W
hy Choose
Probate
Investing?
Probates have been my #1
source of leads for more than a
decade. I love working with
probates, however that’s not true
for all investors. The reason this
niche is so good is because you
will never run out of leads, and
the heirs almost always need to
sell the property. It’s usually
just a question of whether it’s a
“pretty house” that will be listed
(listen up Realtors ® ), or it’s an
ugly house needing repairs and
updates that will be sold to an
investor. It’s a pretty straight
forward choice in most cases.
Whether it’s a pretty house or an
ugly house, there is so much
opportunity here.
Why Do Investors
Shy Away from
Probates?
I think there are two main
reasons investors are reluctant to
work in the niche of probates.
that will help you tremendously
is being familiar with the
terminology used in probate.
Knowing these two things will
allow you to show up as the
“expert” to help them with their
problem which is an unwanted
house.
2. The second reason is
that their mindset holds
them back.
Probate investing isn’t that
much different than other niches
in real estate, particularly when
it comes to offmarket deals.
There will be things you need to
learn that are unique to that
particular niche.
Because the property is part
of an estate, it makes a difference
in the way people feel about it.
Investors often feel like it’s
creepy working with probates.
Or they feel like they are taking
advantage of someone at what is
undeniably one of the worst
times of their life when they
make a lowball offer. They
1. First of all, they just
don’t understand how the
probate process works.
Investors think that they have
to know a lot of legal stuff which
just isn’t true. Since probate is a
legal process, you do need to
have a basic understanding of the
probate process and the steps
involved. Specifically, you need
to know when the house can be
sold. One other thing >
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feel guilty even when it’s a fixer
upper that needs a lot of work.
It’s important to understand
that it couldn’t be further from
the truth. In almost every case,
the property must be sold before
the estate can be closed. That
means that the heirs have to take
care of the business of settling
the estate, before the they can
collect what they have inherited.
Here is the main thing to
remember about probate; this is a
great niche for investors because
the heirs almost never want the
house. They just want the cash
sitting in that property. This is
also a very profitable and
untapped source of leads for
Realtors. In a seller’s market like
we’re in now, a large percentage
of those properties will likely be
listed on the MLS. I’ve been
doing this a long time, but I don’t
know of a single Realtor ® in my
area that specializes in probate
property. As I said before, there
is so much opportunity for both
real estate investors and agents.