My mom passed in October 2012 from pneumonia attributed to having Alzheimer's disease. She owned a house but the house is to be sold pay her nursing home bill. The rest will go to the lawyer and a supplemental needs trust for my handicapped sister. It's just the two of us. The lawyer recommended a realtor to sell the property. She found an invester willing to buy the house at a reduced rate because the neighborhood's not great and the house needs work. The lawyer refused to negotiate because the investor wanted to use and FHA loan putting only 3% down on the house. The lawyer says that the courts will not permit the house to be sold for less than 10% down. I want the house sold as soon as possible because I have to go out of my way (neither I nor my sister live there) to maintain it so it does not look abandoned. It's really putting a strain on me. Can the lawyer refuse a buyer that the realtor and I both would like to sell to? Buyers are hard to find because they will have to wait six to eight months for the contract to go through the courts. Bear in mind, I get nothing out of the sale although I have to keep the property clean. Any solution would be welcomed. Thanks.
I think what you may be asking is whether or not the lawyer is being honest about needing a minimum 10% down? I think you'll need to research that in the state where the home resides.
Blessings to you and your sister.
I bet the Realtor is some kinda pissed too........So who is the executor? It is the executors that should determine what happens with the estate. If that is your or your siblings, then it's time to let the attorney know that and very upfront and directly. A buyer who is willing to wait out probate for a property is rare and really you are lucky to even find someone who want to do this. Maybe the attorney has no idea of what the comparables are for the property in the condition it is? The Realtor should have this to give to you to show to the attorney.
If the atty is a probate attorney, they might not be really familiar with real estate specifics. Most homes are sold by FHA and VA and the downpayment is just a few %, that is what most homes are sold by. 10% usually means it is a cash or conventional sale - and really having to do cash / conventional leaves the vast majority of buyers out of ever even considering buying the house. Say you have saved 25K and you want to buy a house, so with FHA you can get qualify for alot more expensive house that you could for cash or conventional. Maybe he just flat doesn't understand?
See if you can find out what type of FHA loan it is. Alot of time for investment property that needs substantial repairs, folks do a 203K FHA loan & it's mandated at a 3.5% downpayment. Can't be more as it's structured by the government for 3.5%. 203K are kinda complex for the buyer but that isn't your problem as you are the seller. But if it is a 203K loan, the property is viewed as being significantly needing repairs just short of being on a blight list. The only reason I know about 203K is that we went though Hurricane Katrina and a lot of homes that flooded or were damaged, could not pass a traditional low down-payment FHA or VA sale because they can't pass inspection to get a normal mortgage but they can get a FHA loan by doing it as a 203K FHA loan through the few banks that do these. They are some kinda paperwork heavy but a good investor has crews to do the work and submit the reporting so they can continue to get the 203K funding. One of our neighbors did several 203K's. If it was a 203K, then the house will be viewed pretty negatively and hard to sell. The house isn;t going to get any cuter over time
ABOUT THE YARD.....YOU SHOULD BE BILLING THE ESTATE FOR THE COSTS. Really, it is a expense on the administration to the estate. Like in TX this would be a Class 1 Claim and paid to you or whomever has been paying this from the proceeds of the sale of the property. If you are the executor, you can also "bill" the estate for management of probate. All totally legit costs for settling an estate and this is paid before the NH costs, too. You have to look out for your own self interest in all this. Good luck!