All Forum Posts by: Vanessa Blais

Ahh.. this is why I didn't notice it... this is from the other law blog:

"The personal representative must also execute an oath confirming that the individual who is applying to become the personal representative of the estate is qualified to serve as the personal representative (is over eighteen years of age, a relative of the decedent or a Florida resident, has no felony convictions). The oath of personal representative also designates the estate’s attorney as the resident agent for service of process in the event that a suit is filed against the estate."

http://www.hometownlawfirm.com/probate-estate-admi...

Ah, I didn't see the 'or'.  It's late and I'm tired and I hate to see this house just sitting there.  It has so much potential.  

I know that most of the courses teach to search the probate filings and get in touch with the personal rep or the executor, etc... but where I live we have a lot of elderly people, who often pass with no heirs at all and no will, and even with mortgages, that of course, go into foreclosure because the deceased is no longer here to make the payments.  

I'm looking at one property right now, where there are no heirs and the house is in the foreclosure process.  Last year, I was looking at a very similar situation, and I posted about it here in BP, and I recall someone telling me to see if I could get myself appointed as the personal rep...  now, I can't find that thread. 

I called my local courthouse and asked them what I needed to do and the girl who answered the phone asked me if I was a relative.  When I said 'no,' she told me, "well you have to be a relative."

Though... I've read the following on two different FL law blogs: 

"To qualify to serve as a personal representative, an individual must be either a Florida resident or, regardless of residence, a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other close relative of the decedent. An individual who is not a legal resident of Florida, and who is not closely related to the decedent, cannot serve as a personal representative."

Well, I am a resident of Florida, so I think I 'qualify.'  

But how to get the courthouse to give me the correct form to file to request this is beyond me.  And I wouldn't know what to say to the judge if he asks why I should be appointed as the personal rep if I'm not even a relative. 

My next question is... assuming the courts appoint me as the personal rep, is there a 'conflict of interest' for me to then work with the bank for me to buy the house?

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Second deal- 

Mom died, son is in PA, house is in foreclosure, and in a pretty bad state of disrepair.... it's not habitable for renting out to cover the mortgage, and he couldn't afford to fix it, so he just let it go into default.  

I'm not sure if he can even sign a contract to sell me the house, or sign any of the other papers for me to pursue a short sale, etc, since he is not the owner, or the borrower on the loan and has no P.O.A or anything else that gives him any kind of legal rights. 

I'm thinking that in this case, I would help him to file probate so he can get the Letters of Administration, which would then give him the necessary 'authority' to enter into contracts and give me 'authorization' etc, etc... but again, I'm not sure what course of action to take here. 

I am not at all opposed to paying for a course if it would teach me HOW these kinds of situations are handled.  I'm just not looking for a course on how to chase down probates that are already filed.  I already bought that one. :)

If anyone here can give me any advice or point me to a course that definitely covers these kinds of issues, I would be ever so grateful.  

Thanks!
Vanessa

I know that most of the courses teach to search the probate filings and get in touch with the personal rep or the executor, etc... but where I live we have a lot of elderly people, who often pass with no heirs at all and no will, and even with mortgages, that of course, go into foreclosure because the deceased is no longer here to make the payments.  

I'm looking at one property right now, where there are no heirs and the house is in the foreclosure process.  Last year, I was looking at a very similar situation, and I posted about it here in BP, and I recall someone telling me to see if I could get myself appointed as the personal rep...  now, I can't find that thread. 

I called my local courthouse and asked them what I needed to do and the girl who answered the phone asked me if I was a relative.  When I said 'no,' she told me, "well you have to be a relative."

Though... I've read the following on two different FL law blogs: 

"To qualify to serve as a personal representative, an individual must be either a Florida resident or, regardless of residence, a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other close relative of the decedent. An individual who is not a legal resident of Florida, and who is not closely related to the decedent, cannot serve as a personal representative."

Well, I am a resident of Florida, so I think I 'qualify.'  

But how to get the courthouse to give me the correct form to file to request this is beyond me.  And I wouldn't know what to say to the judge if he asks why I should be appointed as the personal rep if I'm not even a relative. 

My next question is... assuming the courts appoint me as the personal rep, is there a 'conflict of interest' for me to then work with the bank for me to buy the house?

***************************************************************************************************************

Second deal- 

Mom died, son is in PA, house is in foreclosure, and in a pretty bad state of disrepair.... it's not habitable for renting out to cover the mortgage, and he couldn't afford to fix it, so he just let it go into default.  

I'm not sure if he can even sign a contract to sell me the house, or sign any of the other papers for me to pursue a short sale, etc, since he is not the owner, or the borrower on the loan and has no P.O.A or anything else that gives him any kind of legal rights. 

I'm thinking that in this case, I would help him to file probate so he can get the Letters of Administration, which would then give him the necessary 'authority' to enter into contracts and give me 'authorization' etc, etc... but again, I'm not sure what course of action to take here. 

I am not at all opposed to paying for a course if it would teach me HOW these kinds of situations are handled.  I'm just not looking for a course on how to chase down probates that are already filed.  I already bought that one. :)

If anyone here can give me any advice or point me to a course that definitely covers these kinds of issues, I would be ever so grateful.  

Thanks!
Vanessa

Hi N.A.N.A... if you're still around, we're neighbors.  I'm down in Port Richey.  Just a hop, skip and a jump from you. :)

Hey Josh, yep, I've checked. All service is addressed to the deceased and 'Unkinowns.' The neighbors did confirm that there are no heirs at all. So I'm not sure what to do next, other than wait for it to go to the courthouse steps, or try to buy it as an REO if it doesn't sell at the steps.

Thanks, Dave. I'll look into that tomorrow. 

So, while we were out canvassing, we came across a property that we were very interested in.  As we were walking around, a neighbor came by to tell us all about the house... the owner had died and the house had gone into foreclosure.  

I asked if there were any heirs and the neighbor said "Nope, there were no heirs."

I've found the Lis Pendens filing in the county records, but no probate filing. 

Where would I start with this house, since, as I recall, you need the owners permission/cooperation to do a short sale, and the owner is deceased? 

I'm not sure how Florida law addresses assignments, but I've always had and/or assigns in all of my contracts.

They emailed back and said "Apparently, we can't have 'and/or assigns' on our contracts", so I replied "That's an absolute deal killer for me."

Oddly, "Tandi" didn't disclose any problem with it during any of the three conversations I had with her where I stated, "it will need to be the name and/or assigns."

It's just as well, as I read somewhere this morning, while reading reviews of their company, that they've actually stolen some bird dogs' investors. 

I decided to walk from the deal.  It wasn't a good enough deal, the margins were just too tight.

Also meant to add:

The contract wasn't even SIGNED by the seller!  I hadn't even noticed that.  I just sent it off to my private lender to look over for funding approval, and he emailed back saying he needed a 'fully executed contract.'  That's when I went to look and saw that it was not signed. 

I emailed "Lisa" (the contact who emailed the contract to me) and she said "We will sign the contract once we receive confirmation from the title company that the earnest money has been deposited."

So, they want me to sign something they haven't signed, then go put $3,400 in 'earnest money' with the title company, and then wait for them to sign it, with only 6 days to close, from the day I GOT their unsigned contract.