Dealing with an estate from out of town.
Hey guys, it’s Brad from probateresource.com. At Probate Resource, we are a real estate solutions company specializing in the world of probate inheritance properties. We buy properties for cash, or we have a fantastic network of handpicked real estate agents that we work with all across the country that are probate and inheritance specialists. We can help you get your property sold. So today I want to talk about dealing with an estate from out of town. We run into this quite a bit, actually, where we deal with executors or administrators who don’t live in the same location as where the decedent lived. Maybe they were named in the will to take care of something. I’ll give you a great example of that. My dad was the named executor in the will of my grandmother’s estate. And when my grandmother passed away, at that time, my dad was living in Florida rather than here in the state of Georgia, where I live.
So he had to sort of deal with the estate from out of town to go through all that. So that happens quite frequently. And how do you navigate that? What do you do? Well, find trusted resources in the specific market because usually you’re going to have to be dealing, most of the time you’re dealing with a house or a property or assets in the specific location where the decedent lived, not where you live. You’re dealing with the probate courts. I say, one of the cool things that COVID created was, a lot of probate courts across the country were sort of forced to essentially change the way they do things. And a lot of times you can actually attend your probate hearings via a Zoom call now, it’s online. And that COVID kind of forced that change. So we speak with a lot of executors and administrators now who were… maybe they live out of town, but they don’t even have to come to the location to get sworn in.
They do it via a Zoom call. They get sworn in as the executor or administrator over a Zoom call, rather than having to fly to wherever they’re going or drive to wherever they’re going. They can do it remotely. And then also having boots on the ground, having helpful resources. Whether one of the benefits, obviously, just selling to us like an investor is we can help you deal with all the things. But bought a property recently from an out-of-state executor, and there was some other stuff in it. There were some tools and things that I actually wanted. So we helped them deal with that. We’ve helped people sell a car, maybe there was a car there. We helped them get in touch with the local car buying companies, helped them get a replacement title if they couldn’t find a title, that sort of thing. We help them solve that problem so that they don’t have to be inconvenienced coming into town and dealing with it.
So you need a trusted resource boots on the ground. I would also recommend that you have someone who could go check on the property on a periodic basis, whether that’s a neighbor or that’s a family friend, or someone you know that you can trust that can go physically check on that property on a regular basis. Because the last thing you want is that property to be vacant. Because what happens is, a lot of insurance policies have vacancy clauses in them that basically says that if the property is vacant, if it hasn’t been checked on in X amount of time, they can actually exclude, or your claim would not be honored if the property is vacant. So make sure you’re checking the homeowner’s insurance policy on that particular property to determine if there’s a vacancy clause in there, because a lot of… I used to be a licensed insurance adjuster, and a lot of policies have vacancy exclusions in them.
So you need to make sure that A, you’re notifying them, and if you have a trusted resource, you can let the insurance company, “Hey, Johnny next door, or it goes to the house every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and checks on it, walks through the house.” I would advise you to not shut off the utilities, but make sure the water’s turned off at the main. The last thing you want is a pipe bursting and the house flooding, or whatever. Make sure you always shut off the water at the main. You can leave it on from terms of utilities wise, but you can turn it off at the main. That way, water’s not running through the house when nobody’s there. Make sure somebody’s checking on it. We’ve heard of storm damage. I had a friend of mine was purchasing a house from an estate, and the house got struck by lightning and burned to the ground the night before closing.
Things happen, right? So make sure you got trusted boots on the ground. If you’re working with a real estate agent in your market, make sure that real estate agent can help you with a lot of the things, right? Maybe you need this or you need that. Some boots on the ground can help you from out of town deal with this estate, and you may not ever have to come to that area to deal with the estate at all. For instance, we had the gentleman I was telling you about, we bought the tools he wanted to come in town, so he flew in town one day, and he met with all the different people and all the different things he chose to come into town. But really, he didn’t have to do that, but he wanted to do that. So sometimes, you can have someone do that for you, right?
