Buying and selling of real estate is big business in any economy in the world. As a population increases, more houses are needed for people to live in and offices for people to work in. Despite this fact of life, real estate transactions can still be very risky propositions! Especially when it comes to probate property if the seller and buyer don’t understand the process. So what is a probate anyway? When a person passes away they leave their loved ones and their property behind. Probate is the process of reassigning the property to the beneficiaries after a person dies. Sometimes the deceased, or decedent, dies with a will and in this case probate is not needed; the will outlines what happens to the property. If the deceased did not have a will then the estate goes through probate and the county court assigns a personal representative/executor to handle the affairs. Can a Bay Area house be sold while in probate? The answer is that it can be sold if simple steps are followed properly. Many times the personal representative (PR) is also a relative (possibly you), and you may not want to maintain this property. Selling could be the easier route. If you decide to sell, we advise you to take the following steps. How to begin the probate process for a house The probate process begins after a person dies. Soon after, the seller, or PR, is expected to inform the court, which appoints an attorney to take care of the sale. Once this is done, the attorney advertises the property just like other real estate properties. The price is based on the agent’s suggestion and also from an independent appraisal ordered by the probate court. Property Appraisal With the help of the independent certified appraiser a property can be appraised. You can very easily look for one on the Appraisal Institute, Yelp or Google. Skye Homes can also help you with a free market evaluation. We’ll use our resources to determine what the approximate market value is…for free. Obtain the Petition Next, you have to obtain a “petition to sell real estate” from the court. Fill out the petition form and provide all the details related to the sale of the property in along with the method of sale (auction, open market sale, etc.). Then, file the form along with the independent appraisal and wait for the approval from the court. Note: An investor only buys property that has already completed the procedure of obtaining the petition, and we do look into the fact that the seller has gone through the process of obtaining a petition. Place your Property for Sale Next step is putting the property up for sale. Be sure to inform all potential buyers that the property will be sold only after confirmation from the court. Seek Court Confirmation As a buyer you have to seek court confirmation to confirm the sale of your property. Generally, hearings take place within a period of 20 to 40 days. You will need to take a 10 percent (of the purchase price) deposit from the buyer before the date of hearing from the court. Advertise in Local Newspapers The public is required to be informed about the sale, so you will have to advertise it in local newspapers. This also allows open bidding for other interested people so that the property gets the best price. If you are seeking to buy property on probate period in the Bay Area, you can bid in the court hearings. We often come to know of good property on probate through the local newspapers. Attend the Hearing Attend the hearing of the court. This is the place where bids are done and buyers and real estate investors come for bidding. Typically the court will not sell the property below 90% of the list price. After the final agreement is done the cashier’s check is given to court after the bid is confirmed. If there is a new buyer, refund the money of the previous buyer and take the deposit of the buyer after the confirmation has been given by the court… We tend to always pay some money as deposit of the original price to the court after the contract has been confirmed. So after this you can complete the contract with the buyer after the above written steps. Real estate investors look for property that follows all the procedures and abides by the rules of the court. Want to sell your Bay Area house fast (and securely)? We have been buying probate properties for years and our reputation speaks for itself. If you are interested in choosing us as your partner in the San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco metro area, you are always free to fill out the contact form below or call us at 866-207-1940. We are always here to help walk you through the probate process for a house in the Bay Area! Disclaimer: We are not attorneys and are not giving legal advice. The information contained on this page is derived from public domain resources and not intended to be legal advice. Please consult with an attorney to learn more about probates. Additional Resources: NOLO Overview Santa Clara County Self-Help Understanding Probate Alternatives Alameda County Help Page Contra Costa Probate Court
Category: Probate
How to Sell an Inherited House in San Jose – The Reality Behind Probate
