The investor letters have started. Here is what the house is actually worth.
Probate filings are public, and cash buyers mail every executor in Orange County. How to read those offers and what a fair number looks like.
Short answer: the letters and calls are not a sign that something is wrong. Probate filings are public records, and investors buy the list. Their offers are usually 15 to 30 percent below what the house would bring on the open market. Sometimes that discount is worth it. Usually it is not.
How the letters find you
When a Petition for Probate is filed, the case, the decedent's name, and the property become public. Data companies compile new filings weekly and sell them to investors, wholesalers, and, yes, agents. Within a few weeks of filing, you will get postcards, handwritten-looking letters, and phone calls. Some are polite. Some are not.
How to read a cash offer
- "As-is, close in 7 days, no fees." True, and it costs you the discount. Selling costs on the open market are typically 5 to 7 percent; investor discounts are two to four times that.
- "Assignment" language in the contract. A wholesaler is tying up the house to resell the contract to another investor. They are not the buyer.
- A price that is not based on anything. Ask how they arrived at it. A real buyer can show you comparable sales.
- Pressure. "This offer expires Friday" is a tactic, not a fact. Estates do not have deadlines like that.
When a cash offer might make sense
If the house has serious structural problems, if there is a lender deadline the estate truly cannot meet, or if the heirs need certainty over price. Even then, get a second number first.
What a fair number looks like
Pull the last six months of sales of similar houses within a half mile, adjust for condition, and that is the range. I will do this for you at no cost and no obligation, and I will tell you if a cash offer you have received is actually reasonable. Sometimes they are.
Next guide: Multiple heirs, one decision: keeping everyone on the same page
Have a question about your own situation? Email me a photo of your Letters and the property address, and I will tell you what your authority means and what the house is likely worth. It costs nothing and there is no obligation.