All Forum Posts by: Dylan Murphy

Hey everyone,

We run a real estate wholesaling operation based in Florida, where we consistently deal with probate properties. We’re very familiar with Florida’s probate process, but we are now expanding our focus to Texas and want to better understand the options for bypassing probate there.

From our research, it looks like an Affidavit of Heirship can be used to transfer real property without going through full probate, as long as certain conditions are met (e.g., no formal estate administration, all heirs in agreement, etc.). However, we’d love to get some real-world feedback from investors, title companies, or attorneys who have actually used this process successfully in Texas.

A few questions we’re hoping to clarify:

1. How effective is an Affidavit of Heirship in practice? Do title companies accept it, or do they often require a full probate anyway?
2. What are the key pitfalls to watch out for when using this approach?
3. Does anyone have a sample Affidavit of Heirship document they’d be willing to share or point us to an official source where we can get the right version?
4. Are there any Texas-specific nuances that make this process easier or harder than in other states?
5. How does this process work if we are doing a partial interest buyout? For example, if there are multiple heirs, but we are only buying out some of them, can we use a quitclaim deed or warranty deed to acquire their interest while the remaining heirs maintain ownership? How does this impact title and future marketability?

If you have experience using this process in Texas, we’d love to hear about any successful (or unsuccessful) attempts and whether it has helped streamline deals. Also, if you have a preferred probate attorney in Texas who handles these situations efficiently, referrals are always welcome!

Thanks in advance for any insights! Looking forward to learning from the BP community.

- Dominic
Florida-based real estate investor

@Peter Vekselman Curious to hear more of your feedback in regards to mail. Given that you were spending six figures previously that's a pretty rapid change. What lead you the decision of pulling the plug on direct mail?

Hey @Anthony Stephenson, I figured I'd reach out and ask you how things are going with SEO Meets REI after the first few months. Are you still using their services? We've got a kick-off call with them tomorrow and possibly getting started with them.

Hi Tim,

These are exactly the type of situations we deal with on a monthly basis. Good news is that it's not impossible. Not so great news is that it will require quite a bit of digging in this case. Feel free to message me and I'm happy to help... Like I said, this is our bread & butter.

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I own a real estate investment and wholesaling group based in Florida. We specialize in probate cases where the property owner has passed away, and no one is taking care of the property. Oftentimes, the rightful heirs are unaware that the property is now theirs, they don't have the means to take care of it, or the heirs have also passed away.

Our team has worked with many cases where we were able to skiptrace and help the heirs probate the property, then purchase it from them to avoid losing it to delinquent taxes or bank foreclosure. However, we have quite a few properties on our radar that will require deeper due diligence and resources.

We are currently seeking a licensed private investigator and/or genealogist who can help us find and get in contact with missing heirs. We want to help families avoid losing their inherited properties to delinquent taxes or foreclosure.

If you are a private investigator or genealogist who has experience working with these types of cases and can help us locate missing heirs, I'd love to have a conversation. I'm interested in exploring the possibility of working together.

Hi Minna,

Did you end up finding a PI for this case? I have similar situation that I'm hoping to find a PI for.

Interesting thought. I’m also a local, but haven’t seen anything like that before. I’d be very open to hear more about your ideas! 

I'm a bit late to the party, but find your call statistics extremely helpful to compare with our 2 VA's. On a side note... when you say "contacted: 167 leads..." are you referring to the total number of individuals including wrong number, relative's number, and correct numbers that your VA spoke to, or only the individuals who are specifically the owners of the property?

If I were you I'd keep saving. $5k barely covers closing costs. 

My team does continuous deals in the Lakeland area. Please feel free to reach out to me regarding what your buyer is looking for. I'd be happy to assist!