Over Bidders at Probate Real Estate Sale
Does the buyer need to appear in court to purchase a piece of real estate?
One would think that the answer to that question would be obvious, however this week in court we had two real estate agents come to bid on behalf of their buyers. Both of the buyers were not with their respective agents. Both of the real estate agents were under the impression that it would not be a problem to bid on behalf of their respective clients.
If either of the agents had called The Sanborn Team and told us that they were not expecting their clients to accompany them to court we would have been able to provide them information on how they would be able to represent their absent clients. Alas, no one called in advance.
The agents did not understand that without proper authority there would be no way to bind their clients. That being said, if the buyer is not in court, how does the seller know in fact that the real estate agent has the authority to bid and also have the authority to bid to a certain price?
The judge delayed the sale by putting it on second call. That means that the entire calendar is called in court and then they return to various matters.
One of the agents was able to obtain the necessary documentation allowing him to bid on behalf of his buyer. The other agent left and we received a call from a frustrated and upset buyer who did not understand why if his agent had a check for the over bid amount why he could not have his agent represent him. We explained that short of some kind of authority, another person cannot bid on behalf of a person who is absent from the hearing.
So, a lesson was learned today. We have revised our instructions for coming to over bid in a probate court hearing to include the fact that both the buyer and the agent need to be present.
For all of your Probate and Trust Real Estate Needs please contact The Sanborn Team at 310-777-2858 or send us a message to info@sanbornteam.com
