PROBATE AND TRUST HELP CASE STUDY
– Robert D.
Trustee’s Challenge
Real estate trustee, Robert lives in Troy, New York. A distance of 3,000 miles away from his brother’s home that had become part of the estate. His New York attorney, Fred Fowler, introduced Robert to Kim Ward – our expert in probate real estate sales. Fred is a professional acquaintance of San Diego attorney, John Grier. John works extensively with Trust and Estate planning and had experienced Kim’s ability to help his clients.
Robert’s brother had passed away leaving a house in Chula Vista. Robert did not wish to travel to San Diego and needed help with the details of selling the house and his brother’s personal property so that the estate could be settled.
The Strategy for a Successful Trust Sale
Kim was given access to the property by the previous caregiver of Robert’s brother. The house was in a nice area, adjacent to canyon/open space area, but had deferred maintenance. It was also full of personal property that needed to be distributed. Kim contacted and met the owner of a “buy-out” company at the property. He drafted a bid proposal for removing all the items including salable items, things of little worth and debris. Because of its condition, the vacant house was then marketed “as-is” to cash investors at a price of $249,000.
The San Diego Trustee’s Result
As anticipated, multiple offers were received within days. The top 5 offers were presented to Robert and his attorney. Kim recommended aggressive counter-offers to all five buyers, increasing the purchase price and improving the terms of the sale for the estate. A mere 19 days after preparing and marketing the property, it was sold! The final sales price was $267,000~$18,000 over the listed price!
