Like birth, death is also a matter of public record. Notably, the assets of deceased people are collected through probate public records. After collecting all of the assets, they are then distributed to inheritors and creditors.
Many realtors and investors consider probate public records to be a good source of probate leads, which are also categorized as “motivated sellers.” This is surely good reasoning because life events do and can lead to property transactions.
Realtors and investors who are able to leverage probate lead real estate as an efficient lead source can drive a great of lucrative leads, even when they are inexperienced. However, it is also important to be well-formed about how probate works before you start working around them.
Here are a few important things that every realtor and investor should know about probate public records before they start generating leads efficiently.
Properties Worth Buying are Often Protected from Probate
The very first thing that you need to know about probate leads is that they are very rare to find. Many individuals who own properties that can be a good investment put their homes in established beneficiary designations, revocable living trusts, or get it resolved by joint tenants along with rights of survivorship.
Moreover, people have become more financially savvy through the years. Also, life expectancy has become more than ever. This has led many property owners to divest themselves of the properties they own as they approach the last years of their life. Many of them intend on protecting their asset from probate by rationalizing the dissemination of their properties to heirs.
All of the factors eventually bring down the number of leads that can be generated with the help of probate list providers.
Realtors or investors that know how to cultivate relationships within the market have always been successful in establishing themselves within the sphere of influence of the family. These realtors and investors are also able to become aware of a deal first.
Probates Leads Can be Complicated
Probate leads for investors can get quite complicated at times. Probate sales tend to take longer time as compared to traditional sales. Since time kills deals, the value is also greatly reduced.
Notably, while some investors are attracted by the occasional lower prices, it is important to know that realtors are often made to price a house as they would any other kind of listing. All of the offers on a probate sale should be accompanied by at least a 10% deposit, must be confirmed by the court, and then a sale date should be assigned a month ago from when the probate offer was submitted.
Furthermore, once the date is confirmed, the court will increase the price in accordance with state law to attract a greater number of bids. This is then followed by an auction process. Sometimes, a competitor walks away with good probate leads, sometimes the original bidder gets to keep the title.
Real estate investors can use probate public records as a source of probate leads. Here are a few strategies that can be used to do that efficiently.