Happy Holidays! As I close out my 2015 year and build the pipeline for 2016 I always like to reflect on the year we had with some Highlights of the more interesting probate home closings we did. This may turn on the light for you how awesome this niche is and help you to pursue more information on how you can add this business to your own 2016 production and that you could be up and running in two weeks if you really want this.
ATTORNEY DEAL: CLYDE, SANTA CLARA LEVEL 3 DEAL (PROBATE LISTING)
From networking with Estate Attorneys I landed a Top Estate Attorney in San Jose who gave me a listing in Santa Clara to sell for his estate client. Out of State Executor (GA) so I previewed the Home and in the Master bedroom was a large hole in the floor and some of the wall with wall board and framing missing. This is typical when a decease person lays for some time on the floor. The floors have to be removed where damaged from body fluids. It's part of this probate business and I had two of these in 2015. My crew went in and repaired the floor and walls and it was as good as new but understand you will have these situations come up and we just deal with it. End Result: $485K listing I double Ended for $480K for the buyer who also needed $5000 in closing help. Because I was the listing agent I was able to make this happen and also bring the price down $5000 for the buyer so a good deal as these units were selling for $515K fixed. The label of probate with the decease passing in the house scares many buyers and agents away but all we did was distrubute a flyer to the other units in the complex and found our buyer who was renting the same unit and loved the area. COMMISSION: $27,900 LESSON LEARNED: Most agents won't work a probate with a death in the house. Don't be one of those agents! There is a buyer for everything......
MENLO PARK: LEVEL 2 DEAL (DOUBLE END SALE OFF MARKET)
From our Probate Tracking we made contact with an estate attorney who was also the Executor of the Estate. Quite a character but had several properties going through probate and trust sales so he was interested in talking to us about bringing an offer rather than the MLS (This happens and for many reasons) We brought an offer for $1.250M from our buyer and would receive a 6% commission but the attorney changed posture at the time of signing and told me another buyer purchased. This was shocking as after two or three lunches, bringing the estate what the attorney said would work, he changed on us. He said this was an old client who needed a place for his employee and paid more, all cash so he went with it. This was crazy but two weeks later I received a call from this attorney who said his buyer changed his mind and if our buyer still wanted the house we could have it but at $1.250M Net. It was still a good deal so my buyer jumped on it and we closed. I had to deal with this first buyer who had owned it for just two weeks now and I soon found out this guy was a real estate dealer and I suspect he and the attorney worked a deal knowing we wanted the house. The facts after we found out was he paid only $1.125M so was making $125K for a two week buy. Do you smell a rat here lol. Our Buyer paid $1.3M, we earned $60K fee and this buyer earned big for doing nothing but holding for two weeks. Do you think this attorney acted in the proper way. He cost his client (Trust) $100K+ not just selling to our buyer at $1.250M. Interesting! FEE EARNED $60K LESSON LEARNED: Anything can happen in probate deals so check all the facts.
DALY CITY: LEVEL 3 DEAL (MLS LISTING) DOUBLE ENDED
Through contacting estates we came into contact with an Executor who was selling his Fathers home where he lived and heading back to American Samoa. He was a 500 pound Samoan with major medical problems so was heading home to Samoa. When I went to the house and knocked on the door as we had set an appt he wouldn't let me in and talked to me through the door (lol). He asked what I wanted so I had to remind him of our conversation and finally he let me in. He was setting in a chair in the middle of the front room, all 500 pounds of him. With a hospital bed in the room and a computer and nothing else. We started to talk and he was nervous. Finally he told he was listing with the Attorneys agent who already done some work. I asked questions, he hadn't signed yet and then after 30 minutes of talking and explaining his options he said: "Gary I want to list with you, please be my agent". So now the work began. I had him sign the listing right there and then I contacted the estate attorney. He was very upset but had no choice to go along with this as his client signed. What I found out later was this agent the attorney uses was not very good, not a top producer and couldn't do certain things needed to help this estate. First, I had my contractor come and do about $10K worth of work on the house the executor wanted with no upfront money from the executor (the other agent could not do this). I then arranged a $10,000 loan for the executor as he needed to shipped his belongings to American Samoa and in probate you don't have use of the proceeds when the sale closes, it's usually several month laters after escrow closes (final distribution) and this executor had to be in American Samoa in two weeks. So we went to work, hired the oversea movers, had the executors personal property packed and shipped and dealt with all parties concerned. The other agent couldn't or even offered to do this. We had to list the property as this wasn't a fast sale situation and the executor wanted Top Retail. End result was 5 offers and we doubled ended the sale, had a very happy executor in American Samoa write us a very nice referral letter for what we did for him Plus we earned a: $40,800 Commission on this $680K sale. Lesson to Learn: Do more than the average agent can, will or even things about and you have to know how to deal with estate attorneys who all have an agent they work with!
This blog will be continued on some of our 2015 interesting probate deals and again to let you know what the inside world of being a probate pro agent is all about. Very lucrative, interesting and satisfying when you can think outside the box...
To Learn More On EXP and Working Probates contact GaryD: garydmrprobate@gmail.com
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