How to Contract to buy IN Probate

[Leah Bonner]

I've been trying to find out if it is possible to put a house in probate under contract, every site/guru/video i go to has people that are contradicting themselves.. 

Also I've read that if the PR is not an "independent" then the courts will make sure the estate is sold for Market value.... 
With that information it makes it almost impossible to make a profit on the property if you have to pay market value.?

Do you ask the PR/Executer if it is independent or dependent? what is the best way to go about that?
So can you contract to buy a house if its in probate... and how do you go about finding out if its Independent vs Dependent

Thank you in advance, for any help 

[Sharon Vornholt]

Hi @Leah Bonner and @Account Closed-

You need to research the laws in your state and the procedure for your county to answer this question.  There are over 3300 counties in the US and each one of them is a little bit different. A real estate attorney or a probate attorney for your state can tell you exactly how this works in your particular area; your state.

In my area (Kentucky), it's a pretty straight forward process.  You can buy the house so long as the steps of the probate have been followed. My closing attorney checks all of that when he does a title search.  I just write the contract and send it over to him before I even start looking for a wholesale buyer. 

In California it's a whole different ballgame; a whole different procedure  You can Google the "probate process" for your state, but you really need to talk to an attorney. That's who you need to take advice from.

I would recommend that you put this clause in your contract:  "Closing will be held no longer than ___ days (you decide) after court/ attorney approval to close.  This way you don't have to keep getting an extension on your contract.  I can usually close in the normal time frame (a couple of weeks), but every now and then there is a long delay due to the probate situation.

I wish there was an easier answer but there's not.  -Sharon