A property buyer has written to us — should we respond?

As at: June 2026 · ← back to the guide

The answer first. A letter with a purchase offer commits you to nothing. It is a marketing contact, not an official letter and not a deadline. You do not have to reply, do not have to sign anything, and do not have to let yourself be rushed. A calm comparison — and the conversation within the family — almost always brings a better outcome than a quick acceptance.

After a death, a community of heirs becomes visible to buyers — for instance through the change in the land register and other publicly accessible signals. Specialised buyers and share-buyers therefore approach heirs systematically. The letter is an acquisition step: often phrased pleasantly, sometimes with a touch of urgency, and not rarely with the promise to buy “simply and at once”.

That you receive such a letter does not mean something needs to be done with the house. It only means that someone is interested — and that is, for now, good news, not pressure to act.

Speed and convenience are real advantages — but they are, as a rule, priced in. Whoever buys at once and “as seen” has that certainty paid for through the price. “We buy at once” therefore trades value for speed. That can fit in an individual case, for instance where a house is in heavy need of renovation or there are good reasons for a very quick completion.

Usually, though, a buyer’s offer lies below what an orderly sale at the right moment brings. Only the comparison shows what your house is really worth.

Some letters do not aim at the whole house, but at a single person’s share. A single co-heir can indeed sell their inheritance share — even to an outsider. The remaining co-heirs, however, then have a statutory right of pre-emption, which they can exercise within a certain period.

Such share purchases can seriously disturb a community of heirs, because a stranger is suddenly at the table. Before anyone takes up such an offer, the family should talk to one another — and clarify the legal consequences with the lawyer.

You recognise serious prospects less by a friendly tone than by their conduct: they give a transparent basis for their price, leave you time to compare, do not press for an immediate signature, and appear under a clearly stated name and address. Advance payment or fees before anything has even happened are a warning sign.

A fair offer stands up to comparison — and does not shy away from it. Whoever pushes you to hurry usually has their own reasons for it, not yours.

You do not have to answer such a letter, give information about the estate, or grant a viewing. You do not have to commit to a single prospect, and do not have to accept a short-notice notary appointment. None of this is an obligation — and none of it escapes you if you examine it calmly.

A community of heirs decides jointly in any case. As long as no shared line stands, there is simply nothing to sign. Above all, though: an offer creates no deadline. No one can force you to decide quickly, and a few weeks’ thinking time costs nothing as a rule. The calmest sale is the one you steer yourself — with the time, the preparation and the market that make a good price possible in the first place. Whoever sells under pressure, by contrast, gives away precisely these levers; speed almost always benefits the one who is pressing — rarely the family that wants to find, in calm, the best outcome for everyone.

Do not sign anything under pressure, and do not arrange notary appointments while no shared decision stands within the family. Keep the letter, obtain an independent valuation, and set the orderly paths soberly side by side — buyout, takeover or sale.

If the family decides to sell, it is best done in a clean, separate phase: first the agreement, then the market. Then you sell on your terms — not on those a letter would like to set for you.

This article provides orientation and does not replace legal or tax advice; in your individual case, those entitled to give it — a lawyer, notary or tax adviser — will clarify it.