Orit Gadish - Probate Real Estate Blog

For Professionals of the Probate and Trust Industry

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Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Thanksgiving Thoughts and Wishes for You and Yours!

You do not have to believe in G-d. You do not need to be a Jew. Here are the thoughts I want to share on this Thanksgiving with you.

The following is the first prayer observant Jews say each morning when they wake up, before getting out of bed: “I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me. Your faithfulness is great.”

I am grateful to have my soul restored each morning. I am grateful and thankful for yet another day that I awake and that is granted to me.

On this Thanksgiving week, and beyond, I wish for you not to forget gratitude… to appreciate each day and to use that time to do good deeds.

And if you happen to face obstacles in your life (and we all have experienced obstacles), there is this prayer that is repeated MULTIPLE times daily: “And for those who plot evil against me, hasten to annul their counsel and frustrate their design. Let them be as chaff before the wind.”

I am grateful for each and every person that was brought and will one day come into my life. I am also grateful for each person that was removed and will be removed from my life. I wish the same for you!

Wishing you strength during these not so simple yet beautiful times.

Orit Gadish

Quick Fix or Renovate?

You may be thinking NEITHER!!! Just sell it AS IS!!!

I’d like to share with you a story…. an attorney referred a client to me… she needed to sell grandma’s home.  He referred her to me because a CASH BUYER approached her and offered to pay her $425,000 CASH and he will take care of cleaning out the house.  He will buy it AS IS!

When I spoke with her, she stated that she had no funds, not even to rekey and secure the property, and it’s a mess inside, and she doesn’t want to deal with the headache of cleaning it up, which is why she was inclined on selling it to the CASH BUYER and not placing the property on the market.

I offered to have the property rekeyed for her and cleaned up with NO upfront cost.  She liked my proposal and agreed to proceed.

I visited the property with my locksmith and clear out vendor, the yard was severely overgrown, and the padlocks on the gates and garage were previously placed by her brother……. my vendor was able to secure them with new padlocks, and, we got the property rekeyed.   The kitchen and laundry area had paint hanging from the ceilings… it looked like this:

My client just walked in and came right out… she was frightened by what she saw.

Two weeks later, it looked like this:  

For $3,000 the yard and the interior of the home were cleared out, the peeling paint was scraped off and touch-up paint applied, and the house was cleaned so that it smells and looks good.

AND my vendor also spent a couple of hours with my client in the garage to sort through the personal property that her grandma left behind, so my client can keep those items that have sentimental value…

The reward:  We just sold it for $570,000!!!

That’s $145,000 over what she was offered by the CASH BUYER!

We sold the property to owner occupants, a nice couple who work in the construction industry and are now working to renovate the property for themselves.

We also had many CASH offers on the table, but none were close to the highest financed offer of $570,000.

Is my client happy with her attorney for referring me?  Absolutely!

You see… it’s not necessary to have a complete renovation in order to sell a property to an owner-occupant at top dollar…. Sometimes it’s enough to just do a “QUICK FIX”, so that buyers are not distracted or disgusted by paint hanging from the ceiling and bad smells…. You want to allow the buyers to be able to IMAGINE themselves living there. Some owner-occupant buyers don’t mind remodeling themselves…and some are in the construction industry as were these buyers!

Why I Launched the Probate and Trust Academy

Since the launch of my book “The Practitioner’s Handbook for Probate Real Estate”, I have been approached by numerous fiduciaries and attorneys to provide clarifications on real estate matters related to probate and trust situations. 

Through these conversations, I learned that some “established” real estate agents in the business are unaware of all the applicable laws, while others do not serve the best interests of their clients and the interests of their client’s clients.  I also learned that some fiduciaries and attorneys are unaware that their agents are not performing as they should.

I have had attorneys that aspire to get into the probate and trust field approach me for direction, as well as new fiduciaries seeking advice on getting started.

Given all of these encounters, I decided to launch the Probate and Trust Academy to help new fiduciaries, new attorneys, attorneys looking to change their specialization to probate and trust, and experienced attorneys and fiduciaries looking for another perspective on specific matters.

I recruited my husband and business partner, David Gadish, to help as well, and we are here to help you if you need help or seek an additional perspective.

We launched ProbateAndTrustAcademy.com.  The portal provides a lengthy list of courses covering three topics:  Real Estate, Business Development, and Technology Development.  These are not formal courses.  Rather, they are topics for conversation (30-60 minutes each).  Each course we offer is based on one of the books that David or I authored, based on our extensive multi-decade academic, professional, and business experiences. 

Each of us is happy to either zoom with you or with you and your team.  We can also visit with you at your office to cover any of the courses that interest you.

Best of all – there is NO cost to you if you are a fiduciary or an attorney in our field.

I hope you find at least one course of interest to you and reach out to schedule a time to meet via zoom or in person.

Does a Quick Sale Require Auction?

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.

Trashout and Cleanup of Your Properties

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).

Relocating Occupants / Tenants from Your Properties

You have a situation where you need to sell real property that’s occupied.  The occupant can be a paying tenant or someone that was not authorized to occupy it.  In some cases, the occupant is one of the estate’s beneficiaries.  The occupant does not want to vacate the property, is unwilling to provide access to the property to show it to prospective buyers, and refuses to allow access to your agent to conduct open houses or any combination of these.

