Court Confirmation received on Loma Vista St, El Segundo The American Dream is still alive-SALE PENDING!

Court Confirmation received on Loma Vista Street in El Segundo – SALE PENDING! The American Dream is still alive!

The purpose of this post is to highlight a few points:  the intricacies of a probate sale with court confirmation; some of the challenges that entail a probate sale by court confirmation; and finally, Realtors striving to keep the American dream of home ownership alive.

Customarily, seasoned developers love probate sales since often a seller just wants to get rid of the property because of not wanting the emotional attachment, or they just do not have the funds to develop the property themselves. When more than one seller is involved, I find that the majority want the infusion of additional cash. Hence, they want to quickly get rid of the property, regardless of what the true value might be.

This is not the case with a probate sale with court confirmation. Here there is a probate appraisal and a Judge who reviews all documents and the accepted offer must be at least 90% of the appraisal’s value.

As most of you know, I have a probate listing with court confirmation in El Segundo, California.  For those who are not familiar, when a Last Will & Testament is not in place, the property goes into probate and there has to be a court confirmation of the sale.

Often buyers show up at the court hearing and it becomes a   “bidding war” as the court date is published in the Multiple Listing and on all the internet portals as well.  Hence this usually generates a flurry of activity.

Numerous Developers offered to have me represent them on the buyer’s side as well, even though they had Real Estate Licenses that they could have used, this was strictly to get a “good deal”.  I am sure you understand what the idea of a “good deal” represented to them:  they wanted to buy the property below “true market value”.

My “fiduciary responsibility” is to the seller, and in particular in this case to the Estate.  Having had a Probate Appraisal in hand I tried to explain to all the developers and even to some of their agents that the buyer needed to offer close to 90% of the appraised value. Why do people think that by offering bribes (commission on both sides) that this part of the requirement can be overcome? (Just thinking out loud here)

In this situation, all’s well that ends well! The buyers who got the property are a very nice family. They are first time home buyers who clearly understand the level of “do it yourself” to make the place into what they call “home”.   The best part is even though they paid a higher price than what developers were willing to pay, they still got a great deal. Their accepted offer was within the range for the probate appraisal, hence clearly it discouraged the “developers” from over bidding the accepted price by an additional 5%.

Now  not only is there a happy buyer,  but there is a happy seller as well  who understood the emotional roller coaster ride of the buyers  and was appreciative of their stick to it attitude and not giving up along the way. At the same time the seller got the maximum money for the property.

 From my perspective it is great when you have a good supporting behind you:  Lenders who understand the difficulties of the timelines; quick turnaround for the loan appraisal; prompt removal of the loan contingency, while still assuring the buyer and all parties that they will perform. Clearly having a proven track record is critical.  Having an Escrow Officer with a great team who has to hurry up in the beginning and then shelve the file until the Court Confirmation (for 40-60 days) then hurry up again to generate loan documents and close the deal fast once the Court sends the final document ( within 3-4 days). I also appreciate the fact of having worked with a good buyer’s agent who can keep the first time home buyer’s emotional highs and lows in check. Finally to have an Attorney that moves the papers along to the courts so there are no unnecessary delays by not having the paperwork in order.

So if you are an attorney who is looking for an experienced listing agent for a probate property requiring court confirmation, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

If you are considering buying or selling a luxury home, an ultra luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com.  I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commissions to local animal rescue organizations.