My mum passed away in November 2022. We are still to finalise probate even though we are using lawyers to act as Executors in obtaining probate and administering an estate. I thought we were just unlucky but it turns out that the wait times for granting probate are getting longer. It’s in the lap of the gods as to whether you are a winner or loser in the great probate game.
This is serious … we now have an issue with the sale of our family home. Quite naturally the buyers have become frustrated with the delay. We may lose the sale and need to start the process again, but also additional costs and expenses are starting to arise.
Unoccupied properties lend themselves to deterioration rather quickly, never mind the attractiveness to criminals. Our own personal experience in the last month has been to rectify a burglar alarm fault and ensure heating has been turned back on to prevent pipes freezing.
One of the most obvious issues is the requirement to continue ensuring there is insurance in place for an unoccupied residential property. This is a subject we wrote about in some detail earlier this year.
Your legal partner will almost certainly offer to obtain cover for you, but remember that this service will normally include a commission payment to your legal partner. You may wish to consider arranging cover via an insurance broker instead.
Most insurers will continue with the existing policy until the renewal date. However, after a set amount of time (usually 30 or 60 days) unoccupancy terms will apply. These usually exclude escape of water/oil, accidental damage and malicious damage, subsidence and other risks.
Anthony Jones Insurance Brokers can arrange cover with several insurers able to underwrite properties awaiting sale or properties undergoing probate.
