Withholding sale funds after house purchase

[duchy]

We are selling my husband’s mother’s house (she died in the summer). The purchaser’s solicitor has now announced they want to withhold £750 of the purchase price in case of any debts that show up in the 12 months after the sale.
Why they even think a comfortable 93 year old with a perfect credit score would have debts is beyond me but the solicitor said this was “normal”.
We’ve both bought and sold various properties over the years and never come across this. Is it really normal ?

[jndt]

Never heard of this. We live in the third house we've bought (sold 2) and never had this happen.

[skalexander]

Debts attach to a person, not a property (save for on the title/deeds of a property which will be dealt with as part of the sale), so I cannot imagine what this could be for? I’ve bought 2 houses and sold 1, so my experience is limited, but it doesn’t sound usual to me.

[shelle]

Surely the purchaser wouldn't be responsible for any debts anyway so withholding money would be completely pointless.

[FloridaFairy]

Originally Posted by duchy

We are selling my husband’s mother’s house (she died in the summer). The purchaser’s solicitor has now announced they want to withhold £750 of the purchase price in case of any debts that show up in the 12 months after the sale.
Why they even think a comfortable 93 year old with a perfect credit score would have debts is beyond me but the solicitor said this was “normal”.
We’ve both bought and sold various properties over the years and never come across this. Is it really normal ?

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Why £750?
A debt maybe far more or far less ...
If they are holding money ,then it would need to be held in a clients account ...solicitors name re Mrs X... decd ...
Once the estate is finalised then any residual funds are disbursed .
I think it sounds strange mind you and I’ve never heard of either but my knowledge is limited

[Princess Alison]

Could the information here be relevant?

inbrief/property-l...y-transaction/

[duchy]

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

Could the information here be relevant?

inbrief/property-l...y-transaction/

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Yes it could indeed ! Thank you and everyone else very much .

[Welsh_Dragon]

Is the property leasehold and/or is there an annual service charge of some kind?

[Princess Alison]

Here's another that explains it - it does seem to be a bona fide thing to do and suggests an outstanding issue that hasn't been resolved, but which they don't want to hold up the purchase for.

howtoreallybuyaproperty.co.u...ntion_mean.php

[BevS97]

Those links make it sound like there must be a specific concern that the funds are linked too. Not just a generic ‘just in case’