Someone has died, there is a property, and it has somehow become your job. This page sets out what actually happens next — the deadlines that matter, the costs that quietly accumulate, and where a sale fits. No euphemisms, no rush.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For the estate’s specific position, speak to a solicitor.
Within 5 days in England and Wales. The register office gives you certified copies of the death certificate — order several; banks, insurers and the probate registry all want their own.
The will names the executors — the people legally responsible for the estate. If there is no will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits and who can act (an "administrator" rather than an executor).
Everything the person owned, including the property, valued at the date of death. Inheritance tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the death — after that, HMRC charges interest on what is outstanding. This deadline is why timing matters more in probate sales than almost anywhere else.
The grant is the legal document that lets executors deal with the estate. You can apply online or by post. It typically takes months, not weeks, to arrive — and nothing can complete without it.
An empty home still costs money: council tax, utilities, maintenance — and standard home insurance often lapses once a property is empty for more than 30 to 60 days, so tell the insurer. Meanwhile the estate cannot distribute anything.
You can market the property and agree a sale before the grant arrives — you just cannot complete until it does. That gap is where most probate sales stall, and where the carrying costs quietly add up.
The two deadlines: inheritance tax falls due at the end of month six, and interest runs after it. Empty-property insurance lapses fast. Everything else in probate can wait; those two cannot.
Because completion has to wait for the grant anyway, the months of waiting cost a probate seller nothing with us — we do the viewing, confirm the price in writing, and set completion for the day the grant arrives. The estate stops bleeding carrying costs the moment it completes, and the tax bill can be paid on time.
Price certainty
Confirmed in writing after viewing, locked 72 hours, and it does not change at the last minute. Executors can put a real number in front of beneficiaries.
No chain
Cash, no mortgage condition, no onward chain to collapse — the fall-through risk that haunts probate sales is removed.
No cost to the estate
No agent fee, no fee to us. We pay our own legals, searches and survey.
And the honest other half: if the estate is under no time pressure and the beneficiaries want the best possible price, a good local agent will very likely net the estate more than we will. Our offer is below open-market value by design — the maths is shown line by line on the seller page.
Yes. You can market the property, receive offers and agree a price at any point. Completion — money and keys changing hands — has to wait for the grant. We routinely agree a price early and set completion for the grant date.
Yes. Every named executor who takes up the role must sign. If beneficiaries disagree about the route — speed versus best price — resolve that first. We would rather wait than sit inside a family dispute.
Nothing. No fee to us at any point; as the buyer we pay our own legals, searches and survey. The figure in the offer is the figure the estate receives on completion.
No. If the estate has no tax deadline pressure, the property is in good condition, and the beneficiaries want every pound of value, a good local agent on the open market will very likely net more. We say this on every page: our figure is below open-market value by design, in exchange for speed and certainty.
Property Redress Scheme
Members of the PRS, a government-approved independent redress body. If we get something wrong, you have somewhere to take it that is not us.
Verify at theprs.co.uk →The Property Ombudsman code
We voluntarily follow the TPO code for seller-facing communications, although cash buying does not require it.
Read the code at tpos.co.uk →HMRC AML supervised
Registered with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
See our full regulatory status →ICO registered
Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data controller. Your details are handled under UK data-protection law.
Search the ICO register →Cash property buying is not regulated by the FCA, so no FCA-authorisation claim appears above. What that means for you is set out plainly on our regulatory status page.