in buying something from a deceased person ' s estate can get in touch with the Executor . Most real estate sales agents are also aware of properties that form part of a deceased estate that will come onto the market .
In order to protect the interests of the heirs , the property must be sold for its fair market value , irrespective of whether a real estate sales agent is involved or not . One of these procedural delays is obtaining the Master ’ s consent , which is required for the sale of any property from a deceased estate .
Because no one has the legal authority to act on behalf of the estate prior to the Master issuing letters of executorship , the sale of immovable property in a deceased estate is handled by the Executor only after those letters are issued . A real estate sales agent or an auctioneer will be hired by the Executor to market and sell the property .
The Executor can also sell the property on the open market .
After the property has been sold , the signed agreement of sale is given to a conveyancer who will handle the property transfer . The Conveyancer shall obtain the consent of all the heirs in the Estate and deliver the same to the Master of the High Court with other documents in support thereof .
The Master will review the paperwork before making a decision regarding the sale . Unfortunately , the Master ' s office does not have a set turnaround time for issuing the consent , which aggravates buyers and sellers . Therefore , we want to make sure you are aware of this aspect of buying property from a decedent ' s estate . Additionally , it should be noted that once the Master ' s approval is finally granted , the transfer process will proceed normally .
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine SEPTEMBER 2022 79