Hi, 1st off wanted to make sure it's ok for me to be posting here since I'm not a Realtor, Broker, etc...just the client/seller of a probated property.

I've been dealing with an agent the last couple months and getting frustrated and was hoping to find out if it's just me being too picky...or my agent is really doing things she shouldn't be? If I do not belong here please let me know...don't want to intrude. Thank you. (Nice board!)

Chelee

Go ahead and ask. You will get some very good information. Just ignore the trolls.

Bigtoe,
Thanks for the reply. I was hoping it was ok to ask questions here. Before posting I had scanned the board quickly and could see alot of valuable information from the members on this board. This is the first time I've had to sell a house in probate and I've never been so frustrated with a real estate agent and I've worked with two others before which were great. I will try to find the best spot on this board for my questions. Thanks again.

Chelee

Hope I'm posting in the right place? I'm the executor of my mothers estate that is in probate. Me and my DH have bought houses from Realtors and always had [b]pleasant[/b] experiences. This time it's been anything but pleasant. I was tricked into hiring this real estate agent by probate attorney. This real estate agent has done everything I've asked her [b]not[/b] to do. My Mothers estate had all her belonging in it because my brother was still living there till I got him evicted! Took almost a yr to get him out. Had to serve and unlawful detainer. He left the place trashed and the house full of things so I would have to empty the place. I'm battling cancer and don't need all the added stress. I would like your opinions on if it's ok to do what she's been doing?

First thing was she did was put a lock box on the house when I told her absolutely [b]not[/b] to do that [b]until [/b]I got all my mothers belongings out of there. I didn't even know what was in the closets yet, mothers drawers because my brother had been living there. It's my family things which are important to me! She agreed not to put the lock box on till I ok'd it and then I go over there and found the lock box on and she had already been [i]showing[/i] the house against my wishes! The house looked awful the way my brother left it..inside and out! That just will get me LOWER offers from potential buyers. Why would she do this! I forced her to remove the lock box till I at least moved my things out to the garage. Next thing I know she is saying she is holding open houses when she wasn't! Or she would call me and change her mind since it was around the holidays...or the weather was too cold. She kept telling me since my house needs work only investor will be interested in it so it's not that important to show it. It took me a month or more to get her to put a "For Sale" sign up. She actually told me one night she put the sign up already...I drive over the next day and there wasn't one up yet. (Lie.) The sign I eventually got her to put up looks like a 10 yr old made it in their backyard...I'm not kidding.

She was all upbeat and positive [b]before[/b] I signed her listing agreement...told me she was so excited to get my house since it was a probate sale and not a RIO or foreclosure. Then she starts telling me right away we aren't getting any offers on the house..only a few and their low ball offers that I can't accept because the courts already have a set price I can't go below since it's a probate house. I asked why she set the asking price so high on a fixer upper to begin with?!! I told her it didn't help to start showing the house with all my Mothers stuff in the house and the backyard totally trashed. She said that made no difference at all. (I'm not buying that line of hers.) There is many other things but for now...any opinions about putting a lock box on against my wishes? Leaving the back door open and telling me [i]realtors do it all the time [/i]and it's no big deal. (I was so angry at her nonchalant attitude.) Had someone came in through the back door they would of stolen everything in there..yet my agent says realtors do it all the time because their busy talking to potenial buyers and get side tracked. I find that HARD to believe. Why didn't she care about the fact I wanted the place cleaned up before showing...especially that back yard..she knew it was a real issue for me. How many realtors are out there that just ignore everything your client asks of them? Am I being too sensitive...do you think I am over reacting to all of this? Go ahead..I can take it...good or bad.

Chelee

Too sensitive? Your agent must follow your instructions, so long as they are lawful. A good agent should be able to explain why his or her showing/sales techniques will help you sell your house more quickly or for more money...but a good agent should also be able to diligently do what you ask, even if they aren't what your agent recommended.

If your agent is not listening to you, and if you don't feel you can trust her, you should get a new one. Probate sales are not at all uncommon, so you should have no problem finding an agent you feel is trustworthy and who can also handle the probate transaction.

