Posted by JC in Seattke on October 03, 2003 at 11:27:23:
Hi Ron,
She has one survivng brother, who I believe would be the sole heir under Washington law. I know the taxes owed and the market value. County recs show the origianl Deed of Trust was recorded in 1978, with no subsequent refinancing or new loans. How can I find the balance of that loan?
I like the idea of going ahead and getting a contract to purchase with the heir now. That way I can be somewhat sure I will get the house after doing all the legwork.
Posted by JC in Seattke on October 02, 2003 at 17:43:35:
Found a great abandoned house. Owner died about 20 months ago. I have a copy of the death certificate. I contacted her brother, who has no interest in the house, and directed me to their attourney. The attourney is very cooperative, but says no action has been taken whatsoever on his part since the death. How can I move forward on this? I have no clue where to go next. Thanks!
You probably need to figure out who the heir(s) are. The attorney probably can tell you that. You need to look to see the amounts of any loans, liens, and liabilities on the property, including delinquent property taxes. This will give you an idea of the minimum price they might take. Usually people will not sell a property for less than they owe owe on it. This may be while they have done nothing with the house.
Get an idea of the market value of the property, as is and fixed up. This helps you see if their is some potential profit for you. ANd helps guide you as to how high you could pay for it.
Assuming the brother is the only heir, you’d get a contract with him to sell you the property once he came into title. You might get yourself appointed as a representative of the estate, to save him the effort. Otherwise he will be the personal respresentative. The attorney will do most of the work and the PR will probably just sign a few papers.
You might be the one to pay the attorney fees as it goes along.
Once the probate is finished, the heir will deed the property over to you at the price that you agreed on. Now you quake and wonder if you’ve lost your mind, getting involved in real estate investing. You defend yourself to all your relatives and friends who say you are crazy.