Re: Buying home from parents - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on July 09, 2003 at 23:30:48:
The only way you’re going to get a good title is with a deed, and then only if the person(s) signing the deed HAS full title.
Often, in an heirship situation like yours, if there was a Will, it hasn’t been probated, so the survivor does NOT have full or complete title, and he/she/you must go back and do whatever probate procedure is now necessary to give that survivor good title…so then he/she can give YOU good title.
If there was NO will, and the deceased died “intestate” (no will) then it’s another procedure, which probably also was never done, so the ownership of the RE is still open.
I see lots of opps to buy good RE & MHs where there’s an incomplete probate, and it would cost so much, in time, attorneys’ fees & effort, now, to open probate that the survivors are highly motivated to just dump it and move on…making a buying opp for REIs who understand that state’s probate procedures and can then take an assignment of rights and finish the probate themselves, as the legally interested parties.
To learn about YOUR state’s probate procedures, if you’re dealing with an open/undone probate, you’ll either need to find & familiarize yourself with the local probate code, or hire a lawyer to do it for you.
If the survivor of the deceased doesn’t really know what happened in the way of probate, and what the condition of the RE title is today, you should work with a local title company to learn this, which might cost you a few bucks, but it’s really the simplest way…because once they tell you, in writing, what’s needed, that gives you a good road map to finish the deal.