Maybe you are going to have get offers from multiple investors, have your boots on the ground in your specific area, run over there, and just be sort of at the house and help when investors are coming through to make an offer on the house. That way, you got someone there, or maybe you have a real estate agent. Your real estate agent is doing that for you. If you have trusted boots on the ground, it’ll make your process a lot easier and a lot smoother. And I hope this helps you out a little bit. Again, I’m Brad from probateresource.com. Like I mentioned, we buy properties for cash, we buy all over the country, or we have a handpicked network of real estate agents that are probate inheritance specialists that we work with all over the country. We’d be happy to get you in touch with one of our preferred agents, that is a probate and inheritance specialist that can help you get your deal to the finish line. So thanks again for checking out this video. I’m Brad with probateresource.com. Have a great day. Bye-bye.
Dealing With An Estate From Out Of Town
This is Brad from probateresource.com. We are a company that specializes in real estate solutions for probate inheritance properties. We can either buy properties for cash or connect you with one of our trusted real estate agents who specialize in probate and inheritance properties all across the country.
Today, I want to discuss how to deal with an estate from out of town. We often encounter situations where executors or administrators are not located in the same area as the decedent. For instance, my father was named as the executor in my grandmother’s will, but he was living in Florida at the time of her passing, while I reside in Georgia where my grandmother lived.
I know someone who had to deal with a deceased person’s property from out of town. This is quite common. So, how do you handle it? You need to find reliable resources in the specific market, because you’ll usually be dealing with assets in the location where the deceased person lived, not where you live. You’ll be dealing with the probate courts, so it’s important to keep that in mind.
Probate Hearings Online
Due to COVID, many probate courts have changed the way they operate. Now, you can attend your probate hearings online via Zoom. This is beneficial for many executors and administrators who live out of town and don’t have to come to the location to get sworn in. They can get sworn in as an executor or administrator over a Zoom call, instead of having to travel to the location. This remote method has proven to be very convenient.
Additionally, we offer helpful resources and support to our clients. As an investor, we can help them deal with all the necessary tasks, such as selling a property or dealing with other items that might be present in the property.
For example, we have helped people sell a car or obtain a replacement title if they couldn’t find one. We take care of these tasks so that our clients don’t have to be inconvenienced by traveling to the location and dealing with them.
Have A Trusted Person In Town
It is important to have a trusted resource who can be physically present at the property on a regular basis. This person can be a neighbor, a family friend, or someone you trust. The reason for this is that many insurance policies have vacancy clauses in them. These clauses state that if the property is unoccupied and has not been checked on for a certain period of time, then any claims made in relation to the property may not be honored. Therefore, it is recommended that you check the homeowner’s insurance policy for the property you own and determine if there is a vacancy clause. As a former licensed insurance adjuster, I can tell you that many policies have such clauses.
It is also important to notify someone when you are leaving a property to ensure it is being checked on regularly. If you have a trusted resource such as a neighbor, you can inform the insurance company that they will be checking on the property. It is not advisable to shut off the utilities entirely, but it is recommended to turn off the water at the main to prevent any flooding in case of a burst pipe. Someone should always be checking on the property to prevent damage, especially in cases of storm damage.
For example, a friend of mine was purchasing a house from an estate, and the night before closing, the house was struck by lightning and burned down. Life is unpredictable, and that’s why we need to have reliable people around us.
If you are dealing with real estate, it is advisable to work with a local agent who can assist you with various aspects related to the property. They can help you with the necessary arrangements, even if you are out of town. You may not even need to visit the property in person.
For example, I once had a client who wanted to buy some tools. He flew into town for a day to meet different people and make all the necessary arrangements, but he could have easily delegated this task to someone else. Therefore, it’s always important to have trusted people around you who can help you with your needs.
Perhaps you might receive offers from multiple investors for your property. In such a scenario, it’s best to have someone present at the site to assist the investors with any queries they might have. This will help make the process smoother and quicker. You could hire a real estate agent for this purpose or have someone you trust on-site.
Let’s Connect
If you find this information helpful, please note that I’m Brad from probateresource.com. We purchase properties for cash all over the country, and we have a network of handpicked real estate agents who specialize in probate inheritance that we work with nationwide. If you need assistance finding one of our preferred probate and inheritance specialist agents, please reach out to us. Thank you for watching this video.