Who sets rererve for auction after probate?

bandit2012

My mother's sister died three years ago, not married no kids her estate was left to her siblings.
It has now come to auction and her farm is to be auctioned in the next few weeks.My mother got phone call from brother the other day saying a reserve has been put on the land by the administrators. We have subsequently found this to be really low she was not consulted in any way. The administrators have told neighbours privately their sons are bidding on the land and to warn them off.THe auctioneer appointed by the administrators has done really bad job prompting the land.We live some distance away but have found out the auctioneer in question is good friends with my cousins
What can we do to ensure a fair reserve is put on land and achieves a fair price for all parties concerned.

Muckit

Would your mother not have been involved equally in the arrangements for the auction?

Regardless no parties will have any good out of this estate until it is sold. An auction is the quickest way to achieve a sale to divide the inheritance. What happens if they set a high reserve and it didn't sell?

It needs to be sold. If the auctioneer has advertised it well with signage, local media and Internet then it will attract all interested buyers to auction and will achieve market value.

Market value may be lower than your mother expects but this is the times we find ourselves in.

At the end of the day, she will receive a lump sum after expenses. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

What is she complaining about again? ?

tabby aspreme

What quality is the land, what has been growing on it, and what reserve is on it, i think the beneficiaries of a will can appoint or change the executors to the will.

bbam

The executors are appointed by the deceased prior to their big journey.. They will work with the auctioneer and solicitor to set a reserve, nobody else is entitled to a say in proceedings nor is entitled to know the reserve...

The only way this can be changed is to legally challenge the will and the executors. Its not easy and will cost you to do...

You'll need to either legally challenge it or bid on the land.

brian_t

If you think that the Executors are not acting in the interests of the beneficiaries then I would suggest that your Mother should get Legal advice immediately.

An Executor is not allowed to use assets of the estate for their own gain.

moy83

Send a third party to the auction to drive it on a bit , just make sure they dont get caught with it . A low reserve doesnt mean that it will be sold cheap either

loveta

From my gathering low reserve s can really help sell a property be it a house land or whatever if a place is worth say 200k and it has a reserve of say 100k gets alot of interest in it cause people think there is a bargin to be had but come auction day it goes for excess of 200k but this is not a sure thing either

bandit2012

Thanks for replys.
A couple of points
The administrators appointed themselves after the death,and are not executors although the fulfill a simular role.

My point about the reserve is they have set it low so to benefit the administrators,it has bee advertised very badly and neighbours have been warned off the land saying their is family interest.Surely the rest of the family have a right to set the reserve.
My mother is the type of woman who wants nothing for nothing and will more than likely end up giving it to svdp anyway but at the same time doesnt want to be taken advantage of because of her gender.

funny man

if you know the date of the auction you can advertise it in the local press yourself, in the mean time contact the solicitor dealing with the estate and and see what is they're response. this senario is not unique in holy Ireland!

simx

moy83 wrote: »

Send a third party to the auction to drive it on a bit , just make sure they dont get caught with it . A low reserve doesnt mean that it will be sold cheap either

Just the same as a day at the mart so ha

Munstermissy

Been through something similar recently Bandit. Make sure you attend the auction with your Mum. The executor in our case on the day in discussions with us set the reserve which we were happy to go with.

If the land is decent it should sell. If somebody wants it bad enough it will sell.

Again make sure you attend and then you can witness yourself and sneaky going ons, etc.

Best of luck

longgonesilver

Did your aunt have a will? If she did it should have appointed an executor. If not an administrator would have been appointed by the probate office but either are still answerable to the probate office.

If the executor or administrator is knowingly attempting to sell an asset of the estate at below market value to benefit of themselves or someone they know then they are possibly committing fraud.

The neighbors have been approached and warned off/intimidated against bidding on the land. This is an attempt to influence the outcome of the auction. Get the neighbours to put the details of the approach in writing and take it to the probate office. They are well used to this and are described as very helpful and understanding people. The executor/administrators are responsible to the probate office which is an extension of the high court.

How large is this farm/reserve price, roughly?

brian_t

bandit2012 wrote: »

The administrators appointed themselves after the death,and are not executors although the fulfill a simular role.

This legally is not allowed. Your Mother should talk to a solicitor immediately.

If there is doubt about who is entitled to be the administrator, the issue will be decided by the Probate Registrar. Usually, an administrator is required to give an administration bond to the Probate Office - this is a sort of guarantee that you will carry out your duties properly.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the_deceaseds_estate/dealing_with_the_deceaseds_estate.html

jomoloney

there is some advise given here which may not be correct or helpful

@OP I would advise your mother to discuss this with a solicitor

bandit2012

The farm is nearly 100 acres split into 4 lots 2 lots are of no interest to the family as my aunt was left this in a will and is away from family land, it has been valued by probate at 100k for 22 acres and has been given an ok reserve of 85k. The balance of the land has been valued at 360k for probate but has only been given reserve of 100k for over 70 acres

maxxuumman

bandit2012 wrote: »

The farm is nearly 100 acres split into 4 lots 2 lots are of no interest to the family as my aunt was left this in a will and is away from family land, it has been valued by probate at 100k for 22 acres and has been given an ok reserve of 85k. The balance of the land has been valued at 360k for probate but has only been given reserve of 100k for over 70 acres

Solicitor in the morning, period.

jersey101

Sounds like some one is trying to buy a cheap farm IMO.

iverjohnston

Go to a Solicitor at once. Your choice of Solicitor is very important. Ask around who they would recommend for this type of situation. a fellow who is great at getting someone off a drink driving charge or other motoring offence may not be great on matters of land law.

If time is short you could always put an Ad. on Daft.ie and MyHome.ie or even in the Farmers Journal yourself. Giving the Auctioneers details for people to contact as well as your own details. Ad on Daft will cost about 30 euro.

Cant see 70 acres being advertised for 100k and not bringing a lot of people out of the wood-work.

monseiur

The solicitor route is the best way to go, ideally you should get the self appointed administrator removed immediately, this may not be easy, may cause bad blood etc. At least try to have the auction postponed for say 3 weeks. If there are more siblings who stand to lose if farm is sold below market value, get organised and advertise in local and national newspapers, plus local radio etc. As it's a good size plot of land it will be worthwhile for farmers from outside the immediate area to travel and perhaps buy.
Good colour half or at least quarter page ads. with quality photos are very effecitive for the two weeks preceding auction. It will cost you up to €2,000 but you may reap the benefit if the farm sells for it's real market value.
Also remind the auctioneer of his duties under the law...and the consequenses for him if he even bends this law...his licence to pracitce could be on the line

Farmer Pudsey

bandit2012 wrote: »

The farm is nearly 100 acres split into 4 lots 2 lots are of no interest to the family as my aunt was left this in a will and is away from family land, it has been valued by probate at 100k for 22 acres and has been given an ok reserve of 85k. The balance of the land has been valued at 360k for probate but has only been given reserve of 100k for over 70 acres

What sort of land is it. In what general part of the country. Take out an add in a few papers. Bid at the auction your self.