All Forum Posts by: Vanessa Blais

Brett,  it's interesting you should mention both the current value and the need for probate.  In Florida to be considered a 'small estate' which qualifies for a 'Summary Administration,' the estate must be valued at no more than $75,000. The house is the only asset and while the county shows an 'assessed value' of $103K, I don't actually think it is worth more than $75K in it's current condition. I was wondering earlier, if a BPO at or below $75K would be sufficient to establish the estate as a 'small estate,' making the Summary Administration possible, and hopefully avoiding a long probate.  

That being said... once the step-daughter's role as the Personal Rep is signed off by a judge (from what I've read so far, this takes only 2-3 weeks as long as there is no contest) she can liquidate the assets to satisfy creditors, and as the house is in the foreclosure process, she can liquidate it... I'm not sure however if she can do a cash-out refi on it.  That will be something I'll need to research tomorrow

Thank you all, very much, for being so awesome and trying to help and giving me fantastic advice.  (And Mitch for congratulating me on finding an 'interesting,' deal... I've done some pretty complicated deals since 1999 and they've all been 'interesting,' for sure.) 

Ok, so I'm going to be taking her to the courthouse today to file the probate.

I estimate the ARV on the loan to be at the very least, $159,900.

*By the 'old hard money standards of my day," this would result in a MAO of - $73,738.25 and a maximum loan amt of $103,350.00.  

The numbers on this deal leave me with several viable exit strategies, including a wholesale flip, a rehab and retail, rehab and rent gaining income and equity.  

I also have several financing options available as well, including loan mod, cash out refi, or private/hard money... 

I have done the title work myself. There are no other liens, no judgments. The bank has not taken it back as there is not even a FJ recorded on the clerk's website. 

The step-daughter (and from what I understand, she was never a 'legal' step-daughter) has fairly decent credit and a decent enough guaranteed monthly income, so a cash-out refi, is also possible, using the cash to rehab the property to 'rental standards,' 

As far as any other heirs, all I can do on that front is take her at her word and hope everything she's told me turns out to be accurate in that respect. 

*The new deed says nothing at all about tenancy. 

Her'es the skinny: 

Step-mother and Step-Daughter bought the house, and got the mortgage together. 
A few years ago, set-daughter's name was removed from the deed, but remained on the mortgage.
Step-mother had a few loan mods, then went into default and stayed there for 2 years.
Step-mother passed away in April, left a will leaving everything to step-daughter.  (* I have seen the will and this is accurate.) 
I saw the last letter from the mortgage company yesterday and she is $24K in arrears and the total owed on the mortgage (with the back payments) is $50K.
I estimate the house to need approximately $20,000 in rehab costs. 
There's obviously money to be made in this deal, but... 

I haven't done an estate deal with a will involved in over 15 years and I can't recall how I would write this contract as the step-daughter, at this precise moment, has no legal right to enter into a contract for sale as she is not listed on the deed as an 'owner.' 

Does anyone have any guidance for me on how I should write this contract up?  

Thanks in advance for your help. 

Vanesssa

Thanks, Brett.  
Ron S.  thanks for the warning. 

Thanks, Brett.  
Ron S.  thanks for the warning. 

Ah yes, thank you. I had forgotten about the seller financials.  Proof of funds won't be an issue. And while I didn't mention anything about assigning it, there are always workarounds to that kind of nonsense.  It actually doesn't sound like the process has changed much at all.  

Hey all, I could use a little direction here if any of you fine folks wouldn't mind... I haven't done a short sale in close to 15 years, and now I've got 3 potentials sitting in my lap, and I'm not even sure if the process is still the same as the last time I tried this. 

I've got the following documents ready:

Sale and Purchase Contract (2)
CYA letter (Deficiency Judgment)
Authorization to Release Information
P.O.A.
Land Trust
Assignment of Beneficial Interest

When I was doing short sales, the procedure was to gather all the documents, then call the lien holder's loss mitigation department for the loan info and the fax number to fax an offer to, then fax the offer over.  

I also remember that during negotiations with the loss mit department, I could send over pictures of any damages to the property, a HUD 1 showing what it was going to cost them to hold on to it, and crime reports for the area to show how much more it would cost the lender to foreclose, repair, and then sell, including holding costs and real estate brokerage commissions.

Am I missing anything in the documents or any changes to the process? 


Thanks in advance for your assistance.  

You'll need more than just the loan number.  The first thing you'll need is a signed "Authorization to Release Information."  You'll also need the borrower's social security number and then the loan number.  And that's just to start with, but it's enough for you to get the loan information. 

Thanks.  I was reading a blog post on this site about about getting deals funded and when it spoke of the 3rd circle, it said to make sure your in compliance with some regulations on advertising.  But when I googled, I couldn't find anything useful.

Hey George, sorry about that. It was early morning. No, not brokering. This would be for my own deals.  I used to work with a good mortgage broker who I would just bring my deals to and they would hook me up with a lender, but that company went out of business, and I don't really care for the new 'institutional hard money.'  I want to have one-to-one relationships with lenders, but my 1st and 2nd circles aren't options, so I need to go directly to the 3rd circle.