Deceased estate sales usually create a lot of interest amongst buyers. Interest is just what is needed to create the competition necessary to achieve the highest price.

But this is where the easy part ends. Where there was originally just one owner, there are now often many owners and they all have their own opinion about the way the property should be marketed. Often the new owners don’t really know each other very well and sometimes their interests appear to conflict. Who will decide on the method of selling? Who will decide on what kind of advertising? The acceptable price? Whether the decision is made ‘in committee’ or one person is appointed to speak for all, complications are still likely to be the order of the day.

It is probably not surprising that price usually creates the most dissension as differing levels of real estate knowledge are likely and some beneficiaries may not even live in the area. Naturally it makes a big difference if the method of marketing selected is one that proves to all parties that the best price was obtained.

Private treaty is often not suitable as a method of selling a deceased estate because the parties involved frequently can’t even agree on an asking price! And it doesn’t always work to put the property on at the highest price suggested. If the price is set too high, the property may take a long time to sell. The ‘deceased estate’ tag loses its power to attract interest if the property is seen by buyer after buyer whose offers are refused or who fail to make offers because of the price barrier. As time goes on, the property becomes stale, and many properties become less appealing, especially if the burden of cleaning and garden maintenance becomes yet another cause for dissension amongst the beneficiaries. In the long run, leaving the house on the market when no one is living there can reduce the market appeal and subsequent offers can be lower than early ones.

Auction is often the fairest and least conflict-ridden method of selling a deceased estate because instead of having to decide on the price tag, beneficiaries can wait to see what the competition generated will bring in the way of offers. It also avoids the risk of the property becoming stale if it lingers on the market at a too-high price.