Selling an inherited house in San Jose is not as easy as you may think. First, there is always that emotional bit of preparing a loved one’s house ready for sale – which most likely includes depersonalizing his or her rooms and also clearing out all the belongings… Then there is the cost of marketing the house in order to attract potential buyers. Usually, heirs get to deal with the high costs of liens and other issues. Consequently, disagreements may arise. Therefore we at Skye Homes have compiled a few points that should help steer you in the right direction if you ever find yourself in such a dilemma. Here are a few tips on how to sell a home you inherited in San Jose without having to sweat much. Making the probate process go smoothly Get some advice The first step you should take is to get some professional advice. You must understand the status your house is in. Make sure that you verify your ownership. Seek advice from a real estate attorney. Get info from other experts too. And completely utilize this site too of course. We have a plethora of related articles on selling and inherited property. The IRS website is a friendly resource in this case as well. Next Step: Begin the probate process Before you embark on the selling process, your house must go through probate. Most countries allow for a summary probate – which is just a simple process that takes a very short time and involves less legal processes. Once your house passes the probate process in San Jose, you can then put it on the market. Tax consideration The tax basis of your property is the house value on the date that the person who willed you died. The difference between the amount you realize from the sale and the value is basically the gain on which you owe the taxes. How to sell an inherited house in San Jose Agreeing to sell If you are ready to sell your house in San Jose, you can inform the executor to petition the court in order to get the “go ahead” sign and proceed with the sale from the there. Problems always arise when siblings who share the inheritance have different views – for instance others may want to sell the house while others may not be for the idea. If and when this happens to be the case, it is important to “disagree to agree”. It is also important to involve your estate lawyer in this stage. Preparing to sell A house that belonged to an elderly person may require repairs and a bit of updating before you can put it on sale. You will need to get rid of everything! You can choose to hire an inspector to note down potential issues and recommend possible repairs. Although you can sell a home in San Jose “as is” you may be forced to accept a lower price, especially if your house requires extensive repairs or cleaning. Here at Skye Homes, however, we will always give you a fair deal and help you get as much value from your inherited house as possible. We often times buy houses in San Jose, repair and fix them up and either rent them out or sell them to someone else looking for a great deal. If your local San Jose house meets a few simple qualifications, we can buy your house fast.
How To Price Your Inherited House For Sale
If you’ve inherited a property and you’re planning to sell it, make sure you read this blog post for 3 tips about how to price your inherited house in the Bay Area for sale… Did you inherit a property that you’re now thinking about selling? While an inherited property can be a wonderful gift from a loved one who has passed on, it can also be a costly burden. So selling it makes sense and allows you to use the gifted equity for some other purpose. But selling an inherited property may not come easy to you, especially if you haven’t sold a property in a while. So here’s how to price your inherited house for sale… Tip #1: Price To Sell Some people price their inherited property at an amount they think the market might pay for the house. However, there are many factors that go into this price and one of the biggest considerations is: how fast do you want to sell? Selling through an agent “on the market” can take months, and you’ll have to pay for the house and maintain the property the entire time. That can be costly and can eat into the higher price. Many property owners quickly learn that they’re almost better off to price slightly lower for a faster sale… they might get less for the house but they also pay less on repairs, carrying costs, effort, and time, so it’s ultimately a trade-off that might turn out to be a total wash. Bay Area agents (the good ones) know that the best strategy is to price low and try to create a bidding war. If any agents says otherwise, please run! Tip #2: Avoid Pricing Based On Fond Memories Or Emotion One of the biggest challenges that property owners of inherited property face when trying to price their property for sale is separating the happy memories from the true value of the house. The house might be worth a certain amount on the market but you may have such fond memories of growing up in the house or of happy times in the house that you accidentally use that emotion to increase the price. (This is VERY common.) A better approach would be to work with a real estate company and find out what they can offer you, and recognize that the price might be lower than you were expecting… not because the house isn’t worth as much but because your wonderful memories have accidentally inflated the price! Tip #3: Build In Discounts For Repairs If you inherited the property from a loved one who had lived in the property for many years then you might find out that the property needs some repairs. You could choose to do this work yourself and then ask for a higher price but why do that when you could save yourself the time and effort (and what you’d have to pay for equipment, supplies, or a contractor) and instead just ask for less and give a “repair discount”. That way you avoid the hassle of the work, and you still come out the same financially. Be honest with yourself about what condition the house is in. Compare it to other houses on the market that are close by, and similar in condition, size, bed/bath count and square footage. It doesn’t have to be exact, just note how other properties are discounted. Summary Follows those tips and you should be able to sell the house without issue. If you choose to skip the headache, we can help. Why not bypass all the work and cost of selling through an agent and instead get in touch with us today about selling your inherited property to us here at Skye Homes? Just call us at or click here and enter your information in the form.