OfflineComparatively, the competition is slim to score great deals with PROBATE real estate. Yet, most people seem to avoid probate like the plague.
Dean says that he avoided probates too, for awhile, but admits that he was wrong to overlook this area of investing.
In actuality, it's a great service to perform the due diligence -- as a bird dog -- and step forward to provide estates with solutions. It's where I am personally starting.
(Bird dog today, Investor Tomorrow ...)
If you are already buying probates, or are an investor who is open to exploring a whole different frontier and doing a probate deal together -- my ducks are now in a row. If so, send me a PM.
Thanks!
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Jill & I have invested in probates/estates for several years now. The 1st
deal was 2 houses side by side, the owner died & they were listed in MLS for
$ 65K each. Of course they were not selling so we researched the county appraiser's website, found where the taxes were being sent(name/address) & looked up the daughter's phone number. I called, introduced myself, told her we lived in the area & have owned several properties in that town. Coincidentally, we knew her father from our 2nd rehab, he happened to live across the street. I explained that RE had them priced too high & they were in need of multiple repairs. I told we would pay $ 35K for one, & $ 40K cash for the other, she agreed.
After closing, we were going to rehab them both but I had just had shoulder surgery & couldn't work too well. Jill got an idea to just put up 4 sale signs...we sold the 35K for 45K in 1 week. The guy who bought it saw we had the other house & bought that one also, for $ 48K. We made $ 18K in 2 weeks without doing anything except changing the door locks !
We have gone on to buy 3 or 4 more since then...this is truly an untapped source because more people are dying that are in foreclosure.
...are you going to be strictly bird-dogging/assigning or hanging on to any probate deals you land?
Follow my Journey: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/55360/...
N.Carolina Doorknocking: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/local-networking-and-disc...
"This is me taking back control of my life...what the xoxo have you done lately?" ~Wesley Gibson, Wanted
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Thanks for the compliment. Since that gave you some inspiration, we decided to really get you excited...house # 3 we looked at & offered 50K (it was listed for 69K)the daughter came back at 65K, we said no thanks...we got a call from the RE agent a month later asking if we would still pay 50K, we said no, 48K, they accepted & left some furniture, refrigerator, washer/dryer,
freezer, tv etc.
We sold all items on Craigslist for about 2K, painted the exterior of the house & mulched around the shrubs. Sold the house for 58K...12K profit for 2
weeks...house #4 was listed at 59K, offered 40K, the elderly woman came back at 43K, we met in the middle at 41.5K. Did a lease option (rent to own); tenant buyer gave us 10K deposit, pays $700/month rent(we have a $ 400/month positive cash flow) for 24 months; their purchase price is 68K; we make a profit of over 33K on a 41.5K investment, not bad !...house #5 was listed in 80'sK, then dropped to 70's, then to 69K;on the market for 366 days, offered 41.5K, the daughter took it. We painted the patio & shed & mulched the scrubs.(about $ 150). Had 2 open houses & have 4 people interested, waiting for their bank responses...will make about 10K also on this one.
We found we are able to negotiate on probates/estates much better than with the banks on REOs. The deals seem to be better if the heirs are far away
from the property, not only because of the cost of taxes, insurance, maintenance & repairs, but the worry of theft & vandalism.
Good Luck on finding some great deals, if you have any questions PM us.
Thanks, Gary
Wow! Your're really rolling with these deals! Sounds absolutely awesome!
And Sherri,
My first deal was a probate. I have to admit I didn't find the deal myself. I was at the court house trying to learn how to research them and another investor (19 year veteran) over heard me talking to the clerk. He later approached me in the lobby and told me about a deal he had in Berkeley and if I can come up with a buyer he will split the assignment fee with me.
There's actually a lot more to this story but that's how my first deal came about.
I am currently researching the county courthouse probate files regularly.
I do both types of probates. Over 100k and specialize in estates less than 100k. Pm me if you would like to network and maybe do a few deals together. I know lots and have closed lots of these deals. It's a killer deal when you can do the PROBATE FILING AND LOCK A DEAL! Talk to you soon.....
To get something you've NEVER HAD
DO something you've NEVER DONE.
