I am grateful to be able to contribute annually to updating chapter 18 – SALES OF ESTATE PROPERTY of the California Decedent Estate Practice published by the CEB Continuing Education of the Bar – California / University of California (CEB.com).
Tag: Real Estate (Page 2 of 2)
From time to time, I speak to a potential client that tells me this: “I’ll get you the next listing when I have one in Beverly Hills”.
Very exciting but not likely for most of my potential clients in the probate industry to have homes to sell in Beverly Hills, so, long overdue, below is the list of cities and neighborhoods throughout California in which I have sold residential and/or commercial properties to date…. If you have a property to sell anywhere in California, I am happy to help.
Adelanto
Agoura Hills
Aguanga
Alhambra
Altadena
Alturas
Anaheim Hills
Anderson
Apple Valley
Arcadia
Arleta
Artesia
Azusa
Bakersfield
Baldwin Park
Beaumont
Bel Air
Bell Gardens
Bellflower
Beverly Hills
Big Bear City
Big Bear Lake
Blairsden-Graeagle
Blythe
Bonsall
Brentwood
Buena Park
Burbank
Calabasas
California City
Camarillo
Canoga Park
Carlsbad
Carson
Castaic
Cedarpines Park
Ceres
Cerritos
Chatsworth
Chino Hills
Clearlake
Coarsegold
Coleville
Commerce
Compton
Corning
Corona
Costa Mesa
Cottonwood
Coulterville
Covina
Crescent City
Culver City
Desert Hot Springs
Douglas City
Downey
El Centro
El Dorado Hills
El Monte
El Segundo
Encinitas
Encino
Fairfield
Fontana
Frazier Park
Fresno
Galt
Gardena
Glendale
Glendora
Glenn
Granada Hills
Grass Valley
Grizzly Flat
Hacienda Heights
Harbor City
Hawthorne
Hayward
Helendale
Hermosa Beach
Hesperia
Hinkley
Hollywood
Homeland
Howthorne
Huntington Beach
Huntington Park
Imperial
Indio
Industry
Inglewood
Irvine
Joshua Tree
June Lake
La Habra
La Mesa
La Mirada
La Palma
La Puenta
La Verne
Laguna Beach
Laguna Hills
Lake Almanor
Lake Arrowhead
Lake Balboa
Lake Elizabeth
Lakehead
Lancaster
Lawndale
Lemoore
Littlerock
Lomita
Lompoc
Long Barn
Long Beach
Los Altos
Los Angeles
Lucerne Valley
Lynwood
Madera
Malibu
Manhattan Beach
Marina Del Rey
Mariposa
Marysville
Maywood
Mcarthur
Menifee
Merced
Mission Hills
Modesto
Monterey Park
Moreno Valley
Morro Bay
Mount Shasta
Mountain Center
Napa
Needles
New Cuyama
Newman
Newport Beach
North Hills
North Hollywood
Northridge
Norwalk
Oak Hills
Oakhurst
Oakland
Oceanside
Olivehurst
Ontario
Oxnard
Pacoima
Palm Springs
Palmdale
Panorama City
Paradise
Paramount
Pasadena
Paso Robles
Perris
Phelan
Pico Rivera
Pinon Hills
Playa Del Rey
Playa Vista
Pomona
Porterville
Portola
Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Mirage
Rancho Palos Verdes
Rancho Santa Fe
Red Bluff
Redding
Redlands
Redondo Beach
Redway
Redwood City
Rialto
Richmond
Ridgecrest
Rio Dell
Rio Vista
Ripon
Riverside
Rocklin
Rohnert Park
Rosamond
Roseville
Rowland Heights
Sacramento
San Bernardino
San Clemente
San Diego
San Dimas
San Fernando
San Francisco
San Gabriel
San Jose
San Leandro
San Luis Obispo
San Mateo
San Pedro
Santa Barbara
Santa Clarita
Santa Maria
Santa Monica
Sausalito
Scotts Valley
Seal Beach
Seaside
Sebastopol
Selma
Shafter
Shasta
Shasta Lake
Sherman Oaks
Simi Valley
Sonora
South Gate
South Pasadena
Squaw Valley
Stockton
Studio City
Sun Valley
Sunland
Sylmar
Tarzana
Temecula
Temple City
Thousand Oaks
Torrance
Tracy
Trinidad
Truckee
Tujunga
Tulare
Turlock
Twain Harte
Twentynine Palms
Valencia
Vallejo
Valley Springs
Valley Village
Van Nuys
Ventura
Vista
Weed
Weldon
West Covina
West Hills
West Hollywood
Westchester
Westwood
Whittier
Winnetka
Woodland Hills
Yucca Valley
I wrote this book for you! It is available on Amazon.com
Hope you enjoy!
This book includes step-by-step procedures showcasing the various facets of probate real estate sales, as well as diagrams that visualize these processes. It includes many suggestions and strategies to share with your real estate agent to maximize the return of each sale and mitigate your liability. The book reflects the author’s experiences in probate, residential and commercial real estate sales, brokerage management, and business process management.
