When you have had a great experience with an agent you tend to go back to that individual over and over again.  However if you are looking to sell a probate property, this might just be a mistake.  According to the American Bar Association, “Probate is the court-supervised legal procedure that determines the validity of your will. All property, debts, and claims of the estate are inventoried and appraised. All valid claims of the estate are collected, and the remainder is distributed to beneficiaries according to the will.”

If you are facing a situation where real estate owned by the decedent needs to go to the probate process, it is more important than ever that you hire an experienced probate real estate agent who understands how selling property during probate differs from a traditional home sale.

Even the simplest probate sale has nuances that need to be done according to your state’s probate laws. You should use a real estate agent for any type of real estate transaction, but a probate property requires some additional experience.For example, a regular real estate agent for the most part does not know the correct probate procedure or to use probate specific forms when completing the sale. If either are incorrect at your final petition hearing, the probate judge will not close out probate which can lead to rescheduling a new hearing weeks or months down the line. Now imagine that you had to refile for corrections just prior to the covid-19 pandemic... The courts literally shut down over night and at the time of writing this have been closed in excess of 30 days.  If it was done correctly to begin with you would be a happy camper, but if a correction was needed you will be sitting on your hands for the foreseeable future unable to do anything with the property or its belongings. If you don’t have a probate agent, you’ll need to rely on your attorney to check over the probate sale documentation to ensure it will be approved by the courts. Attorney’s fees get expensive when they’re spending hours doing the work a probate agent would do as part of their standard commission so lucky for you, I am well versed in probate sales and have the know how to get you to the finish line in a timely manner without court mandated corrections. 

If you, or someone you know, finds themselves in need of an agent who is well versed in Probate proceedings, Give me a call.  I would be happy to assist.