Probate sale might be one of the most used terms in today’s real estate sector. There’s no wonder that you are totally baffled when you hear it for the first time. The more you dig deeper, the more complicated it gets. Well, don’t get too perturbed yet. Allow us to save you from all the troubles of probate sales with this article.
Let’s start with the basics here.
What Exactly is a Probate Sale?
We are pretty much sure you’ve done a bit of research on this topic as of now. Whatever you’ve ‘googled’ and researched on the subject might be pretty much correct. A probate sale occurs when the current owner of the property has passed away without a will bequeathing the house to an heir. An estate attorney or a representative has to sell the property to liquidate the asset and distribute the money obtained from the sale to family members. Probate sale is put on by the probate court. It occurs when the court puts up the property for sale in the market. Even though this sounded simple, once you decide with proceeding with a probate sale the tables will start to turn.
How To Sell a Probate House in NYC?
Selling a probate house is not as simple as selling a home in New York. Not every homeowner’s deceased estate goes through probate too. Many estates can avoid regular probate by qualifying as “small estates” under state law. In a probate sale, the estate attorney hires an experienced real estate agent. It is for listing probate property in New York and selling the home. The price of these properties will be much lower than their current market value. We don’t expect the estate owners to make any repairs before you move in as the owner of the property is legally no more alive. This is a precautionary step by the court to make sure the property is at the best possible price.
The interested buyer is asked to put down at least 10 percent of the propose value as a deposit. The seller has the right to accept or reject the offer from the buyer. Once the seller agrees with the proposal, the court must confirm to make sure it’s a fair and square deal. The probate court will then approve the sale and the place where it should take place.
Once the property is set up for probate auction, anyone present in the courtroom may make a superior bid of at least five percent above the original bid. Once the offer is accepted both by the seller and the court, the administrator must send a Notice of Proposed Action to all the estate’s heirs. The allotment of fifteen days period to the heirs to come up with any objections or disagreements in the Notice.
It would be difficult to proceed all by yourself to enroll the estate in the probate court appealing for a probate sale. You might need the help of an experienced probate sale specialist or a professional real estate agent to sell your probate property without any hassle in NYC.
Should I Buy a Probate House in NY?
With America running behind crazy deals and offers on anything that they can grab, the market of probate sale houses in NYC has drastically grown these past years. You can list your property in probate sale cheaper than the house’s exact market value. But before jumping to conclusions, there are a few things that you need to know before buying a probate sale.
- Probate properties are properties without ownership. As the homeowner has already passed away without bequeathing a will for his/ her heir. So, don’t expect the probate court or the seller’s family to repair that leakage window or the missing pool equipment. What you see is what you get in a probate sale.
- Make sure you went thoroughly through the disclosures. There might be many complex factors that the naked eye might fail to notice. Get the help of an experienced probate sale agent to make sure everything goes smoothly and steadily.
- The representatives will produce the final court judgment. Make sure you are present at the court in person for the hearing.
- Since there are no contingencies in a probate sale, the seller does not have to wait for you to find a loan or sell your existing home. You can get advance approval from the present owners of the estate.
- Working with a real estate agent or a probate expert will always aid you in moving forward with the buy. Real estate agents in NYC can even give you probate sale packages for making the whole process hassle-free. Any agent can represent you. Only a probate sales professional can assure you whether the transaction is to manage correctly. So that you get the property and the terms and conditions you want.
Benefits of buying a probate property
Risks of buying probate property
How Does a Probate Begin?
The smooth transition of probate sales differs from state to state. Different country has different ways and rules on how to handle a probate sale. But, there are still a few things that are common to all probates.
The representative for the probate property will need to file a petition with the local probate court in NY where the deceased homeowner was living at the time of his/ her death. The death certificate and the original will (if exist) should be available. You should have it with you at the time of filing the petition for probate sale. The petitioner is require to send formal legal notices to all the heirs. He has to send legal notices to the known creditors and publish a legal notice in the local newspaper to alert all the other creditors. The court will then conduct a hearing so that any interested buyers are welcome to place a bid on the probate property.
