What are we seeing in real estate and probate?
We are seeing a trend in probate where the executor or administrator is selling the real estate later.
There are a couple of reasons for this, and I will state the obvious first:
The decedent was married and the spouse will stay in the home. But this is really a small percentage of the time. Not everyone is married.
I see a definite trend with executors of an estate going all the way through probate, then probate closing, and the house not being put up for sale in the first year. Maybe in the second year but again, there seems to be no rush. I view this trend in about 30% of probate cases, so it's a real number.
Reasons behind this seem to be fairly clear. Let me know if you disagree.
It seems that in some probates, someone has passed away without their home in a trust, so probate is mandatory. But they have left a will, so there is some direction in terms of "heirs" and what to do with the proceeds and estate funds.
If there are not a lot of relatives, no children and simple bank records, typically the executor or administrator can see down the line that the property doesn't need to be sold immediately.
There seem to be cases and trends where the executor or administrator is also inheriting a great portion of the estate. I see this with older people who ask that a friend be in charge, and the friend is also named in the will to inherit most of the estate.
I do not see a trend whereby this friend moves in the house. I see the house selling, since we track all probate sales in the county, but there seems to be no rush.
It's also amazing how many grandchildren end up being executors or administrators. This has to all be court-approved, but skipping a generation in terms of "who is in charge" is not abnormal. I see it all the time.
The thing that seems to tie all of the delayed sales together is the idea that there is not a great and immediate demand to liquidate the estate. That does happen, but not quickly. That's the part where there is a sense that someone is taking their time. And I like that.
Probate can be overwhelming but if you don't have heirs calling you about funds and wanting updates on settling things, you can operate at a different pace.
During this year, we'd like to be of service in some way. Answer questions about the home, how to get the home empty and ready for sale, when is the best time to sell a probate property and security issues.
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Kimberly Dotseth, Blend Luxury Real Estate, California DRE #01179760 (619) 261-1909 and info@blendluxury.com
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