Guides / Probate
Selling an inherited house in London: the practical order of tasks
The legal side and the practical side run in parallel. Knowing which is which saves months.
6 min read
You cannot complete a sale before probate is granted, but you can do almost everything else. Executors who wait for the grant before touching the property routinely lose three months for no reason.
What you can do before the grant
- Secure and insure the property as unoccupied
- Get valuations — you'll need one for the estate anyway
- Clear the property
- Carry out cosmetic work: repairs, decorating, cleaning, garden
- Instruct an agent and even market it, as long as buyers know completion waits on probate
What has to wait
Exchange and completion, and any transfer of title. A good conveyancer will manage a buyer's expectations around this — most are fine with it if they're told at the start.
The London-specific parts
- Leasehold flats: order the management pack early. It's the slowest document in the chain.
- Check for outstanding service charge or major-works bills — these get negotiated at the last minute otherwise.
- Long-held houses may have no paperwork for old alterations; ask the conveyancer about indemnity policies early.
- Capital gains applies to any rise in value between date of death and sale, so a quick sale can be simpler tax-wise.
When to do the refresh
As soon as the property is clear. If work is finished before probate is granted, the property is ready to market the day the paperwork lands, and you don't spend the wait paying insurance and council tax on an empty house.
Do the physical work during the legal wait. That's the whole trick.
The Presentable way
We do all of the above as one job: painting, small repairs, carpets, garden tidy and a deep clean, for one fixed price, finished in less than two weeks.