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"Probate Sale. Strictly sold 'AS IS'. No termite work offered or allowed. Seller would like all cash. Court confirm required, overbids possible.."
I've been looking at this property as a possibility to buy and fix up as it's a multi-family dwelling, but I'm not sure about a couple of things and wanted to gauge opinion on this:
1.- Probate Sale - what does that imply, exactly? I've heard that it means the house is part of an estate... what advantages & disadvantages are there here? Can this work to my advantage and if so, how?
2. No Termite Work Offered or Allowed - probably means the house is falling apart, right? I thought that having a house appraised and inspected was mandatory before a sale? Is it different with a probate sale? Is my info just all wrong here?
Probate sale indicates that the property is being sold as part of the execution of a will. Depending on how the will was written, the sale may be contingent on the approval of multiple beneficiaries. For example, if a person dies and leaves his home to his 5 children in equal shares, then all 5 children would have to approve a sale before it goes through. I would expect in your case, however, that the beneficiaries of the property in question would have agreed upon the sale price before putting it on the market.
The probate as a whole process can be extremely protracted, but I don't think the sale the property itself would be necessarily slowed down, unless a dispute among the beneficiaries arises.
Like Bran9192 said, you should hire an inspector at your own expense, just so you know what you're getting into. I don't think there is any requirement for anyone to inspect the home prior to a sale, but it would be unwise not to do so. But you shouldn't expect the sellers to correct any deficits, as clearly indicated by the "as is" clause.
With regard to the appraisal, since the sellers want cash (i.e. they don't want someone to bring an offer with a financing contingency), then an appraisal isn't needed. The appraisal is important when you're trying to get qualified for a mortgage and the lender wants to make sure that they're not going to lose a ton of money by approving a loan for a grossly overpriced house.
You will have to have the home inspection done and address the terminte problems if there are any.... just because its a probate sale don't mean its termite infested, don't mean its not either...so get that inspection!
EDITED to remove copyrighted information....
Bran9192, I had to edit your message as it had copyrighted info in it. However, in the future, feel free to cite the link and to provide a summary of the article and/or provide small excepts or quotes from the aritcle.
http://valleynews.com/Glendale/Stories/Business/General-Business/Story~297372.aspx
-llecs, moderator
Probate sale indicates that the property is being sold as part of the execution of a will. Depending on how the will was written, the sale may be contingent on the approval of multiple beneficiaries. For example, if a person dies and leaves his home to his 5 children in equal shares, then all 5 children would have to approve a sale before it goes through. I would expect in your case, however, that the beneficiaries of the property in question would have agreed upon the sale price before putting it on the market.
The probate as a whole process can be extremely protracted, but I don't think the sale the property itself would be necessarily slowed down, unless a dispute among the beneficiaries arises.
Like Bran9192 said, you should hire an inspector at your own expense, just so you know what you're getting into. I don't think there is any requirement for anyone to inspect the home prior to a sale, but it would be unwise not to do so. But you shouldn't expect the sellers to correct any deficits, as clearly indicated by the "as is" clause.
With regard to the appraisal, since the sellers want cash (i.e. they don't want someone to bring an offer with a financing contingency), then an appraisal isn't needed. The appraisal is important when you're trying to get qualified for a mortgage and the lender wants to make sure that they're not going to lose a ton of money by approving a loan for a grossly overpriced house.
Thank you sirs,
From what I can guess on their description, they will not allow a termite inspection, which to me is just an indication that there ARE termites there.
It's a 100 year old house and they've lowered the price on the property about 40% from their original asking price, but their original asking price was ridiculously high...
So if I want to get financing, I have to get the house appraised, yes? I do not have enough saved up to buy this house cash.. I can give 20% down but that would mean financing.
I don't think they would prevent you from conducting a termite inspection. That's not how I interpret the phrase in your original post. I could be wrong, but I think they're saying that no work to treat the termite infestation will be performed by them, and no work can be done until after the sale. Frankly, they'd be putting themselves in a very vulnerable legal position if they know that termites are present, fail to disclose it to you, and prohibit you from performing your own inspection.
Anyways, this all might be a moot point. They want an all-cash deal and probably don't want to deal with a financing contingency. But then again, if they aren't getting any bites, then they would be wise to consider all offers.
@Not_the_Point wrote:Thank you sirs,
From what I can guess on their description, they will not allow a termite inspection, which to me is just an indication that there ARE termites there.
It's a 100 year old house and they've lowered the price on the property about 40% from their original asking price, but their original asking price was ridiculously high...
So if I want to get financing, I have to get the house appraised, yes? I do not have enough saved up to buy this house cash.. I can give 20% down but that would mean financing.
Termite inspections should be included in the home inspection. They can't put stipulations on the inspector or inspection, the buyer has to be aware of any defects in the home prior to purchasing. If you have to finance then yes the home would have to be appraised & you will have to go through the entire mortgage process. IMO I would look for another home and stay away from these people, they sound shady.