Marketing and completing are two different things — one needs the grant, one doesn't. Most of the delay people associate with probate sales is really the 12–20 week wait for HMCTS to issue the grant. You don't have to wait for that to start — only to finish. Use the probate cost calculator to see the fees involved, or the inheritance tax calculator if the estate is near the threshold.
Before the grant — yes
Instruct an estate agent, market the property, and accept an offer. Tell the agent and the buyer's side upfront the sale is subject to grant of probate — this is completely normal and most conveyancers handle it routinely.
Before the grant — no
Exchange contracts or complete the sale. Only the grant proves the executor's legal authority to sell — a buyer's solicitor will not release funds or register the transfer without seeing it.
The executor's duty. An executor must get the best reasonable price for the estate — selling significantly below market value, even to move quickly, can make the executor personally liable to beneficiaries for the difference.
Run the sale and the probate application in parallel — not one after the other. Executors who wait for the grant before instructing an agent lose months they didn't need to lose.
Value the property, apply for the grant
Get a formal RICS valuation for the IHT400 (or the simpler excepted-estate return) and submit the probate application. This is the step that actually takes the time — 12–20 weeks at HMCTS in 2026.
Market and accept an offer
Instruct an estate agent and list the property subject to grant of probate. There's no rule against agreeing a sale before the grant arrives — only against completing one.
Grant arrives — proceed to exchange
Once HMCTS issues the grant, send a sealed copy to the buyer's solicitor and proceed to exchange and completion in the usual way — the property sale itself typically takes 4–6 months from instruction.
Complete, then settle debts before distributing
After completion, proceeds go into the executor's account. Pay debts and tax before distributing to beneficiaries — paying out of order risks personal liability for the executor.
Inheritance tax and capital gains tax are two separate charges — and most probate sales only trigger one of them. IHT is based on the property's value at death; CGT is based on any further gain between death and the sale completing.
No gain, no CGT
The property's probate valuation becomes its CGT base cost. If it sells close to that figure — the usual case in a reasonably quick sale — there is little or no gain, and therefore little or no capital gains tax to pay.
If the market moves, CGT applies
Any gain since death is taxed at 18% (basic rate) or 24% (higher rate), after the estate's own annual exempt amount. Report and pay within 60 days of completion via HMRC's UK Property Account — this deadline is easy to miss.
Almost every problem in a probate sale traces back to one of four mistakes. None of them are complicated to avoid — they just have to be known in advance.
Undervaluing to sell fast
HMRC's District Valuer can challenge a probate valuation that looks too low — especially if the property then sells for significantly more shortly after. Get a proper RICS valuation, not an estate agent's quick estimate, for anything near the tax threshold.
Executors disagreeing
All executors must agree and all must sign the transfer where there is more than one. Sort out disagreements directly — an application to court for directions is slow and expensive for everyone.
Distributing before debts are settled
Paying a beneficiary before creditors and tax are settled is a breach of duty that makes the executor personally liable to repay it. Sale proceeds go through the process in the statutory order — not straight to the beneficiaries.
Not telling the buyer probate is pending
Marketing a probate property without saying so upfront wastes everyone's time when the delay surfaces later. Say it in the listing — it filters for buyers who can actually wait, and protects the sale.
The full property sequence, timed against everything else you're doing
Includes the valuation-to-completion checklist, the letter to send the buyer's solicitor, the statutory order for distributing proceeds, and a timed action plan from day one through month twelve.
See what's included→Most probate sales complete on the sequence above. This section is for the ones that stop being routine — a valuation HMRC challenges, tax falling due mid-sale, a sale price that falls short of the values already returned — and it is straightforward about which of the two routes is ours.
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