How to clear out and sell your parents’ home – even when they were maverick famous artists
Go backPublished in the Sunday Times and on MSN Money on 1 September 2024
Clearing out and selling a parent’s home after their death is a difficult task for anyone. But how to start when your father and mother were artists and have filled their home and studio with decades of their work?
This is the challenge Dominique Fleischmann faced, the son of Slovak-born artist Arthur Fleischmann, who pioneered the use of Perspex in sculpture and was the only artist to have sculpted four popes in their lifetime.
Born in present-day Bratislava, Fleischmann settled in London in 1948, where he met and married his wife, Joy. In 1958, the couple bought a light-filled studio in St John’s Wood, north London.
Arthur lived and worked from the studio until his death in 1990. Joy then launched her own artistic career, teaching painting and drawing there. Joy died last year, at the age of 93, and her son is now selling the property.
“I’m an only child and a bachelor and this space is far too big for me,” says Mr Fleischmann, 62, an engineer. “It’s a wrench selling, because this place is full of a lifetime of memories and work – my parents were like social magnets, attracting all kinds of experts, enthusiasts and sitters for portraits to the wonders of the studio.
“The task of packing up is huge and painstaking – from the sculptures by my father to the paintings and drawings by my mother to every shelf and drawer.”
St John’s Wood is an affluent and expensive part of London – over the past 12 months, the average terraced house in the area sold for just under £2.8m, while the average property on the street sold for a little over £4m, according to the Zoopla property portal.
The £2.5m asking price reflects the fact the property is being sold on a leasehold basis with only 23 years left on the lease, according to Zach Madison, director at United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty.
Extending the lease would cost approximately £1.75m to £2m.
What is more, homes being sold after a long time in the same ownership often require updating and renovating, says Camilla Dell, of buying agency Black Brick. “Pricing the property realistically is essential,” she adds.
Seek expert advice
When selling an older home such as Mr Fleischmann’s a probate solicitor could be a wise investment because they will have the relevant experience; you can find one at the Law Society website by selecting “wills, trust and probate” as your legal issue.
Enna-Mae Assiter, of John D Wood & Co estate agency, says: “At a time when so much is on your plate, you don’t need the added stress of chasing a solicitor. Make sure you choose one who can handle the legal complexities efficiently.”
And, as you cannot complete the sale of a house until official probate has been granted, Mark Lawson, of The Buying Solution, advises involving your lawyer at the earliest possible stage.
If a home has valuable and antique items or artwork, contact a specialist before starting to clear it out.
Oli Custance Baker, of Strutt & Parker estate agency, has heard many stories of specialists spotting an antique when the family thought an item was of no value at all. “We’ve sold a property before where chairs were about to go on a bonfire that were worth £2,000 each,” he says.
For families going through this sad process, it’s important to consult all members at each stage, says Carol Peett, of West Wales Property Finders. “I’ve seen too many families fall out and create long-lasting feuds by one member, often the eldest child, taking charge and emptying a property, sending the contents to auction or house clearance,” she says.
Plan ahead if possible
For children whose parents have discussed their wishes with them, put in place a clear will and lasting power of attorney, nominated an executor or executors and appointed a tax adviser, the process of obtaining probate and selling property and assets is much more straightforward.
Clair Eskandary, estates co-ordinator at Cheffins Fine Art, says: “The cost of a tax adviser may seem like an unnecessary expenditure, but it may save your estate and beneficiaries a lot of money and time regarding many issues, including trusts and gifting.”
Prepare for delay
Before the Covid pandemic, Amy Reynolds, of Anthony Roberts in south-west London, says her estate agency would appraise a property for probate and know the grant of probate would arrive in around eight weeks, allowing them to start marketing the property immediately.
“This helped the executors with financial planning as there was always a strong chance the property would be ready to sell before any inheritance tax payment needed to be made,” she says.
Now, however, the process is very slow, taking an average of about 16 weeks and sometimes, if the deceased’s affairs were complicated, more than six months. Last year, the Justice Committee launched an inquiry into probate delays.
Inheritance tax must be paid within six months of the death. If the sale of a house is being relied on to cover the cost, executors can pay the bill in instalments with interest.
Understand the market
Get three local estate agents to value the property. If you have employed a solicitor, Ms Eskandary says they will often insist that you use a professional RICS-registered valuer and/or a company to provide inheritance tax chattel and effects valuations.
“This means that if HM Revenue & Customs should question anything, the companies that provided the valuations can be held accountable,” she explains.
Nationally, probate properties appreciate in value by 56pc between being purchased and selling under probate, whereas the average change in local property prices over the same period is 66pc, according to analysis of more than 450,000 public probate notices and Land Registry price paid data going back more than a decade by Allsop Property Auctions. This suggests, Allsop says, that probate sales on average underperform the local market by 10pc.
In an uncertain housing market, valuing a property can be even more challenging. Josephine Ashby, of John Bray Estates in north Cornwall, says: “The values of coastal homes especially can fluctuate significantly depending on buyer demand and market confidence.”
Make the property look as good as possible
Properties will almost always look better furnished, though they should be clean, presentable and uncluttered. Sara Ransom, of buying agency Stacks Property Search, says: “There’s a temptation for relatives to remove all signs of personality from a property where the owner has died. But there is a balance and my advice would be to let the property tell its story.”
Ms Ransom is working for a young family looking for a home in Dulwich, south-east London. “They love properties where they can feel the ‘soul’ and can see the memories of a happy family life in photographs and height charts,” she says.
Crucially, you should remove features such as stair lifts and handrails before putting a house on the market. John Lavin, of the retirement estates provider Cognatum, says: “All properties present better without items associated with ageing in place.”
An empty property can start to feel abandoned very quickly so keeping it maintained with window cleaning and lawn mowing – as well as removing post and ensuring it is heated and aired regularly – can pay dividends. It can also be a requirement of the buildings insurance that a property is checked on weekly, points out Sarah Douglas, of Marchand Petit estate agency.
Mr Custance Baker says: “When it’s not your personal home, it can be tempting to want to limit your investment in the house – from restricting how much money is spent on upkeep, to not wanting to spend all your weekends clearing the weeds. However, I would always advise that any initial outlay will almost certainly pay itself back, whether that’s securing a quicker sale or achieving a better price.”
He had a client selling a relative’s home who was incredibly focused on ensuring it felt welcoming for prospective buyers. “They would light a fire and put fresh flowers out before every viewing – it made a huge difference and buyers often commented that they wouldn’t have known it was a probate sale,” he says.
For more information:
01491 821170
property@cognatum.co.uk / www.cognatum.co.uk/properties-for-sale/
Cognatum, a not-for-profit company, has 60 retirement estates in 21 counties across central and southern England, a total of 928 retirement homes. All are in prime locations within vibrant market towns or villages, within walking distance of shops and restaurants. Each estate benefits from thoughtful architecture, landscaped grounds, and a dedicated estate manager.