Thank you for downloading the information to help guide you through the probate process in limited authority, liquidating real property sale. You can also view the same information below. 

Selling with limited authority can be a complex situation but it doesn’t have to be.

This information will provide some insight into the below.

·         Understanding the process

·         Evaluating your Realtor

·         Pro-Per: Find the right Attorney.

·         How to evaluate the offers

Please remember if you do need some additional assistance or just want a second opinion, I’m always available for you.

Erik Kaiser RE/MAX TerraSol www.ProtectTheEstate.com (855) 423-5100  erikkaiser@remax.net

Understanding the process. As stated above, the process is a bit different selling with Limited Authority as opposed to selling real property with Full Authority. The main consideration starting out and what I personally believe is valuations.

Home needs updates and renovations:

If the home needs to be fixed up, cleaned out or have an estate sale completed you will need to work with professionals who understand the process. I’m not talking about an agent who states they are probate certified, but an agent who has the expertise and experience to assist you from start to finish navigating the waters and one who understands how to work with your attorney. This includes obtaining estimates for any vendors you need or think you need to use. Once you have your renovation costs in order you can work backwards in negotiations with the investors or retail home buyers (families). You will want to know what the expectations are for any buyers and investors and profit margins. Most investors will try and tie you with an accepted offer in escrow only to say they had to reevaluate their position on the price and see if you would adjust. I hate to say it but most estates/administrators will adjust as they seem to not want to go through the process again with another buyer. This could cost you money if you’re not sure how to start from the beginning on what you need and how you need to tie the investors into the deal, so you aren’t burned in the end. It’s also important, if there are multiple beneficiaries to only send out the NOPA notice of proposed action once all buyer contingencies have been released. This is important for two reasons, it saves the attorney time in preparation and mailing and if the deal falls out you can and should be able to keep the EMD earnest money deposit from the buyers. Since the NOPA will be sent to all beneficiaries for any objections, if they see a price and the deal falls through and then you must send another NOPA out with a lower price, you can be looked upon negatively at your next family reunion if any of the beneficiaries don’t understand the process which they won’t.

Home has already been renovated and is modern:

If the home has already been renovated and or can be marketed to a family for top dollar, then I believe the next step should be a market evaluation and ask your agent to complete a 10-15 video walkthrough of the MLS multiple listing service. This way you can see what is going on in the market in real time. This is a huge benefit over just looking over “comps” comparable sales which typically sends just by email. It’s so much easier to understand the market on video.  If you live out of the area or the state, I would also advise you to ask the agent to record a video of the initial walkthrough of the home from their cell phone and post it on YouTube as an private link. This way you can see in detail what the home looks like and what contents are still in the home. It will assist you in the direction moving forward. This is really important if there is an occupant or family member still residing in the home, which may be a challenge for them to move out. You will want to document the condition and or have the agent determine all occupants in the home, additional renters etc. This will also help in evaluating estimates later one as well. I typically take 70+ photos on my initial inspections for clients so they can see what is going on. The photos area also good to share with the other beneficiaries if you place on renovating as they will want and need to see where their inheritance is going and why.

Evaluating a Realtor:

There are a few ways to evaluate an agent/Realtor. Most who contact you will say they are probate certified. For the most part this doesn’t have any benefit for you other than they understand a bit of the process. The important consideration should be, does this agent know what they are doing and how they can prove it to you. As of 2022, Zillow now cross references our current listings, past sales and shows who an agent typically works with (buyers or sellers). A Zillow profile also has our reviews which Zillow verifies and cross references the transaction as well as tracks the IP address so agents can’t post their owner reviews. If an agent does not have a Zillow profile, I would be very cautious of this. If you need to, you can always reach out to me, and I can pull an agent’s sales volume from the MLS and provide some insight. It’s very easy to do so not to worry. I would steer clear of working with a friend, family member or acquaintance from church. You want a full-time active agent but also one who actually sells real estate, not just 4-6 deals a year. You also want to agent who works mainly with sellers. If you need assistance on this, please let me know. I typically assist 20+ estates a year and on average evaluate 5+ offers on each property, over 100 offers reviewed a year.

Pro Per – Finding an Attorney:

If you are reading this and you have not found an attorney or think you may need an attorney to assist you moving forward, I can put you in touch with a competent professional in your area. If you are located out of state, I can provide you a resource in the county where the property is located who can assist.  

