The current real estate environment in the Triangle is constantly changing, and many times turbulent when adding additional levels to the process. It is crucial to have a plan in place to smoothly navigate all hurdles that may come into play. A pending sale could fall through if the real property is part of an estate and there is a dispute among family members over the liquidation of personal and real property. It’s especially difficult if the family members live in a different state from where the real property is located. Hiring an experienced real estate broker to handle the sale can rescue the transaction.
It is crucial for estate lawyers to recommend to clients that they use a real estate broker with knowledge and years of experience navigating the legal process of these kinds of transactions and who will ensure that the sale of real property goes smoothly. This is really where the rubber meets the road when referring the right real estate broker to your clients.
Understanding the Process
So, what makes one broker more qualified than another? Important elements include having familiarity with the legal process and documentation, plus a clear understanding of the roadblocks to remedy before even placing a property on the market. The experienced real estate broker should have additional levels of documentation to properly handle different types of transactions, such as a court sale that requires a 10-day upset bid process. The lack of proper communication and disclosure can easily derail a real estate transaction, not to mention causing extra levels of frustration.
It is common for real estate brokers like me to work more closely with estate administration personnel, as they handle day-to-day tasks and update family members. This is where an experienced broker can really prove their value by taking the many arduous tasks off the administrator’s plate when helping family members sell a property.
What To Do With All This Stuff
A typical scenario might be when a son or daughter receives a phone call from a law firm stating their mother has just passed away, and they are the sole heir(s). The heir then comes into town to find a home full of personal items owned by a parent they may not have spoken to in several months or even years. They could have even been estranged. Questions then arise, such as: What do I do with all this stuff in the house? How can I get repairs done to make this home sellable? Where do I start in this process to get the home sold?
The simple answer to all those questions — and many more like them — is to partner with a real estate broker who has the experience and contacts to handle the many tasks involved in this process.
Sometimes law firms leave it to family members to find their own broker to handle the selling of real property, but unfortunately, most brokers do not have the resources or experience to ensure every level of the process is handled properly.
Not Your Average Closing
I have received quite a few calls from estate attorneys with real estate questions regarding an issue that has arisen and delayed a closing. Estate and probate transactions involving real property are not the average real estate transactions and should not be treated as such. There are certainly easy ones where everything is 100% organized and buttoned up, but most still require a different level of service and support.
A real estate broker with experience selling real property in an estate can offer peace of mind to the estate attorney, the executor, and the family of the deceased during the difficult period of bereavement.
