Marketing to probate executors

General Real Estate Investing
1

I have searched this forum hoping to find something on this issue and have not. If anyone would be so kind as to share what they send to probate executors, I’d appreciate it. I’m trying to be sensitive yet straight to the point; any words of wisdom from the experienced would be helpful!
Thanks,
Immy

2

I would be careful when marketing to probate personal representives. These folks are usually appointed for a reason (they know what they are doing, or they plan on moving into their childhood home). No matter how delicate your card is, you will recieve many angry calls. Keep in mind, people in foreclosure don’t normally discuss the fact they are in foreclosure, so they won’t be talking about you mailing them. Also, most people in foreclosure aren’t the type of people who could ruin your name anyway.

People from all walks of life die, after enough affluent people start talking, you could end up with a bad reputation as a “grave robber”.

I don’t mean to scare you away, just to give some advice to be careful. (I know this is my first post, so take my advice with a grain of salt)

3

wonder if any of the materils about probate (Scott Rister or Chuck Smith) can be of help…

4

I would be interested in information that would be helpful in going about finding the PR’s and approaching them in an appropriate manner.

Thank You
Bruce

5

Greetings fellow investors,
I’m interested in knowing if anyone out there knows of a way to get a listing of homeowners who are have received a notice of default either on the web or having a listing mailed to me. I’m living in the Colorado Springs area. Thanks, Terell

6

Steve Maletos has a course about this and states that he provides the letter, etc for the attorneys probate folks. These people are not always broken hearted relatives who will think you are a ghoul… some of these folks are looking for a quick sell to get out of the muddled probate mess. If you are efficient and quick and honest, don’t worry about getting a bad reputation amount rich folk? hooey… they can be the worst… Go for it There may very well be some letters on this site…

7

Thanks for the reply. I’ve written and sent out letters to attorneys who deal in probate, divorce, bankruptcy, and real estate, totaling about 22 letters to include some to CPA’s in my area. I’ve included two business cards for their reference and that of their clients. I guess I’ll see what happens. Any other prospective organizations that I should mail out to for networking? Terell

8

I’ve been marketing to estate executors for a few months now. I visit the county surrogate’s office and search through probate cases looking for those in my market area. The computer system at my local surrogate’s office lists the address of the deceased and the address of the executor. A decedent’s address in my target area and an out of state executor seem to me the best possibility for motivated seller.

Once I locate what seems to be a reasonable prospect I search the county clerk’s office for real estate owned by the decedent, the date of sale, mortgages, etc. Once I locate a decedent with a property with equity I send a letter to the executor with condolences and a notice that I would be interested in purchasing the property.

9

Great! Do you have sample a letter that I could use to send them? I like your prospective on the probate side. Great information. Terell

10

Me Too ;D

Bruce

11

My letter is as follows:

Mr/Mrs executor
100 Main street
Anytown USA 12345

Dear Mr. Executor;

I sympathize with you regarding the passing of “the decedent’s name” earlier this “year/month/week” and please let me acknowledge that I understand settling the estate and selling the estate’s property at “ the decedents real estate address” may not currently be at the top of your priority list. However, estate expenses, property taxes, and maintenance expenses may shortly begin to pile up and at that time you may begin considering selling the property.

I am a real estate investor doing business in the area where the property is located and I specialize in helping property owners and estate trustees receive cash quickly by buying property in “as is” condition and closing in as little as 5 days. I am not a real estate agent and do not want to list the property. I own a local business that uses our own cash reserves for purchasing properties. We do not rely on gimmicks, “creative financing” or the bait and switch game of some real estate investment companies that have no resources. They simply want to tie up your property until they find cash investors but back out of the sale when no cash is found. I can buy the property for ALL CASH in just a few days if necessary. We can handle all the paperwork and pay all cost.

If you would like to discuss some of the options for selling the property from the estate please do not hesitate to contact me at “your phone number”. You’ll get a quick, discreet response with no hassles, no pressure, and your worries will be behind you. If you are not interested in working with “your company name” , just leave a voice mail, or send and email, and we will promptly remove you from our mailing list.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Your Name
You Company

12

JMD,

That is a great letter. Have you had anyone call you from it?

Ramona

13

I agree with Ramona. It is a great letter, Still, I’m unfamiliar with how to find out how to locate a homeowner in that situation. Please advise! Terell

14

No, I haven’t had any responses from it yet. I’ve sent out about 50 letters to executors I qualified via research at the county courthouse.

How to find/locate a homeowner in that situation is described in detail in my previous post.

  1. Use computer system at county surrogate’s office to look at EVERY probate case.
    Documents available in SJ include death certificate, will, notice of filing, etc. The notice of filing provides the name and address of both the decedent and the executor. Some localities have this info online vias the internet, others, like in SJ you actually have to go to their office and use the systems there.

  2. Look at filing notice to screen for decedents in your target area. I picked a targetr area of 5 or 6 towns because there aere just too many probate cases if you try to work them all. Once you find a decedent in your target area, look at the address of the executor. Out of state/non-local executors seem to me to be the best candidates. I don’t bother executors who live at the same addres as the decedent.

  3. Once you locate a good prospect that meets the above criteria (or your own criteria), search for property owned by decedent in the county clerk’s office AND in the will. The will may leave the property specifically to an heir. The notice of filing enumerates the heirs and the city they live in.

  4. Assuming you have found a decedent that owned real estate in an area you are interested in you now have the name and address of the executor and the name and city of an heir (Use Yahoo people finder or similar services to find the heir’s address. I find the heir and executor are often the same.)

  5. Send a letter, followed up by post card every week or so untill the property is settled.

I spend about 3 hours every Thursday revieving notices at the surrogate’s office. In our surrogate’s office you can look as far back in time as you want for probate cases but I found most stuff over six months old was already sold/settled.

JMD