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for a great topic. This is re-opening my eyes and ears to probates! Grazi2graziosi, since you have been through this process you have keen insight (and compassion) for those going through this. My husband went through this and it is no picnic for the rep. He and his siblings were happy to get this behind them, but it was hard to walk out of the house for the last time. Remembering all the family gatherings and saying goodbye to the end of an era. Soooo, someone like you is great for the people going through this.
All the best to you.
Lea
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Wow... what an awe-inspiring string of posts! I am in... and like a sponge...want to soak it all up.
Here are my questions:
1. Once the Executor agrees to sell the property, you place an offer and it is accepted, are you then assigning the property to a cash buyer so you do not have to rehab?
2. Is there a typical escrow/earnest amount that has to accompany the offer like a traditional MLS listing?
3. Can these be done with no money out of pocket?
Thanks!
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” ~ Pablo Picasso
Michele Grant
4th Day Projects Inc.
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Television?
As I said there's a lot more to this story. It turned out the original investor who approached me at the court house ended up walking away from this deal!
I mean, I came up with a buyer (I have a buyer's list) and that investor could NOT contact the owner to set up a meeting for us. So he ended up walking away from this house. Which was pretty strange.
So I found myself in the "sticky dark alone".
So some time went by and I realized that virtually I am the only one who knew about this property. The original investor who told me about it walked away from it, so I decided to do something about it. So I watched Dean's video about probates (this house was in the probate files) and I wrote a letter to the executor which also happened to be an heir.
Eventually the executor called me and we made arrangements for me to come and look at the property.
I was so nervous about doing my first deal, I went to a Robyn Thompson seminar (she's another killer guru) and I told another investor there that I have a meeting on Monday to look at a house and if he helps me with it I'll split the assignment fee with him. He agreed and we did the deal. Now we are working together on more deals.
Which led me to a realization on how to get a mentor for virtually free. Or for the cost of splitting the profits. If you come up with a deal, you can ask an experienced investor to help you with it. Offer to share the profits with him in exchange for his help. That is the easiest way to insure success! Plus learn at the same time.
And of course you can find experienced investors almost anywhere. REI clubs, seminars, auctions, even on craigslist.
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Even the investor I met at the seminar calls me Mikey.
Dean definitely deserves a lot of credit for getting some of us going.
I really owe Dean a lot. He motivated me to take action.
This is a great forum.
I'm certain you will find success.
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I do agree Grazi2,. more should post here for us newbies, like me.
I do learn from all,.. both good and not so good , or oops stories.
I am lucky I have the time to spend here to learn as much as I can through timely postings and others journals. I am currently disabled so I can't run around so much anymore. My computer is my link to the world now.
I've seen all the DG videos and am awaiting the Set for life system. Now planning my course of action on what to do first.
My question,..I want to use the free website from DG,which I learned from
calling his support # is hosted for FREE,..really ! I just have to buy and register a domain name,or URL,..is that correct ?
I came across a DG members website that was really wonderful as it had a free report that was linked to a landing page that would collect their info.
I should have bookmarked it,if I find it again can I put up the link to it?
I thank you for all you do.
Donna E
Hello,
I have never done a probate deal but I am adding this to my acquisition strategies!
Question, I have found a vacant property that I learned the owner died about 3 months ago. How would I research and get in touch with the probate attorney or the next of kin on this property?
Thanks for any help!
Michael
Knowledge is power, but execution trumps knowledge. Tony Robbins
http://www.mdhomeacquisitions.com Seller site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionsbargainhouses.com Buyer site
http://www.mdhomeacquisitionshousehunter.com Bird Dog Site
http://www.mdlodeals.com Tenant/Buyer site
I had my son go to the county court house last week, because probates are what sounds best to me as well. They told him that he needed to know what numbered file he wanted his probates from. What is a numbered file and how do we find that info???
Charisse
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Thank You GG2,
That makes good sense. Is that what you do with the Notice to creditors info? I have looked at those for years but now I know what to do with that info. Your on a role girl friend. Will let you know,
Charisse
Charisse
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This is exactly the area I'm really interested in. How, besides going to the courthouse do I find them 1st? and I mean before everyone else.
I guess ask and you shall receive is really true. I'm pretty sure the Courthouse has an Internet option. Now I know how to use it. Thanks and remember, there is ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat.
