Selling A Palo Alto Home In Probate or Trust With or Without Tenants

This is a question I get asked all the time. When an owner has passed and has rental property should the heirs sell the Palo Alto probate or trust home with the tenants in place, or wait until the lease is up?

While most years I would say wait until the tenants are gone but with the uncertainty of how interest rates will affect prices and what will happen to a Palo Alto market that has already shown signs of slowing, even with very tight inventory, the answer is not clear cut.

Sell Palo Alto Probate or Trust Home With Tenant: Pros:

1.      Palo Alto school Priority 1 Registration goes from Jan 12 thru Feb 15th. That is the best chance of getting your child in the school closest to you. There is always a space in a Palo Alto school for a resident, but getting the one closest to you is best obtained if you are a resident during this period. Selling with tenants in a  Palo Alto probate rental may allow the buyer to get a leg up on school registration for the next year.
2.      Interest rates are lower now than they will be next summer, or even in March and maybe Feb. A 3 million dollar Palo Alto probate home has a very good chance of having a loan on it so the less a buyer has to pay for the mortgage the more they can afford for the home. For every 1 point increase in interest rates there is a 10 % increase in payment.
3.      The inventory is very low and the Palo Alto housing is market still active. It is unknown what will happen as the year goes on. The market could go down as interest rates go up, or if there is a natural disaster, a world event, or terrorist attack.
4.      Some people who buy Palo Alto homes in Probate or Trust early are happy to rent the house out until the end of the school year because they do not want to move until school is out if they are relocating.

http://www.marcymoyer.com/trustandprobatesaleshttp://www.marcymoyer.com/trustandprobatesales With a Tenant Cons:

1.      Harder to show house
2.      You will not be able to make interior upgrades or stage with a tenant in place so it may depress the price somewhat
3.      The tenant may be messy or say inappropriate things to potential buyers which could depress the price.
4.      If the tenant does not have beautiful furniture the professional pictures will not look as good.

Sell Palo Alto Probate or Trust Home After Tenant Lleaves Pros:

1.      You can have the interior painted, wood floors refinished, new carpet, and any other cosmetic upgrades you want that will help bring in more money.
2.      You can professionally stage the property and the photos will look much better.
3.      Much easier to show the house and have open houses which bring in more people and help bring in a better price.

Sell Palo Alto Home in Probate or Trust After tenant leaves Cons:

1.      Interest rates will be higher which will depress the price. It is unknown by how much because it also depends on how the stock market is doing, most likely for Apple, Google, Facebook, and Linkedin.
2.      If there is a trade war with China tech stocks could be hurt more than other sectors. This would make less money available for down payments for most of the buyers in the area.
3.      If the dollar continues to be strong foreign investors will be much less likely to be buying homes in Palo Alto.
4.      The best time to sell a home in Palo Alto in from Jan thru early June. The second best is the fall. If the tenants are out in June and the home is prepared in July and Aug and on the market in Sept you have missed the best time, but may get the second best time, but only by waiting until Sept to put home on market.

So as you can see the answer is not clear. No one can say for sure what will happen to the real estate market in 2017. If you are in this situation now it is probably a good idea to add your own Pros and Cons to this list to get a feel for what may work best in your situation.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate or Trust please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

Personal Representatives: Have Your Palo Alto Probate Sales Inspected

If you are a Personal Representative for a Palo Alto Probate Sale I am sure you are overwhelmed with all of your responsibilities. It is not an easy job! You may be charged with selling a home or condo in Palo Alto in Probate. If so, this a a great time to be doing that. However, even in a strong seller's market, you have to do whatever you can to get the best offer for the Palo Alto Ca Probate estate.

One of the most important things you can do right now is to get the Palo Alto probate home fully inspected before you put it on the market. It may seem as if you are spending money on inspections that could be spent by the potential buyer. After all, the buyer of the Palo Alto Probate home you are selling has to buy it "As -Is" so the estate will not be making any repairs anyway.

This is a common mistake that many Personal Representatives of Palo Alto Probate homes who are not from this area make. While it is true that the estate will not be making any repairs, it is also true that most buyers in this area are very familiar with how most Palo Alto sellers market their homes. The inspections are done ahead of time and most of the offers will be non contingent on an evaluation of the property condition. They are comfortable with the condition, and once their offer is accepted you have a done deal. If you do not do the inspections before putting the Palo Alto Probate home on the market, you could very easily end up with a buyer who wants to renegotiate the price or a sale that falls through. This can be very problematic if there are expenses involved in holding the home before it sells. These could include mortgages, taxes, insurance, lawn care, etc. If the estate is cash poor and house rich, which many Palo Alto Probate homes are, it can be very complicated to find the money in a delay.

The competition for Palo Alto homes and condos for sale is fierce. Buyers are willing to pay a lot of money and give you wonderful offers for your Palo Alto Probate sale, but they want to know what they are getting. If you have your Palo Alto Probate home fully inspected before it goes on the market, price it appropriately, and market it widely, you will have the best chance of getting the best offers for the estate, and therefore doing the best job you can as the Personal Representative.

