Do You Have a Right To Sell That Half Moon Bay Probate Home?

Recently I have been involved with a number of families were trying to sell homes they thought they inherited or had title to, but wound up in Probate instead. Since the Probate courts are backed up, this can cause delays, heartache, and tension for the families and were problems that probably could have been avoided.

I want to say firmly, I am not a lawyer. I am a Realtor who specializes in selling homes in Probate and this is not legal advice. If you are going to be involved in intra family title changes PLEASE get the advice of a lawyer. This is complicated stuff.

I just want to give you a few examples so you can see that you should not assume anything when it comes to Probate sales.

First Example:

Mom owns home in Redwood City free and clear with no mortgage. She has 4 children and wants only 2 of the children to inherit the home. She signs a deed transfer her daughter, not a lawyer, drew up saying that instead of owning the house only in her name she gives 1/3 interest to one daughter and 1/3 interest to one son.

Mom dies. Son and daughter think they inherit the house 50/50, but that did not happeb. Deed does not say all three own as Joint Tenants. That would have provided the right of survivorship. Not only that, but daughter as executor of estate can’t sell the house. The 1/3 interest of Mom now has to go through probate and since there was no will all 4 children get to split Mom’s 1/3. Daughter has to be appointed by the Probate Court as Administrator of the Estate before she can sell the home.

It gets worse. They have to go through probate, hire a lawyer, and pay court costs for 1/3 interest in a house.

The mistake here was not spending the money up front to get advice on how to accomplish Mom’s wish that only two of her children inherit the house.

Tomorrow I will give you details on other issues that have come up in my Probate sales.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate in Half Moon Bay or anywhere else in the Bay area 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

How To Clean Out a Redwood City Home Before a Probate Sale

There is nothing I enjoy more than helping a family sell a Redwood City home in 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 Redwood City 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 Redwood City Probate home. 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 in the Redwood City Probate home 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 County of Santa Clara will come to take the 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 Redwood City Probate 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 Probate home in Redwood City 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 Redwood City you may feel overwhelmed. But if you use a system (or hire me and let me organize the sale of your Redwood City home in Probate ), it becomes a much less daunting task.
 
If you have any questions about Selling a Redwood City 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

Thought I Was Out of a Redwood City Probate but I Was Pulled Back In

As a Redwood City Probate real estate agent I am always amazed at how new issues always come up. I thought I was finished, but someone else did not. (Remember the line from The Godfather which was repeated in Sopranos) My Redwood City Probate sale did not want to end.

Here is the back story. The owner of this Redwood City probate sale died last June, leaving no cash in her estate, but a home with some equity. She did have a loan with Wells Fargo. I was hired by the Personal Administrator of this Redwood City Probate to sell the home. The week the home went on the market I was contacted by a company called LPS who had been hired by Wells Fargo, the mortgage holder to make sure the Redwood City probate home was not left vacant and unattended. As requested I faxed LPS the listing agreement and my statement saying I was going to be caring for the home and it would not be abandoned. The field service supervisor at LPS assured me everything was fine. I told him they would have their money in January.

At the end of December Wells Fargo recorded a Notice of Defualt against the property, but since we were going to close in a few weeks I was not worried. The Notice of Default gave us three months to pay Wells Fargo off. LPS did not contact me so I was not concerned that there would be any issues with this Redwood City Probate home.

The buyer used Wells Fargo to obtain their loan and escrow was delayed two weeks, entirely because of Wells Fargo delays. We closed last Friday. Today, which is Martin Luther King's Holiday the new owner showed up at his new home to find LPS there changing the locks and the field service worker refused to stop, even when he was told that there is a new owner and Wells Fargo has no more say over what happens to this Redwood City probate home.

I tried to call LPS, but since today is Holiday no one was there. I called the LPS Field Service Supervisor I originally dealt with and his phone was disconnected. I suggested the new owners of this Redwood City Probate sale change the locks and call the police. i am hoping the police can post something saying that if LPS tries to enter the house again they will be guilty of trespassing. I am not sure that this is possible.

So what have I learned from this Redwood City Probate sale debacle? 

1. Just because one person at LPS said everything is fine make sure and check in with them during the escrow process and keep them updated on any Redwood City Probate sales when there is no money to pay the mortgage.

2. Have the Redwood City Probate sale lawyer keep in regular contact with the mortgage company, especially if it is Wells Fargo, who is the most aggressive about trying to protect their investment by changing locks and winterizing vacant homes that are in default. I don't blame them, but in this case it was definitely over kill!

3. Confirm with the Title Company of a Redwood City Probate sale that they let the lender know we have recorded even though the money will not be at the bank the next day because of a holiday.

Hopefully the next time I think I am out of a Redwood City Probate Sale I will not get pulled back in.

If you have any questions about Redwood City Probate sales please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcumoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Keep In Mind MediCal Wants Pay Back From That Redwood City Estate

I am not a lawyer and do not play one on TV. If you are in this position PLEASE CALL YOUR PROBATE OR TRUST LAWYER to determine how to deal with this situation.

I got a call from a nice young man who asked me to help sell his grandmother's home in Redwood City. The grandmother had recently passed and the young man lives in Modesto so he wanted to sell the home. He was appointed the Personal Representative of the estate and had full authority to sell the home.

The home is worth about $300,000, there is a mortgage of $100,000 and a MediCal bill of $180,0000, going back to 1992. So in effect, even though he is the sole heir to the estate, he will not receive any money for the sale of this home.

You may ask yourself "A MediCal bill? What is that about?"

In order to receive MediCal benefits you cannot have enough assets to pay your medical bills. You may own a home which you will not have to sell while you are alive, but once you die, the home will have to be sold to pay off the MediCal bill, or as much as is possible after the mortgage and estate settlement costs are paid.

If you do not own a home, or have other assets MediCal will not be paid back.

It is a very good idea to discuss with your lawyer and relatives how you are going to deal with this issue before you go into a nursing home or pass.

As a Redwood City Trust and Probate Real Estate Agent, I am not going to tell you what to do with your home before you pass, but you should talk to a lawyer about what the options are for your family, or loved ones, or charity before it is past the point where that discussion is pointless.

If you have any questions about Trust or Probate Sales in San Mateo or Santa Clara County, please feel free to contact me.

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

Redwood City Personal Representatives: How Do You Find A Realtor?

If you are a Personal Representative for a home in Probate in Redwood City you may be wondering what is the best way to find a realtor to help you sell the estate's home in Redwood City. You probably understand that you have a very large responsibility and making this decision is important. With so many realtors from which to chose, and conflicting information on the internet, it can seem overwhelming.

Well, there is a trick. Call a realtor and tell them you are the Personal Representative for the Estate of ........

If the realtor has no idea what you are talking about hang up. It is a quick and simple test. If a realtor understands probate, they will know what you are talking about. If they don't understand probate they won't. A Redwood City Probate Sale is not like a traditional sale, a short sale, a foreclosure, etc. It is special and the requirements must be followed or you can find yourself in a lot of trouble.

If the realtor you called knows what you are talking about then you can interview, go through a marketing plan, and see if he or she is a good fit for you. Trust me, you will not have too many agents to interview so it should not be a very hard decision.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.

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