:hammer Found a vacant house to flip. The owner passed away 4 yrs ago her kids walked away from the house. No mortage on the property but taxes owed (8,000) but not in tax foreclosure yet. Deed is in deceased name. Tracked down the oldest daughter and she would sale but does not know what to do. Can this property be flipped if deeds in mother’s name?
jdhuntertx,
Welcome to the board. Glad you found us.
First of all, what state is the property located in? I’m assuming it’s Texas, but we have members from lots of states here. Every state has it’s own probate and property laws.
If the property is located in Texas, then the answer to your question is no. If the deed is still in the deceased’s name you will have some legal hoops to jump through.
If the property is in Texas you’ll most likely have to go through a “determination of heirship proceeding”. This takes place in probate court or in district court if the property is in a county that does not have a probate court.
The heirs will have to be located and if they’re all in agreement they can sign off on the deed after the determination of heirship proceeding.
The title company will want all the heirs to sign off on the deed so there isn’t a possibility of an heir coming back and saying “hey you left me out, I never agreed to this.”
You’ll need a good probate attorney in the county of the decedent’s/owners domicile at death. If that county happens to be Travis county, I can recommend a great probate attorney to you. Let me know.
Is the house still vacant?
Al Kartaltepe
210-744-7085