8 Sources Of Leads To Find Probate Real Estate

When an individual who owns personal property dies, the stuff that he/she owns will usually go into a probate process whereby the courts determine how the assets are distributed.

And the house is often the asset worth the most money. Liquidating it will provide the means to pay off any outstanding debts… including taxes.

This is a channel where hardcore and well-drilled real estate investors patrol consistently for bargains in the housing market.

Yet even with the huge number of power players who get involved in this special market, there are always diamonds in the rough that people can miss out from.

Surely if you have an eye out for a deal, you will want to get involved in this market.

The problem is that most investors, especially rookies, have little to no idea where to find properties in probate. And by the time they do find one, they are usually too late to do anything.

It goes without saying that the faster you find and identify these opportunities, the more likely you are to be the beneficiary of great deals.

Here are some ways you can find leads to properties in probate.

1) Auctions

Auctioneers usually put up adverts in local newspapers to generate interest on upcoming auction events.

But take note that not all auctioneers do estate sales.

So it is best that you call up auction operators in ask about what types of auctions they do.

If estate sales are within their activities, do politely request to be included in their newsletters about their future events.

Auctioneers actually do actively market themselves. So they would be more than willing to input your email address or SMS number to notify you of auctions that are coming up in future.

Newsletters often contain a lot of information of the properties that are going under the hammer. And some might be in probate.

2) Classifieds

The most obvious place to search for buying opportunities is in the classifieds just like where you normally see typical home listings.

Probate sales usually come in the form of announcements when published in the classifieds.

It happens when someone or some entity is appointed to liquidate particular properties, and the only way they can think of is to put up ad advert.

While listings in classifieds can be the easiest to spot, they also tend to draw the most attention.

So good luck if you intend to spend most of your time here.

Saying that, there is no certainty of how popular a listing is.

Sometimes the terms of purchase could turn off the majority of investors. And if you are at the right place at the right time with the means to meet special terms, you could be in on the money.

3) County clerk’s office

The county clerk’s office holds information on probate hearings and estate sales.

Because of the frequency of these events, they sometimes keep a mailing list of contacts who get mailed these information whenever one comes up.

If possible, you would want to get on that mailing list.

If there is no mailing list, you will just have to frequent the place and try to make friends with the staff so that you could possibly get notified when opportunities within your interest arises.

4) County probate courts

The county probate court will have information on probate cases with active real estate.

The information here could be so straight forward that you might just have to go through a list… with contact details of the attorney representing the estate.

It’s unlikely that there will be any mailing list to get on here.

So you will have to inquire in a friendly manner. And again… try to build some rapport with the staff.

Your social skills can be the key that unlocks the door to riches.

5) Foreclosure news

Newspapers and online journals often publish legal news and notices about foreclosures.

When it concerns a probate, the wordings usually states “foreclosure on the estate of John Doe” instead of “foreclosure on John Doe”.

6) Legal notices

Whenever a probate case is triggered, it is advertised to the public as a notice to creditors so that they have a chance to claim any debts that is due from the estate.

This includes those who hold liens against the estate.

The challenge here is to locate which local newspapers are usually used to publish these notices.

There is usually an authoritative publication that is used almost exclusively in local communities for such notices. And if you are not familiar with the area, you might not find it easy to find where these notices are advertised.

You might want to check with real estate agents on this one.

7) Obituaries

There are domain investors who look out for business news concerning acquisitions and shutting down of companies. This is so that they can go make an offer for their web domains which the companies will no longer need.

In real estate, you can look at the obituaries for probate opportunities.

The good part of this is that you will be able to obtain the name of the deceased.

With a little reverse lookup search, you will be able to obtain more personal details about the individual. This can sometimes include phone numbers, residential addresses, companies he/she own, etc.

8) Probate attorneys

The best source of leads is to go straight to the key contact.

And that is the representative of the estate. Usually the probate attorney.

They don’t just handle one case, but more than you can imagine.

And they need to find investors to purchase these real estate quickly to liquidate them.

If you present yourself as a serious and dependable investor, there is every likelihood that you will get a call every now and then about quick deals that 99% of investors will never even get a whiff of.

Finally, some investors feel that going after probate real estate is morally wrong. And they have every right to feel the way they feel.

But if you look it from another angle, you are helping creditors get their money back… and at the same time helping the deceased to pay off his/her debts so that the family is not burdened with them.

Either way, it is definitely worth the time to at least look deeper in probate property for great opportunities.

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