CASE STUDY, Lee & Ann
The Challenge
Lee lives over 1,465 miles away in Whitehouse, TX and since he had been to the National City property once in the last few months, he did not wish to travel to San Diego again. He needed an experienced San Diego probate realtor who could handle all the details of a complicated probate sale. As the personal representative for his sister’s estate, Lee was introduced to Kim Ward by his attorney, Beth Atuatasi. His sister had been in the tax business and had decades of client documentation, as well as, a house full of personal property that needed to be addressed. As an added challenge, the house had an unpermitted addition that had a roof leak causing extensive damage to the ceiling and walls.
The Strategy
Step one when dealing with probate real estate is to determine what to do with the personal property. After the family members chose their momentos, Kim scheduled a meeting with a buy-out company. A price was determined for the purchase of the remaining personal property and relocating all of the tax documentation to the garage. There were hundreds of boxes that needed to be reviewed and sorted. Kim introduced Lee and the attorney to a company that spent 17 hours going through the boxes. Next a shredding company was hired to go to the house to shred most of the documentation. Kim then delivered the remaining documents to the attorney and put the property on the market at $229,000.
The Results
Within 6 days, multiple offers were received on the probate property. Offers ranged from listed price cash offers to offers from buyers that needed to obtain a loan. Kim informed the seller that experience shows appraisers will insist on repairs prior to approval of the loan and with guidance, the seller chose an offer from a buyer obtaining an FHA loan. As expected, the appraisal had conditions of repairing the unpermitted room, removal of all peeling paint on the exterior and some minor repairs on the interior of the home. Because Kim Ward and the Horizon Real Estate team organized the repairs, the estate earned $20,000 additional proceeds. Lee and Ann are really happy with the result of their real estate probate sale!
