Doing Probate Sales in the Aftermath of the Sub-prime Debacle
This week we closed a difficult escrow.
The brother of the executor died very unexpectedly without a will. At the time of his death he had both a first and second mortgage on the property. The holder of the second was very cooperative (and understandably concerned that the holders of the first would wipe them out if they foreclosed). The holder of the second recognized that the executor was not in a position to list or sell the property without proper authority from the court.
Unfortunately the lender holding the first was not nearly as agreeable. Although they had been informed that the original holder of the note had died and that all the appropriate steps were being taken to get the property listed and sold as quickly as possible (and allowable), they basically refused to deal with the attorney and the executor (even with proper documentation from the court).
No one from the lender would lift a hand. Worse than passive, they actually commenced foreclosure proceedings after the property was sold and in escrow. That, in turn, meant that the buyer’s lender would not issue loan documents until the foreclosure was rescinded, causing an unnecessary delay. The family was never going to receive any monies from the sale; they merely hoped to pay off creditors, but now the estate had to bear the cost of the trustee fees.
I have been working in real estate for more than 27 years and have been through many difficult markets, but I have never been in a situation where a lender refused to deal with anyone. It was only through the hard work of the attorney, the escrow and title companies—and The Sanborn Team—that we were able to close this sale.
Today, in spite of the difficult lender, we received this note from the executor of the estate: ”I just wanted to thank you for repairing the doors and for hiring someone to remove the last trash and king-sized old waterbed frame. It was a huge help to us being so far away and having limited time in L.A. You have been a great realtor! Thanks to the entire team for selling my brother's awful house for such a good price in such a timely manner!! I still can't believe what people are willing to pay in this market!!”
If you need get-the-job-done power on your probate and trust real estate team, contact The Sanborn Team at 310-777-2858.
The brother of the executor died very unexpectedly without a will. At the time of his death he had both a first and second mortgage on the property. The holder of the second was very cooperative (and understandably concerned that the holders of the first would wipe them out if they foreclosed). The holder of the second recognized that the executor was not in a position to list or sell the property without proper authority from the court.
Unfortunately the lender holding the first was not nearly as agreeable. Although they had been informed that the original holder of the note had died and that all the appropriate steps were being taken to get the property listed and sold as quickly as possible (and allowable), they basically refused to deal with the attorney and the executor (even with proper documentation from the court).
No one from the lender would lift a hand. Worse than passive, they actually commenced foreclosure proceedings after the property was sold and in escrow. That, in turn, meant that the buyer’s lender would not issue loan documents until the foreclosure was rescinded, causing an unnecessary delay. The family was never going to receive any monies from the sale; they merely hoped to pay off creditors, but now the estate had to bear the cost of the trustee fees.
I have been working in real estate for more than 27 years and have been through many difficult markets, but I have never been in a situation where a lender refused to deal with anyone. It was only through the hard work of the attorney, the escrow and title companies—and The Sanborn Team—that we were able to close this sale.
Today, in spite of the difficult lender, we received this note from the executor of the estate: ”I just wanted to thank you for repairing the doors and for hiring someone to remove the last trash and king-sized old waterbed frame. It was a huge help to us being so far away and having limited time in L.A. You have been a great realtor! Thanks to the entire team for selling my brother's awful house for such a good price in such a timely manner!! I still can't believe what people are willing to pay in this market!!”
If you need get-the-job-done power on your probate and trust real estate team, contact The Sanborn Team at 310-777-2858.