A note about the back door being open...unfortunately that does happen. A good agent knows to check all doors/locks before leaving for good, but even then sometimes prospective buyers sneak around and re-open things without the agent's knowledge. I've come to a vacant house, only to discover an unlocked door, more times than I can count. One of the drawbacks of allowing other agents more or less unrestricted showing access is that sometimes one of them will make a boneheaded mistake like that. Most of us really do care about securing a home after we've shown it.

Thanks so much for the reply. I recently let my agent know how upset I was over the way she just ignores everything I say...and proceeds her own way. Putting on the lock box the very day I told her not too was so insulting to me. She said she was offended and that it seems nothing she does can make me happy. Not when she goes against everything I say. I told her not to tell potenial buyers how low I would go on the house. So she accidently slips one day while talking to me and says she talked to this investor and he made a low bid offer on my probate property. So she says, "No, my client wants to get between 240k and 260k. My property is listed at 275k. She "wasn't" suppose to tell anyone how low I'd go! What's the point of listing it for the 275 if she tells everyone behind my back I'll go as low as $240 if I have too. Darn it! I told her prior to that never to tell anyone that! What was interesting was the minute I told her I was going to give another real estate agent a chance when the listing expires she instantly had a "Clean" offer on the house with a 10K deposit for the exact amount I wanted the next day. Couldn't get that in 2 months...but the minute she knew I wasn't going to keep her at the end of the contract...this magic offer I want comes thru in an instant. But now that so called "Clean" deal was a joke on me. I find out the buyer didn't even send in their escrow money in the 3 days which means I'm filing a complaint with the DRE. Makes me fill like my agent and another one set this up hoping to keep me hooked and re-list with my agent?

There is no trust at this point so it's time to move on. I just hope she hasn't caused too much damage now by not marketing my house right. I am going to be so careful this time picking someone. I need someone really good at damage control because theres so much to this then I could ever explain. My Probate Attorney wants me to use "their" realtor...but I'm not sure about that either? I only have two days to find another good realtor. I think I'd like to find one that has handled lots of probated property. What's the best way to interview and find a experienced, good realtor? I know there out there...any good advice I'd appreciate. :)

Chelee

But isn't your current Agent already the recommendation of your Probate Attorney?

No it's not my probate attorney's realtor. I was orignally going to use a Realtor that has come by my house for 18 yrs. Awesome agent from Re/Max. Old school guy and knows the area my property is in. He went to all the same schools I did and he is home grown unlike the realtor I was "tricked" into using by another probate attorney!

I've heard pro and con about using your attorney's Realtor? I don't know what to believe these days? I've heard you should never use their Realtor...then others say you should. I did meet their realtor and he seemed nice enough.

Chelee

I was confused because on 1/22/12 at 7:31 PM, you wrote:
So how many Probate Attorneys do we have involved here ?

And why do you now ". . . only have two days to find another good realtor . . ." ???

I only have one Probate Attorney...but had me and her had different ideas on how it should be handled. Her way would cost me extra money & time and I just don't have when fighting cancer. Plus it would prolong and drag this out so much longer then necessary. And it did, and has! (Because I did take my attorney's advice.) When you have my type of cancer...time is not your friend. I wanted this done as quickly as the courts can move. So without getting in to it all...I tried finding another attorney...thats when I ran into this other probate attorney that "tricked" me into thinking he "would" take my case as long as I hired "his" Realtor he uses. So I did that and when he got back in town he said he could not take my case. He was just kicking this realtor business since she hardly has any I found out later. So they just took advantage of me. Thats how I got stuck with my current realtor i'm unhappy with.

I "can" take more then two days to find a NEW Realtor. But I just meant my current realtor's listing with me runs out tomorrow the 27th...so I'd like to have a new one lined up to market my property the right way asap...I want to be done with this. And I hope they a new realtor can correct some of the damage done by my realtor since it's sat on the market all this time because she has done an awful job since day one. I just want to make a good choice this time. The last two realtors we used to buy a house were wonderful...but they aren't working here locally. So I have to hope I choose right this time.

