Who are PLG? Well, we are sector experts who provide probate property support to legal professionals and their clients.
We are deemed the only team to be working with to ensure you remain compliant when it comes to the property aspect of estate administration, which we achieve by doing a few key things.
Listening to the individual needs of the executor and beneficiaries of the estate we are assisting. Ensuring that our fees are always fair and transparent, with no hidden costs or unnecessary ‘add ons’. Delivering a service that demonstrates compassion and kindness. Having the correct skillset and knowledge required to do the job properly.
Most of the professional clients that we work with have become more than customers, in fact we refer to them as ‘Friends of PLG’. These friendships have been built on continuous working relationships, which over time have developed. When you have a working relationship with people you trust and know you can rely on completely, not only does it give you greater peace of mind, but it also makes the experience more enjoyable.
One of the things that make us so vital to the day-to-day life of solicitors, is our ability to problem solve. This is important as it means that any issues that arise which apply to the property and pose real problems, can be passed to us. This gives you one, single point of solution for every eventuality.
We have a case study that you should find rather interesting, as it demonstrates what can go wrong with the property side of probate, and why it is so important to ensure that you are working with the right people.
Case Study 1 – The Insured Estate That Never Was
During a meeting with a local law firm to PLG’s headquarters, the question of vacant property insurance came into conversation.
One of the solicitors informed us that they had a substantial estate with many properties attached to it. They had placed all the properties on a vacant property insurance policy with a firm who introduced their services as a ‘solution to all your property problems’. Some time after the policy had been set up a claim was made – however, disaster struck when it came to light that the requirements of the policy had not been met, meaning there would be no payout. The cost of the damage was almost £30K, and with the introducing company telling the solicitor ‘Sorry, there is nothing we can do’, you can imagine how the solicitor was feeling.
Unfortunately, PLG were unable to insure a property retrospectively – and given the damage had now been identified there was no cover available for those specific issues. However, we were able to provide an answer to their problems moving forward.
We have worked with the worlds third largest insurance broker, MARSH, and the household name – AVIVA, who has provided PLG with our own policy which sees any properties we insure added to this policy directly.
What are the requirements to have access to this policy? PLG need to be managing it. That is it. Straight forward and simple!
There are no vacant property inspections or drain downs required – and where we obviously recommend these are carried out, especially drain downs in the winter, if there are zero funds available it is another worry taken care of.
It is difficult to operate as a legal executor when you are made promises and guarantees by companies that are not true to their word, mislead you whether unintentionally because they do not know their own product, or worse, intentionally.
In the entire time PLG have been operating we have never had a situation like this occur, and we can assure you that we never will.
Another regular problem we see, is poor property sale advice. This is usually comes from two key areas.
- The wrong valuation – This can be from bad estate agent advice, or from a RICs surveyor who is looking at the property in a more singular and cautious way, as they don’t have the sales experience to forecast what could be achieved with the correct marketing.
- A lower sale price achieved – Usually due to poor marketing, or instructing the wrong agent based on promises made that are unsubstantial.
When we came into the sector, we did so to make a difference. To make the lives of executors and beneficiaries easier, less stressful, and with the goal of ensuring the maximum value of the estate is realised and passed on to the persons as set out in the will of the person that has passed.
With that, we have the next case study which demonstrates well just how things can be done, and how they should be.
Case Study 2 – Going All In
We were recently introduced to an executor who had three properties to sell. He had signed up with a local agent who took all three properties on, but following 6 weeks of being on the market, there had not been any interest and no viewers.
Our Valuations department reviewed each property and agreed they were on the market for the correct money – so where was it going wrong?
Following a ‘secret squirrel call’ to the agent and telling them we were interested in properties exactly like the ones we were assessing, we were simply pointed in the direction of Rightmove. There was no urgency and there was no introducing any properties such as what we had said we were after. Upon visiting Rightmove it was clear to us as to why there was no interest being generated from the online presence. All the photos were terrible. Angles were off, rooms looked unkept, and two of the front shots looked more like Autotrader – with cars being the prominent feature.
We reported back to the executor who confirmed they were unhappy and wanted to switch to PLG. We obtained copies of the agreements signed by the executor to instruct the estate agent and realised a new problem.
The agreement signed gave the agent sole selling rights – meaning that should any of the properties be sold within the 16-week timescale, even if not themselves, they would be entitled to their fee on that property. This would result in double fees being paid by the estate.
There was also a cancellation fee on each property, so if the executor cancelled the agreement, they would have to pay the cancellation fee – and then if the property sold within the 16-week timescale, the selling fee would still be payable.
We explained this in detail, as we needed to ensure that it was completely understood that even though we felt we could do a better job, this could end up costing a lot of money with all the fees adding up.
It was decided that we would appeal to the estate agent’s better nature, with our Operations Director phoning them and explaining who we are and why we would be looking to get involved.
Long story short, the agent agreed to waver the agreements signed and their contents. Subsequently, PLG took over the management of the three properties and at the time of writing this article, we have sold two of the properties. One went for £3K over asking price, one for the asking price.
We also have viewings on the third. This is all within 5 weeks of our involvement.
The difference?
Firstly, we work on a multiple agent strategy. This creates competition between agents which results in higher viewing numbers and therefore more offers.
We also have our own property sales department whose role is to manage the estate agents on each and every property we are managing. We also take responsibility for all the negotiations, financial qualifications, and anti-money laundering. We also chain check and ensure the proposed buyer is actually able to proceed. This allows us to stick to our word and fulfil our promise of achieving the best price within the quickest timescale, to the best possible buyer.
In fact, we are that confident in what we do that we do not have any tie in period or cancellation fees – so if you are not happy with the job we are doing, you can disinstruct us at any time and walk away at no cost to yourself.
The most common question we are asked is: ‘why is no one else getting the same results that you are? There are a couple of other firms that have approached us / we have worked with, but they are not doing what you are – how come?’
Around 11 years ago Darren Leggett came up with the idea of providing a property focused service to the legal sector, specifically for probate and estate administration. He spent 6 months travelling the UK, meeting with legal professionals, and ascertaining what kind of service they would benefit from and how it would need to look. Once he had a clear understanding of what was needed, he and Helen Graham sat down and spoke about how this would need to be delivered.
Both Darren and Helen have around 30 years working within the property sector each – with Darren being able to think outside the box and identify new ways of supporting clients needs, and Helen being the brains behind the systems and processes that make these ideas come to life, this partnership has been a great success – ultimately cementing PLG’s position as the probate property experts relied upon by legal professionals across England, Scotland and Wales.
For further information, or to request one of our brochures, please contact us at:
T: 0330 124 7434
Or visit our website: theplgroup.co.uk
