The Probate Process And Real Estate Investing

Probate properties are some of the most profitable real estate investing deals.

They are especially attractive in real estate investing because of several reasons. This article walks you through how to make money in probate real estate.

Probate properties are properties titled to a person who is deceased. The estate is inherited by heirs or beneficiaries once a person dies.

During the probate process, outstanding debts are settled and the balance released to beneficiaries. For example, the a probate property will be sold to settle outstanding mortgage balance and the rest distributed to the beneficiaries.

The estate is responsible for all expenses such as cleaning the yard, utility bills, maintenance, etc. The property can therefore be a source of distress to the beneficiaries.

The court appoints an administrator (executor) to settle the estate. In most cases, this is usually an attorney. One of the beneficiaries can sometimes be appointed as the administrator. This especially happens because the beneficiaries want to reduce attorney expenses.

Beneficiaries therefore need to sell the properties fast to reduce expenses.

If they sell through a real estate agent, the estate will be responsible for all real estate commissions. Selling to a real estate investor will minimize these costs for them.

Sometimes they need to fix the house before they can sell it. If they cannot afford repairs, then a real estate investor may be the best buyer for such a property.

How to locate probate real estate
County court records record all probates. There are 3 sets of important information: The deceased, the administrator and the beneficiaries.

If you are investing in probate real estate, you should be checking the county court records periodically for new probate filings.

The next step is to verify if the deceased owned real estate, again from the county records. I usually search with the name of the deceased. Sometimes, the property may be in the name of the estate, such as John Doe Estate.

Next you may find the outstanding debts or mortgages on the real estate. If I cannot find this information from county records, I get it from the beneficiaries or administrator.

Next, contact the administrator AND the beneficiaries. This is because the attorney can be replaced by one of the beneficiaries. This is very common.

This can also be helpful if you do not know the correct mailing address of the administrator.

You do not send postcards. I usually send a series of nice, sympathetic letters every 30 days for 6 months. I always start by giving condolences for their loss and expressing interest in buying any real estate if it is on sale.

When it is time to sell, they will contact me. Then I'll close the deal.

Follow the same steps to make a lot of profits in probate real estate.

Simon Macharia is a real estate investor who buys and sells houses in Texas. Learn how you can run your real estate investing business and automate it from an interactive real estate investor website from http://www.RealEstateInvestorsWebsites.net