Can we avoid Probate?
Are you trying to sell or buy a property under short sale?
You probably must have heard the term “short sales” a lot in these past years. Short sales are something we hear more often when it comes down to the real estate area. Short Sale meaning isn’t something every commoner will understand. So, let us be more clear on the topic here. A short sale is when someone sells his house, with the awareness and approval of the mortgage lender for less than what he/she owes to the lender. If the lender accepts the terms, then you can proceed with selling the property.
For example, consider you’ve defaulted on the payments and your mortgage lender has filed a foreclosure in the bank against the property. Panicking won’t do anything when you are facing foreclosure. You can talk with the lender and put your property on short sale hoping for other buyers to buy the property. So, you owe your lender $500,000 but, the new interested buyer is only willing to pay $400,000 for the property. You might not be in a situation to pay off the difference amount too. So, convincing your lender to agree to a less amount than you owe is short sales.
Most lenders and banks agree to the terms as this is time-consuming and a lot of hassle. The final result is a win-win situation as the seller is no longer saddled with the debt and the buyer gets the property at a bargain price.
So, if you are selling or buying a property and are considering short sales in real estate, here are the top things you need to know before proceeding with short sales and fixing the deal…
Know the Difference Between Short Sales and Foreclosure
This is something most of you might get confused about. Short sales and foreclosure are entirely different scenarios. In a foreclosure, the role of the homeowner is slightly less than in short sales. People who try to avoid foreclosure by working out a deal with the lender or bank usually go for short sales. And there isn’t any tension about evicting the previous owners in short sales as in foreclosure. Well, things do get messy in foreclosure!
Unlike a foreclosure, short sales in real estate don’t impact your credit much. Still, it’ll damage your credit score but not for as long as the damage done by a foreclosure. You’ll even have the chance to apply for a home loan for two years while in short sales.
Takes A Lot of Time
A short sale doesn’t refer to the time involved as the whole term is somewhat misleading. A short sale can take up to five to nine months to close; sometimes even longer. If it’s the bank you are dealing with, don’t expect the bank to come to you and tell you how much it would accept for the property. So, what you must make sure of is that while negotiating with the interested buyer, you should get the price that has been approved by the lender or the bank for the property.
Finding a suitable buyer to buy a short-sale property or buy a short-sale house can be troublesome without the help of an experienced short-sale negotiator. So, the whole short sale process is time consuming and a bit nettling.
Make Sure You Are Eligible For Short Sales
Saving your property by avoiding foreclosure with short sales seems pretty alluring. But, have you cross-checked your eligibility for proceeding with the short sale services? You must meet all the criteria and might require written proof stating your eligibility from the bank or the mortgage lender. This itself will be time-consuming but have patience!
For being eligible for short sales, you must owe more money to the bank or the lender than the house’s total worth. If you are eligible for any loan modification, then you can rule out all the possibilities of a short sale approval. Written proof that states you can no longer afford the monthly payment and any proof of financial hardships, like being laid off or divorced or having excessive medical bills will make you eligible for proceeding with a short sale.
Make sure you pass all these eligibility criteria before even trying for short sales as this is full of hassle and time-consuming.
It’s Time You Consider a Helping Hand
Buying or selling the short-sale property will be a lot more troublesome if you are planning to go ahead alone. You’ll be facing a lot of pressure mentally and emotionally through the whole process. The first thing you need to do is find a trustworthy agent to sort out your problem. A real estate agent who’s experienced in every aspect of real estate can make a huge difference especially if you are selling short-sale property.
The short sale process involves a lot of legal procedures and paper works. It will leave you frustrated in no time. A Short Sale specialist who’s familiar with all these stages will help you push further without any difficulties. Well, the time flies, and you need to act more quickly in finding a buyer, or you can still face foreclosure.
Conclusion
Keeping your patience and confidence is the main key to every successful short sale. The right agent who knows his way around will be a boosting factor when going for short sales in real estate. Also, beware of the cunning smiling-faced agents who disguise and mislead you by offering a helping hand when you are vulnerable.