Probate sale might be one of the most used terms in today’s real estate sector. There’s no wonder if you are totally baffled when you hear it for the first time. The more you dig deeper, the more complicated it gets. Well, don’t get too perturbed yet. Allow us to save you from all the troubles of probate sales with this article.

Let’s start with the basics here.

What Exactly is a Probate Sale?

We are pretty much sure you’ve done a bit of research on this topic as of now. Whatever you’ve ‘googled’ and researched on the subject might be pretty much correct. A probate sale occurs when the current owner of the property has passed away without a will bequeathing the house to an heir. An estate attorney or a representative has to sell the property to liquidate the asset and distribute the money obtained from the sell to family members. Probate sale is usually put on by the probate court and occurs when the court puts up the property up for sale in the market. Even though this sounded simple, once you decide with proceeding with a probate sale the tables will start to turn.

How To Sell a Probate House in NYC?

Selling a probate house is not as simple as selling a home in New York. Not every homeowner deceased estate go through probate too. Many estates can avoid regular probate by qualifying as “small estates” under the state law. In a probate sale, the estate attorney hires an experienced real estate agent for listing probate property in New York and sell the home. Even though the price of these properties will be much lower than their current market value, don.’t expect the estate owners to make any repairs before you move in as the owner of the property is legally no more alive. This is a precautionary step taken by the court to make sure the property is sold at the best possible price. The interested buyer is asked to put down at least 10 percent of the proposed value as a deposit. The seller has the right to accept or reject the offer from the buyer. Once the seller agrees with the proposal, the court must confirm to make sure it’s a fair and square deal. The probate court will then approve the sale and the place where it should take place.

Once the property is set up for probate auction, anyone present in the courtroom may make a superior bid of at least five percent above the original bid. Once the offer is accepted both by the seller and the court, the administrator must send a Notice of Proposed Action to all the estate’s heirs. A fifteen days period is allotted to the heirs to come up with any objections or disagreements in the Notice.

It would be difficult to proceed all by yourself to enroll the estate in the probate court appealing for a probate sale. You might need the help of an experienced probate sale specialist or a professional real estate agent to sell your probate property without any hassle in NYC.

Should I Buy a Probate House in NY  

With America running behind crazy deals and offers on anything that they can grab, the market of probate sale houses in NYC has drastically grown these past years. You can get a property listed in probate sale cheaper than the house’s exact market value. But before jumping into conclusions, there are a few things that you need to know before buying a probate sale.

1. Probate properties are the properties without ownership as the homeowner has already passed away without bequeathing a will for his/ her heir. So, don’t expect the probate court or the seller’s family to repair that leakage window or the missing pool equipment. What you see is what you get in a probate sale.
2. Make sure you went thoroughly through the disclosures. There might be many complex factors that a naked eye might fail to notice. Get the help of an experienced probate sale agent to make sure everything goes smooth and steady.
3. The representatives will produce the final court judgment. Make sure you are present at the court in person for the hearing.
4. Since there are no contingencies in a probate sale, the seller does not have to wait for you to find a loan or sell your existing home. You can get advance approval from the present owners of the estate.
5. Working with a real estate agent or a probate expert will always aid you in moving forward with the buy. Real estate agents in NYC can even give you probate sale packages for making the whole process hassle-free. While any agent can represent you, only a probate sale professional can assure you whether the transaction is managed correctly so that you get the property and the terms and conditions you want.

How Does a Probate Begin?

The smooth transition of probate sales differs from state to state. Different country has different ways and rules on how to handle a probate sale. But, there are still a few things that are common to all probates.

The representative for the probate property will need to file a petition with the local probate court in NY where the deceased homeowner was living at the time of his/ her death. The death certificate and the original will (if exists) must also be produced at the time of filing petition for probate sale. The petitioner is required to send formal legal notices to all the heirs, send legal notices to the known creditors and publish a legal notice in the local newspaper to alert all the other creditors. The court will then conduct a hearing so that any interested buyers are welcome to place a bid on the probate property.