sell to a cash buyer
- Death → enquire with cash buyer: can start immediately.
- Written offer: within 24 hours.
- Start solicitor instructions alongside probate application.
- Grant of probate: 3–6 months (this is usually the limiting factor).
- Grant → exchange → completion: as fast as 7 days once probate is granted.
- Total: 3–6 months, essentially driven by probate timing rather than the sale itself.
In other words: with a cash buyer, the probate process itself becomes the bottleneck, not the sale.
What to look for in a cash buyer for probate sales
Not all cash buyers handle probate well. A few things to ask:
- “Can you wait for probate?” A good answer is yes, comfortably — they’ve done it before and don’t pressure executors.
- “Do you require the property to be cleared?” Many cash buyers will buy with furniture, possessions, and general contents still inside. This can be a significant relief when clearing a family home.
- “Will you deal with our solicitor, or do you use your own for both sides?” You should always use an independent solicitor. A buyer who insists on a specific firm — or who offers to pay for “their” solicitor to handle your side — should be treated with caution.
- “What happens if probate is delayed?” A reputable buyer doesn’t withdraw because probate takes longer than expected. The offer should hold.
Related reading
For more detail on specific parts of the probate sale process:
- Sell a probate property: the situation page for executors and beneficiaries
- Inherited UK property when you live abroad: the cross-border version, for overseas heirs
- Probate timeline calculator: work out where you are in the process
- UK probate registry backlog 2026: current state of HMCTS turnaround times
- Grant of probate explained: plain-English glossary entry
- Letters of administration: the equivalent if there’s no will
- Probate value: the figure that anchors both IHT and CGT
- How to sell a UK house fast: the broader companion guide
If multiple beneficiaries can’t agree, or the property is empty and deteriorating, the situation pages above explain how a direct buyer typically handles those specifics.
How RPJ handles probate sales
We buy probate properties regularly. We work patiently with executors and solicitors, we can wait for grant without pressure, and we buy with contents still inside when that helps. We don’t require you to clear the property or make any repairs — we take it as we find it.
The offer we make is the offer that completes. If you’re dealing with a probate property and want to understand what we’d pay — no obligation, no commitment, just a figure and a conversation — share the postcode and a few details. We’ll be in touch within 24 hours.