Among the many honors, this Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist receives, is a referral from an attorney. In this case, the referral came from a real estate attorney, not an estate planning or probate attorney which is where Kathleen Daniels receives most probate real estate and trust property referrals.
A past client of the real estate attorney was so confused by all the information real estate agents were telling them their head was spinning. Trusting the real estate attorney who helped them in the past, they scheduled an appointment with the attorney to get a sanity check.
That is when my phone rang, and I answered it. The conversation that followed was interesting, to say the least. His client was the successor trustee of her sister's trust. Many agents were interviewed and she was not impressed with any of them.
The successor trustee settled on hiring an agent who sent everything to sign online with zero explanation! This was before COVID. She was told, that is just the way it is done. Just sign the documents.
The plan was for the real estate agent to sell to investors and assigned a list price of $900,000.
None of what she was hearing the agent say made sense ... so she scheduled an appointment with her real estate attorney.
After a lengthy phone discussion and later meeting face to face at the property, the successor trustee hired Kathleen Daniels to list the home.
With minimal effort, time, and investment in preparing the home for sale, pre-sale inspections were completed. The home was professionally cleaned, staged, and listed at $1,259,000.
After 12 days on the market, several offers received, the seller accepted an offer. The final sales price was $1,320,000.
The final sales price was $61,000 above the list price and $420,000 more than the $900,000 list price suggested by the agent whose plan was to sell to an investor.
Thankfully we will never know what the home might have sold for if it listed at $900,000.
The $420,000 Question is: Who do you think the other real estate agent was serving?
The fiduciary duty of exercising prudence was fulfilled by seeking help from trusted advisors and hiring a real estate professional who serves their client's highest and best interests.
You may read the entire post where it was originally published Successor Trustee Seeks Help to Sell Real Estate
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