Evaluate Offers:

Okay, the good stuff. When evaluating offers, I would recommend having the property on the market for at least for two full weekends unless after the first showings/open house you have more than 3 offers in hand. I would not work or sell to anyone without putting the home on the open market. This will allow for the estate to make sure you it receives top dollar for the home. This is a must to help protect you from liability which could arise from any beneficiaries down the road. Inform the agent to send you any and all offers even if they are blind, I just would not accept any blind offers. Ask the agent to track all showings through the agent lock box report. Ask the agents to copy you on any online ads posted and or send you an online ad report when completed. I recommend you ask your agent to speak with the buyers agent and or buyer(s) if they represent them to see if you can find out if a buyer is trying to wholesale the deal (selling it off to another investor for a fee). If that is the case beware as the agent can sell to the end user and or should be selling to the end user as that is our job.

Investor Buyers:

There a few items I like to check off when reviewing investor offers. I like to cross reference all offers with the pre-approval letters (cash or not) with past online sales. I like to obtain all LLC and or Corporate information related to the buyer. I like to see the bank account where the funds are located match the name of the investor and or LLC. I like to cross reference the agent in the MLS and or from their Zillow profile to see how may deal they have done in the last 12 months and or see on the MLS what the transactions are (seller or buyer), contact the other agents they were in deals with to see how the transaction went (as long as they didn’t represent the buyers in the deal). I like to know the agents experience and see in the MLS on the deals they have closed on how many were closed with the price being lowered and by how much. I typically will also provide information as to what the title company (title officer) will need (entity information) and put that in the MLS supplements for agent to download. I also make sure to have the buyer’s agent determine if the LLC has paid all taxes on past transactions on their flips as this could be an issue with closing and recording at the county with the title company, if they see there are outstanding taxes by the LLC to be paid. If you would like a entity information sheet for a buyer which is an LLC please email or call me. erikkaiser@remax.net (855) 423-5100.

This is an important aspect when you are the administrator/executor of a probate estate. You will get called, emailed and mailed constantly by investors. I would never ever take an offer or let them build a relationship with me as it means nothing when it comes down to offers and what you need to do in doing the best job possible for the estate. If you are representing via Pro Per in the courts, I recommend having an investor open house where you have 2 hours of an open house, let all the investors in with their contractors and let them all compete for the deal. Each investor will have a different offer, the more an investor flips homes the tighter their margins can be. The means more money for the estate.

When looking at offers, the price is more important when receiving cash offers and also evaluating how much the downpayment will be. It’s a bit less important with a cash offer as there should not be an appraisal inspection. For investors, I would make sure they provide at least 3% EMD earnest money deposit. In California this is the most a seller can keep if the buyer backs out after releasing all contingencies. I like to have all of the disclosures completed and sent to the buyer as soon as the offer is accepted, this will start the clock per the contract dates. Make sure your preliminary title report is included and order any HOA docs asap once you have authority to sell. I work with Prominent Escrow; Lisa Day is the escrow officer who can assist you in proving the fees upfront to have those ordered. She can be reached at 714- 582-3156 or lisa@prominantescrow.com As a seller you have the right to pick your own title company and your own escrow company. I use Prominent and have for the past 5 years and they are very versed in a personal approach in working with estates and their attorney. Even if you hire an agent, you can and have the right to pick your escrow and title company. Just make sure your agent puts the right information in the agent’s private remarks in the MLS so other agent can be informed.

Once you accept an offer, you should email (so you have it in writing) and advise the agent to post the attorney information, court confirmation sale date, (location of the court), starting bid price (this is the 5% over the offer price you accepted which is the starting over bit amount required by the courts). This is really important and ask the agent to send you a copy of the MLS sheet as well stating this a week before your court date so you can hold them accountable to the estate in allowing for other buyers and or investors the opportunity to bid up the price in court. I would also request one from another agent (you can call me if needed) a week beforehand first so I can provide it to you to cross reference the one the agent sent you. If an agent doesn’t know what they are doing, they may not do this, and it limits any additional offers which someone/investor/buyer may make in court to bid up the home. You need to hold the agent accountable since passing the California real estate exam has no mention of probate and or teaches agents accountability or negotiation strategies. Also, I would recommend that the listing agent pay the buyer’s agent properly to show the property. In my opinion, I would recommend at least 2.5% to the buyer’s agent, which is what I typically see. Don’t go cheap thinking you can save money as most people think…  You get what you pay for.

If you would any assistance for your particular situation, please let me know. You can view more information on how I can help you on my website. www.ProtectTheEstate.com (855) 423-5100. This above information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or agent advise as you are not currently represented by Erik Kaiser.

Thank you for your review. I hope this information has been informative.

Erik

CA DRE #01111620