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.