If you have any questions about selling a Palo Alto home or condo in Probate please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
DRE 01191194
650-619-9285

How To Clean Out A Palo Alto Home Before a Probate Sale

There is nothing I enjoy more than helping a family sell a Palo Alto home left to heirs through probate. I know, it doesn’t take much to make me happy, but I am who I am. Over the years I have developed a system to sell Palo Alto homes in probate and it works really well!

 1. Look at a home and see if there are valuables that are worth selling in the Palo Alto home in probate. Many homes are left with enormous amounts of personal property, sometimes with value and sometimes not. For example crappy cars have value, but beautiful over stuffed furniture does not.

2. If there is something of value to sell I usually recommend calling an auction house to come and take over the job of selling the personal property they believe will sell. I like DGW, but there are others. They sell the property at auction, deduct their percentage and fees, and send a check to the heirs.

3. The next step is to separate the recyclable items and find places to recycle. There are people who take metal, The Ecunemical Hunger Project will take clothes, and the City of Palo Alto will come to take paint.

4. Next are items that can be donated. Organizations like Goodwill and Saint Vincent De Paul will take some furniture.

5. After everything that can be sold, donated, or recycled is gone then call the haulers. I like Junk King. Since it costs money to haul away trash I only do it after all other ways of disposing of unwanted property have been exhausted.

6. Once the home is free of personal property and debris, the process of making it look as good as possible for sale can begin.

So, if you have a home in Palo Alto to be sold through Probate and it is filled with stuff, it may seem overwhelming. Many people who lived through the depression maintained the habit of never throwing anything out. If you are the personal representative for the estate of a home in Probate in Palo Alto, you may feel overwhelmed. But if you use a system (or hire me and let me organize the sale of your Palo Alto home in Probate ), it becomes a much less daunting task.

If you have any questions about Selling a Palo Alto home in Probate please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

What A Palo Alto Executor Should Look For In An Appraisal Contingency

The market is roaring in Palo Alto and most homes are getting multiple offers. If you are a Personal Representative for a Palo Alto Probate Sale, or a Successor Trustee for a Trust Sale how do you know which is the best offer? How do you choose from the embarrassment of riches, especially if you are not from the area and are not familiar with area?

If you follow these steps you should be fine.

1. If you have an all cash offer with no contingencies that is the highest of all offers. Pick that one.

2. If you have an all cash offer for less than a financed offer it may still be the best, but it may not be.

3. If the financed offer has no appraisal contingency and it is higher than the cash offer you can make an argument that that is a better offer because it is higher. If the buyer is pre-approved and the house does not have to appraise for offered price the risk of the transaction falling through because of of the loan not being approved is small.

4. If there are multiple offers with financing contingencies and appraisal contingencies things get a little more complicated. It is very likely that there will be offers that will over what the appraisal will bear.



5. When Number 4 happens I counter offers by asking the agents what will your client do if the home does not appraise for the value you have offered. This is important because if you have a home worth $800,000 and the buyers have offered $850,000 but subject to appraisal, they may have really just offered $800,000 if the home will not appraise higher. So, what I want to know is what is the buyer going to do if the home does not appraise for what was offered.

6. Take the offer that you feel has the best chance of giving the estate the best realistic price based on what the buyer is capable of doing vs what they have offered to do.

Even in this crazy Palo Alto seller's market, negotiations still matter, and you will not automatically get what you are offered, so hire someone who knows what he or she is doing and get the interests of the estate protected. Also, if the agent you are interviewing does not know what a Personal Representative or a Successor Trustee is, interview someone else for the job.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Trust or Probate in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

Taking the Yuck Out of a Palo Alto Probate or Trust Sale

If your are the Executor or Personal Representative for a home in Trust or Probate you may be faced with a home to sell that can be anywhere from in need of a little TLC all the way to being totally gross. So the question is what can you do to not overly expose the estate to liablilty while still doing what you can to maximize the price you can get for the home.

There are different philosphies on this but since this is my blog I will stick with mine. As an experienced PALO ALTO TRUST AND PROBATE REALTOR here is what I suggest in order of priorities:

1. Get the smell out. Painting, ripping out old carpet, and removing old furniture and window coverings is usually enough. Professionally clean the house.

2. Stage the home with clean and modern furniture and accessories.

3. Spruce up the landscaping, water the lawn, and add some flowers.

4. Replace old light fixtures and hardware.

Notice I do not say repair anything. If there is a major health or safety issue speak with your estate attorney about how repairs may effect the liability of the estate.

If the estate does not have the money to do any of these things find a realtor who can help you find contractors who will agree to be paid at closing.

Or call me. I provide many of these services, including free staging in my commission.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in trust or probate anywhere in San Mateo or Santa Clara Counties, please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194