Probate SALES - how do they work?

Question

Hello All,

So I was told by an investor that Probate Sales are very affective in this business and I was wondering exactly how they work. I went to the surrogate court yesterday and got the basic information. I got the Date of Deaths, the Names of the deceased, the addresses, the personal estate, and the Next of Kin. Now that I have all of this information, what should be the next step? Also are there any important things I should know about these types of deals? If there are a few tips you would like to share PLEASE feel free. Thank you all for taking the time out to read my post and I look forward to hearing from you!

Kyle Lopez

Rob Rice · Answer

OK Kyle glad to see you taking action. I will try to answer each of your questions using real world experience. Forgive me if it gets long winded. The investor told you probate sales are very effective because they are a type of lead that could possibly show some form of distress, most likely are an absentee owner, have no personal attachment to a property they own, and also possibly have a lack of real estate knowledge simply because they never bought the house they now own in fully, or partly. This makes them a good lead source for an investor. It may sound grim, however that is the fact of the matter. Understand that going in. It is nothing more than a lead that is a little tougher to get (equals less competition), and a lead that you can make more money from by getting away with a lower offer rather than a lead who actually is a landlord, a traditional home owner, or has more real estate experience.You said you retrieved these Items:Date of Deaths, the Names of the deceased, the addresses, the personal estate, and the Next of Kin.Your objective by going to the court house is to gather the following:All probate fillings within the last 6 months. (until you get current on the list and understand what is old and what is new.) After that, you will go once a week, have someone go for you, or use the legal instrument, or website, that list obituaries in your county to update your list instead of the courthouse.Name of person who passed that owned real property. (Real estate)Address of the real property they owned.Name and mailing address of Executor, or Administrator, or Attorney (Attorney or person on will most likely)Name and mailing address of any and all heirs. I recommend using no more than the first 4 heirs and the Executor.This is your list to contact to make offers to. Your contact method is totally up to you. Do your homework. Most people who have done probate deals use direct mail. You use a letter or postcard of your choice saying that you would like to buy the property that was owned by the deceased. Some people use a message showing care and consideration for the time of loss that the owner is going through. That is totally up to you. Your personality will dictate your message. Just make sure it states your objective, and the benefits to the now owner or parties involved.Things you should know about these deals are that they can be very profitable for the reasons I have mentioned above. The probate information is public info and very available. I would suggest not being a hardcore personality when dealing with these people. Show some class, and be understanding with these type of leads. I try to deal with probates in this manner.........I will conduct myself just like I would want someone to conduct themselves in dealing with my family that I care about....IE...Mother, Father, Son, Daughter, etc. Be kind to people, and remember that you are their to solve their problem, if one exist.Remember, your success in business is in direct proportion to the amount of service you provide to others.Good Luck. I hope this helps...PS...If you are serious about this business...Join your local REIA...

Ray Lai · Answer

@Kyle LopezRob really hit it on the head (upvote for him). The only thing I would add is that for probate, it's a bit rude to call or show up unannounced, direct mail is a very effective method for this. There was someone advocating on another thread to use skip-tracing for this, but we experienced people just shook our head. How would you feel if there was a death in your family and someone just calls and says, "Hey so your house is for sale now right?" That's why Rob is so on point on his quote "Remember, your success in business is in direct proportion to the amount of service you provide to others." Amen to that. There are some really unethical wholesalers and wholesaling coaches even on BP, but the majority try to perform a service.

Mark Pedroza · Answer

@Kyle LopezDefinitely study up on transfer of property after death for your markets. In some markets, probates are the least used way to transfer property after death. Probate often indicates very little or no estate planning. What docs are used to transfer title after the death of a joint tenant or other part owner, or death of someone who owns property in a trust. What are the docs called, when and why are they typically recorded.I've seen doc's where the PR is representing the estate without the attorney here in CA (party without attorney). "In-pro-per" if you will. After much stress and frustration the PR would file a "Substitution of Attorney" form/doc and the process would start over.Think of probate as a title problem....(No, this is not legal advise nor am I an attorney. But as an heir awhile ago I've had experience with a family probate issue.)

Adrian Tilley · Answer

@Kyle Lopez you've gotten some good advice. The one thing I would disagree with is to start cold calling attorneys. As an attorney, if someone called me and said "I want to buy your client's houses" I would more or less hang up on them.

Kyle Lopez · Answer

@Mark Pedroza thank you for taking time out to answer my question, I greatly appreciate it!

Ray Lai · Answer

@Kyle Lopez You're welcome@Adrian Tilley haha I agree with you. A lot of people love cold calling but there's a right time and place for everything.

Kyle Lopez · Answer

@Ray Lai Thank you for taking the time out to read and respond to my post. Great advice!!

Kyle Lopez · Answer

@Mitch Stanley Hello Mitch thank you for taking time out to read and answer this. I will definitely look up some Probate Classes to attend and contact local attorneys. Thanks again!Kyle Lopez

Mitch Stanley · Answer

Hi, I attended here in LA area a seminar by Paul Horn JD & he provides a 4 hour seminar for Realtors. I would call local Probate Attorneys in your area re. Probate Classes / Seminar events for Real estate Professionals & Non Professionals. Good Luck