You consult with an eviction attorney, who advises that the eviction process may take at least six months, or more, and there is a cost.  The estate or trust does not have the funds to pay for the eviction, or,  needs the funds from the sale as soon as possible and can not wait for the duration of the eviction.

What to do?

Owner-occupants won’t purchase a property they have not seen, and, won’t be willing to take on the risks of an eviction and the costs involved. You can, and many agents will advise you just to sell the property occupied.  This will require you to sell the property at a substantial discount to an investor. Many agents will tell you they already have investors lined up to purchase such properties, and they do!  But will this generate the best and highest value for the estate?  Would this be acting in the estate’s best interest?  Would you be upholding your fiduciary duty and your commitment to act in the best interest of the estate?

There is another option to consider!  You may offer the occupant relocation assistance for vacating the property within a short period of time.  I have completed these transactions hundreds of times and developed best practices that motivate the occupant to cooperate with me and leave in a short period, usually two weeks.  If the estate doesn’t have the funds available for payment of the relocation assistance, my firm can provide those funds and will obtain reimbursement through escrow once the property has sold. 

For more information about this, or other probate real estate related topics, please contact me at 323-606-1919 (call or text).

Handling Squatters in Vacant Properties

On numerous occasions over the years, I’ve been asked to list properties that have squatters occupying them.  My team and I have been able to deal with this situation without any issues and get the properties vacant.   We bring a copy of the grant deed showing who the owner of the property is and also a letter from the property owner authorizing my team member to handle the situation of removing the squatters.  My team member arrives at the property as early as possible in the morning, usually, around 6am, and then calls the police to arrive.  During these early hours of the morning, the police usually don’t have much activity and arrive fairly quickly.   We show the documents to the police and the police ask the squatters to leave. 

We also have our locksmith present to secure the property/rekey.

Depending on the situation, we may also fence the property and have a surveillance system installed for ongoing monitoring, to prevent future intruders.

Handling the Disposition of Real Estate When Home Values are Declining

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.

Selling an Occupied Property that is Expected Vacant Upon Closing

You have a property to sell and you represent the administrator of the estate. Some of the beneficiaries occupy the property. The occupants have informed you that they will vacate the property just before the close of escrow, but there is no guarantee they will. There is no court order stating that they will.

What to do?

As the listing agent it is your duty to act in the best interest of the seller, and generate the highest possible offer for the estate.

The standard purchase contract indicates the property will be delivered vacant to the buyer. In this case, there is no guarantee that the occupant will vacate the property prior to the close of escrow and leaving the contract as it is, places the seller at risk of being in breach.

Another option some agents may propose is to specify that the property may be delivered occupied, which will make owner-occupant buyers lose interest in the property, as it poses additional risk and cost. The property would most likely be sold to an investor at a substantially lower price.

The strategy that should be used in this scenario is to add a provision to the purchase contract stating that if the occupant does not vacate the property within a specific date, the buyer has the right to cancel the transaction and have their deposit returned.

This provision accomplishes three important goals, it:

  1. Protects the seller from being in breach of contract.
  2. Provides the buyer with a level of comfort that should the occupants become non-cooperative and refuse to vacate, the buyer can cancel the transaction and retain the deposit.
  3. Motivates the occupants, who are beneficiaries of the estate, to vacate the property by the date specified. If they don’t vacate, there’s no sale, and they won’t receive their distributions.

Attracting owner-occupant buyers results in generating the highest possible offer for the estate, and that should be the ultimate goal. Owner-occupant buyers obtain financing most of the time and are willing to pay substantially more than what an investor would pay, thus providing a far greater return for the estate.

For more information about this or other probate real estate related topics, please contact me at 323-606-1919 (call or text).

Dr. Richard Corn

This is the story about my dentist. My “current dentist”. And it has to do with probate real estate so please read on (and if you need to read the post more than once to understand the connection, please do).

Let me be clear. I think Dr. Corn is amazing. So, he is my “current dentist” and until he retires hopefully not anytime soon.

Maybe your dentist is amazing, but read on just in case.

I walk into a tiny, yet fancy reception area, say hello, and each and every time I am immediately invited to come to the back to see Dr. Corn. There is never a wait. Dr. Corn replies back with a hello and also asks a question or two about the situation related to my teeth. He does have an assistant, and she is very nice, but he does most of the work, including teeth cleaning. He is more thorough than any person that has ever cleaned my teeth. I think he is passionate about them!

He is as honest as they come. Never tried to offer me services I did not need and if something can wait, or is not critical, he tells me so. You don’t have to believe me that he is great. Check out the tens of five star reviews he has on Yelp.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/richard-corns-beverly-hills-dental-group-beverly-hills

One more thing.  When I am there, which is usually for an hour, I rarely hear the phone ring. I am just not sure how he stays in business and supports his family. I cannot imagine ever telling him that he is the best but that I need to also see other dentists, to spread the business around. Would you?

So if you live on the westside of Los Angeles, and are not satisfied with your current dentist, do give him a try.

He is located at 8920 Wilshire Blvd #406, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 and his office number is 310-854-1845. When you call him, tell him you heard he is the best and you would like to experience this for yourself…

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