wholesaling probates

[Riley Hinshaw]

hey BP i was wondering if someone could give some advice on probates. im looking to start wholesaling probates, i already am a wholesaler ive just never dealt with probates. whats the best place to find probate properties? is there someone i can find that handles these properties that i can contact and ask if i can put it in under contract, or would i have to stick to just direct mailing a list of probates, also where could i get a list of probates. 

also does anyone know where i can find a list of wholesale properties besides on BP to contact the wholesaler about co wholesaling their deals or finding them a buyer. 

[Rick H.]

I disagree. I've been working CA probate deals for over 25+ years and closed nearly 2,000 of them. I gues that means I'm experienced.

You are wasting your time talking to the attorneys unless you are an experienced licensed agent/broker with dozens or more probate deals under your belt. 

Attorneys have so many experienced agents soliciting their business already. Also, best practice dictates discouraging clients from selling directly to a buyer or heaven forbid somebody who thinks they can makes a few bucks working a price gap. They unequivocally prefer a PR client to see a property listed with an strong agent to achieve maximum market exposure. 

Also, probate sales requiring court confirmation do not lend themselves to work with wholesaling. 

My experience is that you need to look for off market opportunities directly with motivated sellers. A probate admin or executor is not automatically motivated. In fact, most CA probate sales are NOT distress sales and not sufficiently discounted, either.

I strongly suggest you look for open probates with either defaulted taxes, mortgage foreclosure such as reverse mortgage, or both. Also, some estates get very complicated so be sure to recognize the messy ones and stay clear lest you become part of the problem. Therefore, look for full IAEA authority cases and stay away from limited authority cases as you search court records (at least until you have the experience and money to do these yourself).