Chelee

Call up the Re/Max agent you've known. Ask him how many probate sales he's done. If he doesn't have the experience, he can probably refer you to someone who does. Probate sales are common occurrences, and there should be no shortage of GOOD agents who know how to do them.

In the meantime, arrange a meeting with your previous agent's broker to explain what happened (assuming she isn't a broker herself). If one of the broker's agents is misbehaving, he or she should know what's going on. The DRE will investigate so far as to determine whether any laws were broken; her broker, and possibly her local realtor's board, may have authority to sanction any actions that may have been legal but nonetheless in breach of the realtor's code of ethical conduct.

Just my opinion. No legal advice.

I really don't see where a Sale on behalf of an Estate is any different than any other conventional retail sale . . . . provided that the Executor has obtained a License to Sell from the Probate Court, it's really no different; perhaps even easier, especially when the property has already been vacated.

I have run into a bit of trouble where multiple heirs want to control the game plan; but if there's a strong Executor/Executrix who is willing to make decisions and stand by them . . . . those can be very simple too.

Perhaps there are complexities to be encountered in other jurisdictions that I'm not aware of; but I don't see where these are complicated at all . . . . as compared to, say, a Divorce situation where one of the Spouses is occupying the premises with a new squeeze and refuses to cooperate in a Disposition Order from the Divorce Court while the other Spouse is being forced to service the Mortgage from a Prison Cell.

Nonetheless, every "deal" is special to those who are involved.

Someone needs to tell you THE TRUTH.

Based on what you have said the property is trashed.Cleaning it out is NOT going to get you top dollar.

When was the house built? When was it last updated ? If just a few years old then cleaning and fixing minor repairs will help.

If the property is 5 to 10 years old or more it is becoming outdated.To land a home buyer at full retail price all counter tops and fixtures would need replacing along with any outdated layouts of the home to make it appeal to today's buyers.

Most buyers cannot purchase on and pay a price on what WILL BE but will purchase on what CURRENTLY IS.

What the probate court wants has nothing to do with market value.

If the property needs a bunch of work YOU the seller will either have to pay for that work and outlay the cash and hope you get full retail offer OR you HAVE TO sell it at a discount.

You just need an experienced broker to tell you at what price the property will move in it's current condition. No amount of marketing in the world will sell and overpriced property relative to it's current condition.

I hope your cancer goes away.People in my family have had it so I understand what is involved.Get it priced right,move it,and focus on your illness to get better.

I just had a 3 month listing with a Realtor exprire on a property that's in probate. I'm the executor and I am battling cancer and it's a full time job. I'm on chemo and I'm not well. I don't want to get into all the details...but take my word for it...I was "tricked" into hiring a real estate agent by a probate attorney that I really wanted to hire so badly. He promised to take my case but said to "first" go hire his realtor and when he got back in town he would take my case. Once I signed with him he didn't do it and I just stayed with the realtor..she seemed so nice but in the long run it was the worse thing I could of done! She only marketed my house to investors! I think she was trying to do some shady dealings behind my back for a quick sale. She knew I was busy fighting cancer and she has 30 yrs as a realtor...and I feel like she was making deals with these so called offers. The house was apprasied by the courts since it's in probate. I have a set price I can accept and nothing lower. All these "investors" making offers think I'm desperate and will accept any low bid price thrown at me.

The house is not a RIO or foreclosure...it's probate as I said. The house is paid off so I am only having to maintain minor utility bills and yard. But this realtor I was tricked into kept trying to get me to accept super low bids when she was the one that set the orignal asking price so high! I even told her I was worried about such a high price on a house that needs TLC in such a FLAT market. Hindsight tells me she was just trying to buy the listing. Anyway...I'll jump to my main number one question. My current probate attorney knows what I went through this with realtor and she told me to make sure whomever I choose this time...make sure I tell her first before I sign anything! She wants to make sure the next realtor really understands the probate process fully. Court confimation...etc. Paper works I guess is a little different too. Plus there is another heir to this property that has contested and caused problems every chance they can. So I can't afford someone that doesn't know what their doing. I need a realtor that LISTENS to me and cares about what their client wants. You would NOT believe all the things this realtor did...I still can't believe it myself.