Chapter 1: Defining Probate
Chapter 2: Selecting Your Real Estate Agent Amidst a Probate Petition
Chapter 3: Setting Expectations with Your Probate Agent
Chapter 4: Pre-Marketing Strategies for Probate Properties
Chapter 5: Cash for Keys Process and Agreement
Chapter 6: The Eviction Process
Chapter 7: Getting the Probate Property Ready for Market
Chapter 8: Valuing the Probate Property
Chapter 9: Real Estate Disclosures in a Probate Transaction
Chapter 10: Marketing the Probate Property
Chapter 11: Probate Specific Terms in Purchase Agreements
Chapter 12: Offer Management in a Probate Transaction
Chapter 13: Closing and Settlement in a Probate Transaction
Chapter 14: Simplified Probate Procedures
Chapter 15: Title Vesting: Impact on Probate and Step-Up in Basis
Chapter 16: Insurance and Tax Implications of a Probate Sale
Chapter 17: An In-Depth Look at the Probate Process
Some in our industry are under the impression that they must have the property auctioned when they need to sell a property quickly.
This is never the case.
Before I explain why let me provide you with a quick background. At Geffen Real Estate, we have experience conducting real estate auctions. And so, if you wish to auction your property and have not done so with us before, you are welcome to give us a try.
However, if your goal is a quick sale, all you need to do is work with your real estate broker to price the property well below the comparables, and list it on the MLS with a relatively short deadline for offer submission, require that offers are cash only and are non-contingent. You can also request a larger EMD, such as 10%, to weed out the weaker buyers.
The results are superior to those of an auction! How so?
Either way, the property is listed on the MLS well below the comparables.
Either way, you can choose to accept cash offers only. Just state so in the MLS!
Either way, you can define when a property will go under contract. How? Specify in the MLS a deadline for offers.
Either way, you can require a quick closing. How? Specify a 10-day closing in the seller’s counter.
So, what’s the advantage of not selling at auction if everything is the same?
Some people may not be able to attend the auction on auction day, but they all can submit their offers at their convenience by a specified date in the MLS! And so, the pool of potential buyers is increased, as is the competition.
And if you think there is more pressure placed on buyers at an auction, remember that buyers are typically investors, and they have their limits calculated before arriving at the auction. They can be pushed to the same limits via a set of counters if your agent is experienced and knows what they are doing.
Orit Gadish is a member of the National Auctioneers Association.
You have a situation where the real property you are managing needs to be sold and is full of personal property and trash. Completing a trashout and cleaning the property costs thousands of dollars. The estate or trust does not have the funds to pay for these services.
Your agent may offer you to sell the property “As Is”, with all of the debris and personal property to be included in the sale. The standard verbiage of the C.A.R. purchase agreement states that “all debris and personal property not included in the sale shall be removed by Close of Escrow or at the time possession is delivered to Buyer”. This term can be negotiated and addressed in a counter or addendum, stating that the seller will not remove the property’s debris and personal property. However, marketing a property in this condition will not appeal to owner-occupants, who typically can offer more than investors.
Investors will use this condition as leverage to offer less. Since the property is full of debris and personal property, investor buyers may not be able to determine what the floor and walls look like, what damage exists, or if there’s mold and water damage, which will affect their bottom line. This creates added risk that they are required to take, which does not result in the highest and best offer.
Alternatively, my firm’s network of vendors can handle the trashout and cleanup, and the estate or trust can pay for their services through escrow once the property has sold. This includes the services of an organizer who will sort through the items, create an inventory list, determine the value of these items, and facilitate the sale of the valuables. This approach maximizes the property’s value for the estate while minimizing your liability.
For more information about this or other probate real estate related topics, please contact me at 323-606-1919 (call or text).
You need to sell a property when interest rates are on the rise. Which sales strategy do you employ? Sell as-is, or renovate?
Before we jump in to discuss what to do, let’s take a look at the current financial climate.
The Federal Reserve has repeatedly increased interest rates in the past few months. This has increased the cost of borrowing money to finance real estate, which has triggered a decline in real estate prices.
Some non-investor purchasers that not long ago were in the market are now priced out with the higher interest rates, and others can no longer afford to buy what they were hoping to buy and decide to wait. Many others fear losing their jobs and decide to wait as well.
Many investors with low borrowing costs now realize that their costs have increased and may not be willing to risk purchasing, renovating, and re-selling in a few months in an unpredictably declining market.
Other investors that wish to buy, rent, and hold, may be worried about rents dropping and decide to wait for prices to reach the bottom before they purchase again.
The bottom line is that there are suddenly fewer buyers.
The supply of homes is not yet rapidly increasing, but if mass layoffs arrive, that could also happen.
For now, fewer buyers and a steady number of sellers are likely to push prices further down.
And with declining prices, those buyers that are still active need to protect themselves.
To buy today, they, therefore, need to buy below comps. And when they buy below comps, this creates a new lower-priced comp that brings the neighborhood’s values even lower.
What to do if you need to sell a real property?
Sell it as quickly as possible. List it below the current comps to ensure multiple offers and a quick sale.
Is renovating a home prior to sale, which could take 2-3 months, out of the question?
No!
If a home is not habitable or not suitable for owner-occupants given its as-is condition, then only investors would be interested. Remember that investors will do their calculation, and in addition to accounting for the cost of renovations, holding costs, and commissions, they would also now account for a percentage decline in value for the time period while renovations are taking place. This means that these investors would have to purchase your listing at a major discount (below comps in move-in condition). In this case, you can employ a renovate strategy and utilize Geffen Real Estate’s services to renovate and stage. If the trust or estate lacks funds to pay for these services, payment may be made at the close of escrow. This allows the beneficiaries to reap the awards investors would otherwise enjoy should the as-is sales strategy be selected. If selling a fixer in as-is condition, it would need to be priced accordingly to generate a multiple offer situation with investor buyers and we are happy to help you with this as well.