Can You Find Good Real Estate Properties From Obituaries?

Question

Hi everyone! I was wondering if any of you have ever attempted or thought about pursuing real estate opportunities by looking at obituaries and seeing if the deceased heirs would be willing to sell? This may sound kind of harsh but would it be a possibility?

Also, would doing this be considered probate? I tried looking up the difference and didnt quite understand, so if any of you would be able to more concisely explain it to me I would appreciate it!

Obviously I wouldn't contact these heirs like a week after a part of their family had passed but if someone loses a loved one and doesn't want to go through the whole process of selling their house, wouldn't we be providing a service to them in a way? Thanks!

I greatly appreciate your input!

Mark Pedroza · Answer

The decedent is the person who passed away.

Estate - the property and assets of an individual, including all real estate, bank accounts, life insurance policies, stocks and bonds and personal  property @Parker Sanburn

Executor (male) Executrix (female) - the person(s) named in the will who will manage the estate of the decedent.

Administrator (male) Administratrix (female) - this person is appointed by the court to manage and oversee the court process for the estate of a/the decedent who has passed without leaving a will.

Personal Representative (PR) - the person who is representing the estate. Often times they are referred to as the PR because they have not been appointed executor or administrator yet.

Petitioner - the person who files for the probate. Usually 30 days later they end up being appointed either administrator or executor.

Beneficiary - named in the will  who will receive assets.

Heir - is typically a blood relative of the decedent, or is the next of kin. Here in CA, probate code 6400 will determine who the next of kin(ship) is.

Indiana's state probate code should have a code provision that is similar.

When first contacting the PR (new probate filing) and I get no response this is when I then contact the heir's after researching the probate file a second time.

Think of it as a title problem for everyone that's involved as no proper estate planning was formulated.

Good luck...

(I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advise but I personally was involved in my own family court matter which settled after seven years)

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Parker Sanburn  You can get a direct mail / list service from www.AllTheLeads.com.  They identify the deceased, the probate attorney, the personal representative and phone numbers.

I subscribed and did the mailings through them (1/month for 3 months), but I just couldn't make myself make those calls.  "Hi. My name is Charlie.  Sorry your Mom died.  Want to sell her house?"

Nope.  Couldn't do it.  I felt like a caricature of an ambulance-chasing lawyer in a cheap, wrnikled suit.  Except I was supposed to be chasing hearses.After about 14 months of that program at over $500/month, the mailings produced zero and I let it go.  I don't think that program has much of a chance of success unless you're willing to make the calls that I wasn't.

Terrell Garren · Answer

I've tried calling the people listed in the obits.  They never return my calls.

One a serious note, These properties usually show up in the local newspaper for an auction or are listed buy a wholesaler.

Account Closed · Answer

It's a little tricky but some people do these. Probate is the process of disbursing property & assets to heirs and the government (when taxes are required). Probate can last months or years. You won't necessarily know what properties are involved and not all estates have to go through probate. You would have to do a records search for the individual, but if they own property in a different state you might not find that out.

Any heirs that are involved may or may not want to sell, may or may not want to talk to you and may or may not agree with each other on what to do with the property. My favorite story is from a friend from college who had 1/5th ownership of a 360 acre farm in North Dakota. She and the other four siblings couldn't agree on whether to sell or not. Three wanted to sell and two didn't. After about 5 years of an impasse, she stopped expecting the property ever to be sold so I don't know what eventually happened. But it seems it's always the emotional one who has no money and can't buy out the other heirs who can't let go and won't sell "the family home".

Sam Shueh · Answer

That is a source for sellers often you need to go through attorney for that. Most of the time heirs want only top dollars through their realtor.

James Lloyd · Answer

I am an estate attorney in NJ.  In my experience, you're not going to have a lot of luck with estates.  I've gotten a lot of letters for estate houses and responded to 0 of them.

Usually I recommend to the family hiring a realtor/getting an appraisal, and therefore you're going to have to offer a fair price (aka something that really isn't a 'deal').  Then again, I'm mostly dealing with residential, single family homes.

But if you're going to talk with anyone, talk with the probate/estate attorney.  The attorney will likely not have the same emotional hang ups that talking with the family/executor will have, and knows that unloading the property is an important part of the process if the family isn't interested in keeping it.

Can You Find Good Real Estate Properties From Obituaries?

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