All Forum Posts by: Brian Erlich

@Hope S., Will you update this post as you make progress? I would love to hear about your success with this one, even if success means minimizing the loss.

@Berny Petersen, Welcome to BiggerPockets.  I am relatively new to flipping.  I lived in the first two flips I did and am working on number three right now.  I live in Roswell, GA right around the corner from you.  Maybe we can connect and do a deal together.  

I wish you luck!

@Jonathan Frazier, that sounds like solid advice.  Thank you.

Also, the FIFA liens are for discover & Capital one.  The deceased didn't pay her credit card bills.

@Jonathan Frazier, the estate has $4,000 cash and the home.  I am not sure how the liens get reduced.  My theory (Based on very little knowledge) is that since the liens are paid based on priority we should either be able to negotiate with the junior lien holders or the court will allow the property to be sold to satisfy as much of the debt, in priority, as possible.  FIFA liens are judgements that have attached to the property due to non-payment.  I am not sure what their rights are.  I am also a bit fuzzy on what you do if the estate cannot afford all of its debts.  I would think the court would want to make the creditors as whole as possible and selling the property is the only way to do this.

Have you gone through a process like this before?

@Julie Marquez,

For those that reply, you might suggest that they drive by and take a look.  Then you can follow up and if they are still interested, set an appointment to show the inside.  I like the suggestion from @Jennifer L. about overlapping appointments.  Its amazing how a little competition gets things moving.

Good luck with everything

@Jonathan Frazier, I would love to be able to pay all of the liens, but the estate simply doesn't have enough value to cover them.  We are offering a fair price for a home in this kind of condition.  I think we will be heading to probate court with the purchase agreement and an appraisal in hand to try and resolve this.  The estate will be paying the bill for legal fees and those fees are slated to get paid before the FIFA liens.  I hope we can resolve this earlier.  If not, odds are that the last three debts in order of priority will get nothing instead of the small amount we can offer.  At that point, I guess my last resort is to go to the foreclosure or probate auction (whichever comes first).  I may even be able to purchase the home for less.

@Mike Cumbie, That is discouraging, but its what I signed up for when I started this adventure.

Yes @Rick H.,

I am looking to keep my cost of education as low as possible.  I also want to use professionals when it makes sense, but limit their use to only when it makes sense.  

I assume that I will eventually need an attorney to help me through the specifics of Georgia law etc...  I just hope to put that off until absolutely needed.

@Andrew Orr, My wife and I painted the paneling in an addition of a home we sold in Michigan.  It can look pretty nice if you do it right.  I wouldn't want that look throughout the house, so you may want to put up Sheetrock in some of the rooms and paint others.  Also the idea of using chair rail and wainscoting sound great.

Good luck with the flip.

@Mark Pedroza & @Rick H., Thank you for discussing this with me.  Just to round out the picture a bit.

This is a Georgia probate process. There is a medical claim of around $800, an HOA claim of around $13,000, and the mortgage of around $50,000. Our offer covers all of those. We are buying the asset from the estate. After the purchase there may be $1,500 left over to cover the two FIFA liens of about $18,000 and a $9,000 non lien claim.

I have never been through this process before and would like to avoid engaging an attorney due to the cost.  I have a very basic understanding of the probate process and priority of claims.  I believe that the personal representative has the right to sell the property to settle the debts, but I am unsure how this works when the proceeds won't cover all of the claims.

Do I need an attorney for this?  

If not, how do i get the FIFA liens released for the amount the estate has as opposed to the full claim amount?

Are there other "Gotcha's" for which I need to watch out?

Thanks again for the help.