As some of you may have noticed, I've been selling a lot of trust sales recently. The question frequently comes up: What is a trust sale? What does a trust sale involve? Here is a brief overview of the process:
1. 1. The short answer to this is that a trust sale is the sale of a property that is held by a trust where the original trustee is either under a conservatorship due to an inability to handle his/her affairs, or the original trustee has passed away.
2. 2. There is an executor of the estate of the deceased property owner or a conservator who is acting as the trustee for the estate.
3. 3. The trustee picks a realtor to represent the estate in the sale of the property.
4. 4. The property is marketed and offers are received. The offers must be “As-Is” and the estate is exempt from several disclosures. In Ca. the exempt disclosures include the transfer disclosure statement, the seller’s supplemental or seller’s questionnaire, smoke detector disclosure and installation, and signature on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement, but the report must be provided.
5. 5. Although the trustee is exempt from some of the standard disclosures anything that is known by the trustee or realtor must be disclosed.
6. 6. Once the trustee accepts an offer on a deceased estate the heirs must be given 45 days to sign the notice of proposed action. If anyone objects the estate needs to go to court to get the right to sell the property. If there are no objections the sale goes through.
7. 7. If the home is under conservatorship the trustee does not need to give a notice of proposed action because the profit is any, stays in the estate and is not distributed to multiple heirs.
8. 8. Trust sales can be a good option for a buyer. They are often owned by long time sellers and therefore the estate often has enough equity to withstand the downturns in the market. If property is being sold the trustee has usually determined that the estate needs to sell the property and will sell it at the price the market will bear, as opposed to a price that someone wants. This is not always true, but often is.
9. 9. If you are a trustee and need to sell a property it is a good idea to hire a realtor who understands the duties and responsibilities involved in selling a property held in trust and who is able to work well with the estate’s attorney.
I hope this is a clear overview of the process. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
650-619-9285
