So another technique I use in my 30 year probate real estate business, is to have a 14 Day Pre-MLS agreement where I can bring the estate home to the market place with two weekends of open houses, test the market with a “As Is” price and “Fix Up” price then report back to the owner what the market is telling us.
This last Sunday my team held a home open in NorCal where we had been talking with the state for about 2 weeks on our program. The probate home was in need of fix up and updating but it was in an area that was very desirable and prices where “As Is” $550K to Fixed up $635K. This is what we did to have the estate agree to our 14 day program.
We had our contractor go through the house and give us a bid to cosmetically improve the home. Cost came in around $55K. This is an important step as we want the executor to understand they don’t have the Taj Mahal and let’s get a reality check on what they are selling.
With this report the executor agreed it was bigger than he imagined and then agreed we should know about Pest/Roof/Home Inspection work if any. The estate pre-paid and we had the reports in hand. $11K in pest with further inspections and close to $10K in Home Inspections Summary items to be addressed with further inspections. Roof was just a few hundred.
This furthered the education of realistic numbers for the estate. My reason for this was I wanted to sell it “As Is” and not chase high retail to recoup the fix up and repair costs for the estate and drag out the process. There where 4 heirs receiving the proceeds from the sale so to spend $75K on the house to receive maybe $20k more net did not make sense but it wasn’t me explaining this it was the reports.
So our agreement was with the info we would expose the property to the market before listing. We did our pre open house marketing (all free) and only looked for Principles as we wanted to double end the sale if possible. We where giving the estate a break on commission so double ending was needed for us to realize what we wanted to make the time and effort worth while. If not, no worries, out in 2 weeks with a good fee.
We had 6 groups through and all agreed the house needed alot of work. One of the buyers was interested but needed a handicapped bathroom and some other items for his dad so we have our contractor working up those costs. Not to mention we picked up 2 other buyers who are not working with an agent and now they are in our VIP buyers bank so we can sell them a house.
This weekend we will hold the 2nd and final open house and will open it up to the local agents. I will market it as a brokers open, also do my principle marketing (again free) and we should have a full house as there are no properties in this area for sale. If any of the brokers come in and have a buyer, we will have reports ready to go so the offer will be solid and the “Due Diligence” time line can be reduced plus we will have a contractors bid for buyers to review.
Yes, if we don’t double end we will not maximize commission BUT we where out in about 3 weeks and very little time and earned a nice fee for our time BEFORE the listing hit the MLS providing the estate is happy with the price. If not we then list and go through that process for a possible higher net to the estate.
This again is business we would have never had if we didn’t track every probate in our County, contact petitioners and executors and work this business.
2-3 buyers for other homes and an escrow probably next week. If nothing happens during the 14 days with the estate knowing what we did to market then we are going to have a seller who will understand they better be realistic in pricing.
Bottom line – a great listed price to take to the MLS for a quick sale. Thinking outside the box.
I’m at point in my career where I’m slowing down my day to day and spending more time teaching probate for real estate to agents and investors. In the complete probate real estate system online agents and investors learn how to make bargain buys of real estate property, close probate real estate deals and add 6 figures to their income.
The #1 Question I receive 99% of the time is “Will this system work in my state”
The answer is YES. I created the Diamond Farming Professional Probate Real Estate System based on the CA probate law, which is the toughest in the country. Out of area students simply put, learn how to work this system the CA way and then adjust to their area.
This is why most agents and investors avoid probate, it’s basically a lack of understanding the ins’ and outs.
Take my advice, learn the ins and outs. Do what ever it takes but learn how to work with probate real estate. It’s a life changing gold mine.
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