A few months ago I was contacted by an administer of a probate estate in East Palo Alto. He wanted to sell his mother's home but was in a quandary. His mother had died last year and all her belongings were in the house. His sister was still living in the East Palo Alto probate home and she was a hoarder. The home was a mess and his ill sister did not want to move out until the house was sold. Since all the heirs have to agree to the sale, and his sister was hard to convince to co -operate, he did not know how to get the house sold so they could close this East Palo Alto probate.
I explained they could do an off market sale where the house would not be exposed to the public and there would be very little disturbance to his sister. I also explained he would get less than he would on the open market. My client thought if he could get around $390,000 he would be satisfied. I called an investor I knew who flips homes and he immediately offered $385,00 for the home. However after further investigation he dropped his price to $360,000 which my client did not want to take. It is so common for investors to offer you a price you will take to tie the house up, and then lower it after you are in escrow, with the hopes you will agree.
In this case my client did not agree and canceled the sale. He managed to convince his sister to leave the house so we could sell it. After a little de cluttering, but not that much, I put the home on MLS, did pre sale inspections, and held one open house. My East Palo Alto probate sale received 6 offers and sold for $422,000.
The East Palo Alto estate receive $62,000 more by going on the open market, 17% more than the investor was willing to pay. I hear this story over and over again. Many investors will try to convince an Administrator of an Estate to sell the home off market because it is a mess, or needs repair, or just ugly. If the Administrator is not familiar with the market or just overwhelmed it may seem like a good idea. It is not.
If you hire a real estate who is familiar with East Palo Alto probate sales and knows how to properly prepare a home to bring out its best attributes, then selling off market will be a financial loss. Let the East Palo Alto real estate agent do the work and you can collect the money.
If you have any questions about selling an East Palo Alto probate home please feel free to contact me. I have a proven system to prepare and sell probate homes to get you the best price and terms.
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto
Cal BRE 01191194
650-619-9285
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