A Probate Sale - is not good news! You need a strong constitution. I knew none of this beforehand, which was probably an advantage. A probate lawyer has a fiduciary responsibility to maximise the income for the estate for which they are acting. Quite right - we would all agree with this, but what does this mean in practice.

If you agree a deal with the lawyer via the Estate Agent you have no agreement. If a potential purchaser comes through the agent's door anytime prior to exchange offering £1000 more the Agent under law has to advise the probate lawyer. The probate lawyer is obliged to accept providing the offer is sound and benefits the estate (net of professional costs on the transaction to date).
The Agent said our sale would be sealed bids to be delivered by noon on a certain day. Judy supplied 2 and I supplied 2 - the agent mentioned nothing about it having to be a single bid. The envelopes were numbered and were to be opened in sequence. Interest in the property was significant. We were both unsuccessful. Many of you will know that feeling when you think the game is up.

We had been waiting 6 weeks to get to this point, and had seen nothing in the intervening period that was of any interest.

First thing next morning we composed a fax to the Probate Lawyer. I'd discovered his details quite by chance while researching the property. My note said that I was an unsuccessful bidder but if the sale fell down I would be prepared to offer £(X). On returning home Judy advised me that the lawyer had been in contact and wanted to know if any conditions were attached to the offer. 'No' was the answer. It transpired that the offer exceeded the agreed sale price of the previous day.

The following day an unhappy agent called to advise me that the sale of two days previously had collapsed and the process would start again. What a prospect! The next sale was conducted in a different way - but equally haphazard partly as a result of the Probate Lawyer only working 1 day per week. We now had a situation where even if you were the successful bidder you could not secure the deal by putting down a deposit on the day. In reality you could still be pipped at the post. After considerably more excitement the sale process, which started in June, completed on 20 December 1999.