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I will actually be starting my probate journey tomorrow. After I watches deans 2009 edge event I new it was my calling!!! So off to the races and I will document my findings as well.
God Bless
Here are some replies ... And I really don't think anyone will regret getting into probates !!!
To: DonnaE
One of the great things about probate (while having a disability that limits your mobility to get around) is that so much data is online !!! Just about everything you'll need to know is a public record, and can probably be found "with some persistence" from your computer. Sure --- go ahead and put the link up in this forum to the "free report" that you found earlier, when you discover it again.
To: MichaelMangham
Call your local court house. Ask for the 'Registrar of Wills' and inquire with them if there's a website you can go to that will tell you what you need to know (the one I use here locally required me to register for it and get a password they issued, and after that it is absolutely mind-boggling what public records are right at your fingertips.) Various counties are more automated than others. If you strike out with that, send me a PM. (Also remember, not every vacant property will be in probate just because the owner died.) It could have possibly transferred to a relative, for example, because perhaps they held ownership together on the deed. If that scenario is true, maybe there is just some "down time" before the son or daughter arrives to occupy it, or gets it ready and rents it. But don't be discouraged, you may have indeed found something!
Another simple thing you can do is send a letter to the house address because the mail is certainly being forwarded to someone. Explain that you are sorry for their loss, and that you are an investor who might be interested in making an offer on the property if you could take a look at it. Give them a way to reach you of course, and then be patient ... they are grieving. There won't be a lot of people doing this. They'll call you and (I bet) and be impressed by how perceptive you obviously are.
To: Charisse
Plain as day in the newspaper. If it was a snake, it would have bitten all of us long ago! (Who knew?) Begin looking in the "small little free newspapers" that have been distributed around your neighborhood. (Why? Because it's too expensive to run the same ads in the bigger papers with huge circulations --- and the law only requires that it be published --- so people save money and publish it in the cheaper ones.) Plus, with some luck, the creditors might even miss it in the obscure publications and the statute of limitations deadline will expire. Ha!
Go to the classifieds...
Look for anything that begins with the bold words: NOTICE TO CREDITORS
This is the tip-off that an estate is going into probate. The law dictates that such a notification must be published to give creditors an opportunity to read it and make a claim (to still get paid) against an estate when someone has passed away. Right in that very notice, you will see a case number. That's the number they want at the court house. All you have to do is know it, and the public records are released to you (at no charge) to read. Go when you have ample time. Take a notebook and pen. At my courthouse, they charge $.50 per page to print anything. They laughed at my audacity when I wanted to use my thumb drive to save data instead of print. (Hey, was worth a try!)
Heads-Up ... Not all probates contain real estate. Some of them only have 'personal' property. In my region, they are distinguished with the words SMALL ESTATE or REGULAR ESTATE. Any estate under $30k is considered small (and probably has no real property in it.) There may be other "vocabulary" to distinguish the size of the estates where you are. Decipher that before taking the case number to the court house.
To: Everybody Visiting This Forum !!!
Dean has something called an AUTOMATED PROBATE FINDER which is available to us.
I can't speak a lot about it (yet) but stay tuned. I'm still learning how it works !!!
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There is such a vast amount of information regarding probates/estates that it is easy to get bogged down & frustrated. Sherri is so right on, you must
learn to obtain some information just as a prerequisite, to make a determination as to the mechanics of the deal. I had times on recent probate
fillings where we would just do a preliminary check on the county clerk's website to check if there was a mortgage, & if so how much; value of the property; where the heirs are located; etc ... then do a drive by to see the house was already listed with RE & in fact had a contract on it for an extremely high amount. Now we could have spent a lot of time doing added research on a dead end property.
In my neck of the woods, Orange County, CA. I can type "public notices" OC, CA into probably any search engine. It comes up with a website that I can look at various notices that I am looking for ie foreclosures, notice of public hearing etc. It also includes probates and guardianship complete with name and court document numbers. I can now use the Courthouse database to retrieve the info I need. Thanks guys for showing me where to look. More cat skinning to come. Just to let you know, I have 2 cats whom I adore and spoil rotten so "no cats were actually harmed during the research of this project"
Sue