What is a Probate Property?
April 16th, 2021
When it comes to flipping houses, probate properties are some of the best deals you can go after. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about probate properties...
Probate Properties Explained
A probate property is a house that is inherited after someone dies. The term “probate” refers to the court appointed process of carrying out the deceased person’s wishes, usually through their will. If the person passes away with a will, this is normally handled with an Executor. If there is no will, the Executor usually is court appointed and known as a public administrator. Any assets the deceased person owned will be put up for probate and sold to pay off debts or leave money for the heirs.
Why Are Probate Properties Good Leads?
Probate properties are good leads because the new owners often don’t want to live in (or maintain) them. Executors often want to sell as quickly as possible because property taxes, insurance and maintenance fees can add up quickly. It’s also common for probate houses to be older and in need of repair, and since Executors don’t want to make repairs, they’re willing to sell below market value in “as-is” condition.
4 Ways to Find Probate Properties
- Manually pull records from the courthouse (doable, but time consuming).
- Reach out to probate attorneys, or family law and estate planning attorneys, who specialize in the probate process. These attorneys often have lots of probate properties that come across their desk. This is also a great way to build your referral network. One of the keys to success in real estate is building a good network of people that you can get referrals from, and probate attorneys are a great source of leads.
- Contact nursing or retirement homes. When elderly spouses pass away, surviving spouses sometimes move into retirement or nursing facilities, and sell their homes to fund the transition. Retirement homes are often aware of this and motivated to help their clients get settled as quickly as possible.
- Subscribe to Jerry Norton’s wholesaling and house flipping deal management system called Flipster. If you haven’t heard of Flipster, it’s a cloud based all-inclusive platform that helps you organize, streamline and automate all the steps to wholesaling and flipping houses. It also comes with millions of motivated sellers across the country, including probate leads. Click here to learn more.
Probate Tips and Tricks
When pursuing probate leads, there are a few things to be aware of. First, if the deceased person died without a Will, the court appointed administrator must approve the sale. Typically, they will hire a real estate agent to list the property in hopes of getting the highest price. But don’t be afraid to make low ball offers for these on-market leads, and follow Jerry Norton’s double dip technique when working with agents. This will greatly increase your chances of getting on-market probate deals. Check out this article to learn more about the double dip technique.
VIDEO TIP:
To learn more about Jerry’s double dip technique, including how to get his proven scripts, watch this YouTube video.
The second thing to be aware of is the probate timeline. It can take six months to a year before properties can be sold (after someone dies) and overzealous Executors sometimes look for buyers before they are able to sell. Always ask if the property has been approved for sale and how long it will take to close once an offer has been approved. And keep in mind, probate laws vary from state to state (and some states are more friendly than others) so learn the guidelines in your state.
For more tips about probate properties, read Jerry Norton’s Probate Profits report, which shows you how to find and flip probate houses for big profits. Click here to get your free copy of the report.
