GNHQ have commented on this thread. Read here.
Maybe there is little inheritance to get, if the house price is taken up by care fees.
Maybe there is no-one to inherit and the house is the responsibility of lawyers who, of course, couldn't care less.
Of course, some of us would want to get in there, have the place cleared - and start a good old spring clean. We'd be breaking the law, though, to do anything before probate was granted.
Is that really true?
That it would be illegal to wash dishes or throw out perishable food, at the very least?
All that must, by law, sit there possibly for years if an old person is in care?
RusBun
NotSpaghetti
I don't think you can blame the relatives.
Lots of elderly people loathe upheaval and I have known a number over the years who won't spend on property maintenance.I am talking about houses that have been empty for a long time, some as a result of probate. Since nobody is living in them, they could be cleaned and repaired by those receiving inheritance?
I don’t understand why you would think that those selling would upgrade them RusBun, because it would cost the seller more to upgrade than selling in the current state for a lower price?
It must be frustrating to be looking for something that doesn’t exist where you are, but I think you need to either widen your search area, or buy a house that meets your specifications, and install a stairlift.
Well my house is 150 years old with all original doors and windows, fireplaces etc and is in need of thousands and thousands spending on it but I m blowed if I m going to spend cash I haven’t got on doing it up for someone else to enjoy , it can go on the market for a knock down price and some builder will do it up and turn it into flats but I won’t know anything about it
A 30s bungalow would have been cheaply built and far below todays standard it best solution is often demolish and rebuild, several in this area have suffered that fate.
Nice bungalows in this area sell for at almost £100k premium over a similar house, retiring couples value them.
Whiff, I am glad it is possible to buy a bungalow in a decent condition in the North West for as little as 300K. My post is just a general observation. If my property was in a bad condition, why would I complain about other properties being like that?
There is absolutely nothing in Surrey below half a million, and the price range we looked at was up to 750K. For the same money money you can get a decent house here, all updated and renovated, or a new build, because bungalows cost way more than houses.
The bungalow full of black mould was up for 750K, a year later reduced to 700K, still not sold. Black mould is a serious health hazard, I was ill for 2 days after visiting that property for 2 minutes.
There are no new build bungalows anywhere in this area, they stopped building them decades ago, and building plots here cost 600K. It is quite a task to completely renovate or build a new property when you are a buyer with poor health. I mentioned all this before.
RusBun:
'Whilst most of those faults and undesirable features are due to age, some are due to sheer neglect from the relatives of the elderly owners.'
I think that comment is a bit unfair. Of course, some of us would want to get in there, have the place cleared - and start a good old spring clean. We'd be breaking the law, though, to do anything before probate was granted.
I was a good two hour journey away from my mother's place. I was near retirement, caring for a grandson, coping with a back injury - and pretty elderly myself - so no, a sibling took over.
1930's places tend to be damp, often made worse by double glazing, draughtproofing and blocking of original air vents. Left unheated with windows shut, they deteriorate rapidly.
My late MIL, bless her, was a lovely lady - but didn't want anything changed, moved, maintained or improved. She complained bitterly about anything that was replaced or updated, hardly used any heating - and stored a whole load of junk, too - really hard work for relatives to 'help' at all.
The bungalows I've looked at have been on large plots, so are often sold to developers, demolished and replaced with three or four new build houses. The sellers have no incentive to change them.
I have to say every bungalow we viewed in Devon was pristine, empty ones too, and they sell like hot cakes.
NotSpaghetti
I don't think you can blame the relatives.
Lots of elderly people loathe upheaval and I have known a number over the years who won't spend on property maintenance.
I am talking about houses that have been empty for a long time, some as a result of probate. Since nobody is living in them, they could be cleaned and repaired by those receiving inheritance?
RusBun on your other thread you said you have had your offer on a bungalow accepted. So why are you complaining about the state of bungalows in your area. Like to point out not all bungalows are like that you are just taking about bungalows in Surrey . I don't know what your price range was so no idea how much or little you had to spend.
I brought my bungalow in the north west 4 years ago for £220k it is now worth £320k. The owner before me had had it rewired ,new boiler and new roof. But could see what needed to be done to make it mine and safe for me due to disability. Had a good survey done and just a couple of things I didn't know but nothing red few yellow and rest mainly 1. So before I moved already planned what order to do things. Took almost 3 years to get it exactly how I wanted it. As Covid stopped having tradesmen for a while.
If you expect any property to be perfect buy a new build. Or have one built as you want it.
I doubt anyone buying your property will be happy with everything . I knew exactly what needed doing to my old house but it was up to my buyers surveyor to point them out to my buyer. My kitchen was 30 years old when I left . Yes it was dated but worked and was in good condition. I was widowed in 2004 and moved in 2019.
Your last but one paragraph made me think is the house you are selling exactly as that paragraph? Somehow I doubt it .
I don't think you can blame the relatives.
Lots of elderly people loathe upheaval and I have known a number over the years who won't spend on property maintenance.
Plenty of houses are the same, buy at the right price, do them up and live happily ever after.
We have been looking for a bungalow in Surrey lately and got very frustrated with what we have observed being a trend.
Almost all of bungalows were built in the 1930-s and are quite small, typically around 65m2. They are in a really poor state and have not been updated for a few decades. Many show signs of utter neglect. Most of them have suspended floors, rising damp issues or damp and mould from leaky roofs and gutters. Doors and windows need changing, not to mention pink and avocado bathrooms and pine kitchens together with polystyrene tile ceilings. They have EPC of D or even E.
Whilst most of those faults and undesirable features are due to age, some are due to sheer neglect from the relatives of the elderly owners. We have seen plenty of probate properties still on the market a year later with dirty dishes still left in the stinking dishwasher, food left in the fridge and gone mouldy, kitchen units left dirty still full of contents.
The saddest one was a perfect in every sense bungalow, so well laid out and built, where the water butt leaked, stayed unnoticed for ages, created damp in the wall and eventually black mould took over the whole wall behind the built-in wardrobe. The doors were left open, and the mould spores disseminated all over the house, infecting every inch of surfaces, carpets and fabrics. This is how you get what is called a “sick building syndrome”. You will never get rid of that mould completely, the spores will make sure it comes back.
So on one hand, there is a real shortage of bungalows for the aging population, and on the other hand there are plenty of them but in such poor condition that nobody would buy them. Relatives overprice these bungalows in a hope to get a bigger inheritance, so the buildings sit empty for over a year getting musty, mouldy and accumulate problems – and depreciate to the point of becoming unsellable. Yet they do very little to make them sellable in the first place, like dealing with leaks and damp or at the very least giving these properties a good clean and empty the appliances.
It makes me so sad to watch some great houses going to waste instead of becoming cosy and loved homes. The only thing that could stop this madness would probably be the condition under which properties could be marketed – to be cleared, cleaned and issue free.
Some properties even got extended but we have seen so many extensions that were given little thought and resulted in convoluted layout, blocked light and fresh air and unusable or lost space.
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