SERVICES
Property management, from first visit to completion
01
Protect
Protecting the property from the outset
- Initial property assessment and identification of immediate priorities
- Check security and arrange additional measures where required
- Liaise with insurers regarding vacant-property requirements
- Ensure ongoing compliance with vacant-property insurance requirements
- Meter readings and oversight of utilities
- Arrange urgent repairs and ongoing maintenance
- Coordinate gardening and external maintenance
- Provide photographic updates and report any concerns
- Act as a local keyholder and point of contact for approved contractors
02
Organise
Handling belongings with care & sensitivity
- Work with executors and families to carefully sort and organise personal belongings
- Identify items requiring professional or specialist valuation
- Arrange valuations for art, antiques, jewellery and other appropriate items
- Photograph or catalogue belongings where required
- Coordinate careful packing and secure storage
- Arrange delivery or shipping of belongings to family members
- Coordinate charitable donations where requested
- Arrange the removal of agreed items when appropriate
- Oversee trusted specialist removal and storage companies
- Our ‘consent’ policy means that nothing is removed from the property without the agreement of the executors or family
03
Prepare
Ensuring the property looks its best to maximise value
- Advise on likely target market for property
- Advise where expenditure is — and importantly is not — likely to add value
- Arrange cleaning and deep cleaning
- Coordinate repairs and general maintenance
- Obtain and compare quotations from trusted contractors
- Organise gardening and external presentation
- Coordinate access and supervise works
- Stage house to attract target buyers
04
Sell
Overseeing the sale from valuation to completion
- Recommend and arrange valuations with suitable local estate agents
- Help compare valuations, fees and proposed marketing strategies
- Coordinate preparation of the property for photography and launch
- Oversee agent access and property viewings where required
- Provide a local point of contact throughout the marketing period
- Liaise with the estate agent and executors regarding feedback and offers
- Help assess offers in the context of the local market
- Ongoing property inspections and management throughout the sale process
- Coordinate access for surveyors, valuers and contractors
- Liaise with the estate agent and conveyancers to help progress the sale to completion
- Deal with practical property matters arising before completion
- Arrange for residual contents to be distributed prior to completion, as per executor’s or family’s instructions
- Arrange final meter readings and key handover on completion
FEES
A clear fee, agreed from the outset
Every property and estate is different, so our fee reflects the scope and complexity of the individual project.
STEP 1
Initial consultation
A 30-minute consultation without charge to discuss the property, circumstances of the estate and the support required.
STEP 2
Assess & quote*
For a fee of £250, we carry out a visit to the property and undertake a detailed assessment. We then provide a written report setting out our recommended scope of work, together with a detailed quotation for our project-management fee. The £250 assessment fee is payable following the property visit.
STEP 3
Fee payment**
80% of the agreed project- management fee is payable following completion of the clearance and organisation stage, with the remaining 20% payable on completion of the property sale.
*Third-party costs are charged separately. Contractors, removals, storage, specialist valuations, cleaning, gardening and other services are not included within Custodian’s project-management fee. No third-party expenditure is incurred without prior approval, and all quotations, instructions and expenditure are documented throughout.
**Where Custodian is instructed by the executors in connection with the management and sale of an estate property, our fees would ordinarily be met from estate funds rather than personally by individual beneficiaries. Where appropriate, executors should confirm the treatment of estate expenses with their professional adviser.
FOR PROFESSIONAL EXECUTORS & PRIVATE CLIENT ADVISERS
The property taken care of. So you can focus on the estate.
Managing a property can become a significant administrative burden during probate — particularly when executors are not local to the property or a property requires ongoing attention.
A TRUSTED LOCAL PRESENCE
We act as the eyes and ears on the ground, overseeing the property and providing one consistent point of contact for executors, families and professional advisers.
REDUCED ADMINISTRATION
From property inspections and contractors to belongings, preparation and the sale process, we coordinate the practical work so you can concentrate on administering the estate.
CLEAR AUDIT TRAILS
We maintain a detailed record of property-related expenditure, quotations, valuations and instructions, providing a clear audit trail to support estate administration and IHT reporting.
INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT
We work alongside the estate’s existing professional advisers and coordinate trusted local specialists as required, with all key decisions and expenditure undertaken in accordance with the executors’ instructions.
A discreet, fully managed property service that sits seamlessly alongside your own client offering.
LET’S TALK
Need help with a probate property?
Whether you are an executor, family member or professional adviser, we would be happy to discuss the property, what support is required and how Custodian can help.