So please help direct me to the correct way of finding someone that is really experienced in probate real estate that is honest and cares about their client and reputation. I know they ARE out there because I've had awesome agents before! This one was a flake...but there is bad and good in every profession. Fighting cancer is enough for me...I just want someone honest to help me get this done. Someone my Probate Attorney will approve of. I've talked to a few and they all say the right things...but how do I make them back it up? I don't want to offend any of them by asking for too much proof of what they say...but I just can't go through what I did this last time. Thanks so much for your time.

Chelee

Sorry to hear of your battle with cancer. Chemo leaves you drained and fatigued most of the time, so I can understand your frustrations.

You did not say where in California the property is located.

The property is located in Orange County, CA....in the City of La Habra. I've had several Realtors call me back they say they have done lots of probate properties--but I want to know for sure they have! And because it's a probate property does not mean I'm desperate and will take any amount for it like my last realtor thought. The apprasial was already set by the courts...not me! I have a fiduciary duty as the executor of the property to try to get the most money I can for the house or my brother can walk in and contest the sale and "delay" the sale again!

I'd like a realtor that has seriously handled lots of probate properties...not just one or two. Again my Probate Attorney will want to talk to them before I sign anything to make sure they understand how it works. Thanks for any help you can give me. I need to find someone quickly.

Chelee

We're getting a little clarification about the nature and status of the estate, now. To refer to the liquidation of real property in an estate as "probate" is a generalization. The status of the estate is important.

What's APPARENTLY happened here is that the heirs could not agree to sell the property, so APPARENTLY the courts were brought in. That means that the court will "approve" the sale when the PR (personal representative or executrix/executor) accepts an offer on the property. The court usually is availed of an appraisal of the real property going in. But this is just a snapshot of the value at that particular time. Naturally, that can change. So, in my experience (and I do a lot of estate work), there is no "minimum" set.

Depending on the jurisdiction, and only what can be assumed from what the OP is now telling us, such as, "...my brother can walk in and contest the sale...", there also could be a court notice posted for a required amount of time telling all that a hearing on the sale will be on such and such a date and that ANYONE with an interest in the property may come. That includes anyone who might want to make an offer. So, the accepted offer could be overturned by a higher/better offer.

The brother could "contest" the sale, but the judge will make a decision.

Handling the liquidation of real property in an estate from a real estate broker/agent POV isn't rocket science. With all due respect and allowing for serious health issues, I'm thinking that the OP doesn't exactly have a full grasp on the process.

And what's transpired so far with a previous agent may NOT be outside of norms with the exception that, the property was for some reason shown with the deceased property inside. Normally, an inventory would be taken immediately so that items could be sold or distributed to the heirs via mutual agreement. I don't know what went wrong there. But it's doubtful that the agent did anything purposefully wrong.

Chelee

I'm a little late to the party, I haven't been to this forum in a long time and your experience made me a little mad. I hope you have since had things go your way. The only thing I will add is it is the quality of the agent not how many probates the agent has done but how good they are.

In California if you have gotten the right to sell the property without court approval, it is basically a normal listing. Of course I would not take the recommendation of any attorney, find and interview 3 of the supposed best in the market area of the property.

Attorneys cannot insist you use "their" agent and I would place a call to the bar association. The have a duty to you just like the agent has a legal duty to you. Because of your bad luck so far, I would do it for free just for general principles but I'm not in your area. I have been involved in all to many probates as a broker and also as a investor so I'm a little familiar with it and the thorns on a probate bush.

If your still having problems, post them here and maybe I or others can make some suggestions, of course I hope the train is back on the track and headed for the station. As for the cancer I hope you join me as a survivor, good luck, and get this stress out of your life so you can focus on yourself.

Welcome back!

The part about an attorney telling the poster which agent to use, may not be an unethical move on the part of an attorney. If this is a certain type of "court-ordered" sale where an impartial fiduciary has been appointed by the court, in my experience, that fiduciary (sometimes an attorney, sometimes a licensed fiduciary person or firm working under the oversight of an attorney), does in fact hire the listing agent and sign the listing agreement.