The Challenge

Attorney John Grier introduced Sam to Kim in February 2012. Sam lives in Huntington Beach and was acting as the Trustee and responsible for the property at 1534 Monitor Road in San Diego. The house had been rented to great tenants and Sam wished to offer them first right to purchase the estate property.

A price of $379,000 was established and Kim met with the tenants for an initial consultation. After conferring with a mortgage broker and although they wanted to continue to live in their home, they decided to not buy the house. A few days later, Kim officially placed the house on the market.

The Strategy

The tenants had been living at the property for several years. Because there was no guarantee that the tenants would choose to purchase the home, Kim guided Sam to submit a 60 day notice to the tenants to vacate the property several weeks before placing it on the market. Then establishing the price of the property at the lower end of market value provided tremendous buyer interest.

The Results

Within days, many buyers and their agents viewed the house. As expected, multiple offers were received. Kim assisted Sam with strong negotiating and had an accepted contract within 5 days. The final sales price was $405,000 a full $26,000 over the asking price! Forty days later the keys were given to the new owners and Sam was relieved of the responsibility.

The Challenge

Lucie Wyatt passed away leaving her 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Escondido, CA home to her daughter Carolyn Knudsen who lives in Big Bear, CA and her son, James Wyatt who lives in Placerville, CA. Their attorney Dennis Hasty suggested that they speak with a Real Estate Broker to determine their options and he recommended Kim Ward with Horizon Real Estate.

Carolyn and her husband Bernie first spoke with Kim in March 2011. They were considering keeping the property and renting it to their nephew from Texas. They shared that they were choosing to complete the probate process and have the property transferred into the names of James and Carolyn prior to selling. They anticipated that the probate would be complete mid January 2012.

The Strategy

As planned, Carolyn and Bernie scheduled an Initial Consultation appointment with Kim in mid-January 2012. Carolyn’s brother James was experiencing health issues and it would be difficult for him to deal with the upwards of 100 documents throughout the transaction requiring his initials and signatures. Kim suggested and assisted with having a specific power of attorney document prepared giving Carolyn the power to make decisions on James’ behalf.

The Results

The specific power of attorney made the process simpler. Kim introduced the sellers to an antique dealer and once the specialty items were purchased, Kim then introduced them to a buy out company for the remaining personal items. Carolyn and Bernie were very happy with the ease of emptying the house. Kim then scheduled the house to be cleaned prior to putting it on the market.

Priced at $259,000, an offer was negotiated within 10 days. The house sold for $265,000 and the sellers assisted with $5,000 of the buyers closing costs.

A bit of a glitch occurred at the buyer’s inspection; the furnace was inoperable. Naturally, the buyers requested a replacement with a seller expense of $2,500. Kim went into action negotiating for her clients. She succeeded! The seller expense towards a new furnace was negotiated to $1,100 saving them $1,400. Bernie, Carolyn and James are outrageously happy with the results!

PROBATE AND TRUST HELP

 The Challenge

 The personal representative of the Bardell Estate contacted Kim in response to several mailings that she had received. The decedent had been living in the house for years with various roommates. When he passed away, the roommates chose to continue living at the house.  Sandy lives in South Bend, Indiana and didn’t know what to do with the estate property in San Diego. Although she had been the personal representative for other probates, she didn’t want to travel to San Diego. Plus, she was annoyed by the idea that people were living in the property, unlawfully. The neighbors were contacting Sandy with various stories about the activities occurring at the house, causing her to feel even further discomfort with the situation. She shared with Kim that she had not received her Letters of Administration giving her full authority to make decisions, but expected to shortly.

Sandy and her attorney Cheri Hubka naturally wanted to sell the property for the highest net proceeds. They had been contacted by investors interested in purchasing the property as-is for $200,000.

 The Strategy

Kim completed a Pinpoint Price Analysis and emailed it to Sandy. Kim told her that if she could sell the property as-is for $200,000 to an investor, she should do exactly that. A week later, Sandy contacted Kim wanting her help because the investor was adjusting his offer price for substantially less.

 Since there were people living in the house that were not completely cooperative, Kim marketed the property to her list of investors. She scheduled the interior viewings and obtained several offers; negotiating the highest price and best terms for the estate.

 The Results

The estate property was sold in less than a week, as-is for $215,000; including the current occupants! Since Sandy did not wish to get involved with an eviction, Kim negotiated with the investor buyer to take responsibility for a potentially lengthy eviction process…after the sale! Early on Kim shared with Sandy that “my purpose is for you to be outrageously happy with the help I provide”. Sandy is thrilled with the outcome!