Sell My Inherited House in Sacramento, Stockton or Modesto
Blessing or a Curse? Inheriting a House is a double edged sword. I guess it depends whom you ask… When you own a House in Sacramento that you don’t want, its best to start looking for a Company that says “We Buy Houses Sacramento even in Probate”.
Here is the recap… Rena Inherited a house from her brother and promised her brother to be the executor and settle his estate when he passed. She had no money to pay for what was coming next and Rena was already terrified that the state would take any inheritance to cover past medical bills and/or that it may cause her to lose some of the benefits that she was receiving from Social Security. Whatever the reason, Rena was convinced that this was NOT a good thing.
On top of that she had already made 3 trips to Sacramento from Washington and she knew that if they were going to finish cleaning out the house and sell the estate , she would come back at least 3 to 5 more times. At age 75 that is an overwhelming undertaking.
The final straw was when Rena found out that her late brothers attorney had not filed the trust documents and the estate needed to go through probate. No money, No Revocable Trust and one very deadbeat Attorney. Rena took to the internet and found my youtube channel and watched a few of my videos and read a few of my articles at https://www.westbrookrei.com/webuyhousessacramento , she took a leap of faith and she called me.
She explained… the attorney wanted an additional $2,500.00. The estate had $750 in cash, old tools in the shed and garage, household furniture, and two 15 to 17 year old cars that were beat up and certainly not valuable assets.
Rena needed a NEW sounding board. I recommended that she talk to a title company, order a preliminary title report and comparative market analysis to get an idea of the houses value and the titles entanglements. I also recommended that she order an appraisal of the house in its as is condition. I explained that if it the estate went into probate, the probate referee would order an appraisal as well and I just wanted her to be prepared so that she could start to formulate her own sales price for the house. Rena asked me to do all three for her.
The First Meeting We Buy Houses Sacramento Probate
When we first met at the house two weeks later, Dennis and Rena were standing on the front porch as I drove up. There was another gentleman loading boxes from the house to a pickup in the driveway. It was moving day. They were nervous and pensive and I would soon find out why.
Rena and Dennis introduced me to the mover, his name was Jim and he was apparently her brother’s best friend. I sensed that things were a little tense especially when I asked if I could walk around. Jim became just a little agitated and nervous. He said that I didn’t need to go in the backyard. Rena immediately jumped in and explained that her brother and his friend had been growing several marijuana plants in the backyard and that Jim was about two weeks away from harvest and he was tending to the plants until then. She explained that it was probably a good idea that he be allowed to do that until the plants were gone or made some other arrangement. Jim promised he’d be out as soon as he completed the harvest. Three weeks… Famous last words.
To cloud matters even more Jim had told Rena that he wanted to buy the house and that he could afford monthly payments, but he’d prefer just to rent. Rena explained that she did not want to become the landlord or the bank. She wanted to sell the house. Jim asked me if I would buy it and rent it to him.
Seriously? The last thing I wanted was to become the owner and landlord of someone illegally cultivating and distributing drugs from a property that I owned… imagine that.
I explained that we were way ahead of ourselves and that I was there to talk to Rena and Dennis about the house and that we could talk later when the appropriate time came, but I wasn’t interested is having any tenants. I explained that is not what I do.
Rena was visibly upset by what had transpired. She didn’t like Jim being there and was not sure what to do. She didn’t want to call the Sheriff, but how cold she overlook what was happening. She knew that Jim was going to be a problem, we all did, and that was on top of the real estate Title and probate issues they had yet to resolve.
Can you imagine living 680 miles away from a house that you want to sell that is not even in your name with an unwanted and uninvited house guest growing pot in the backyard. Rena told me that in all her past dealing with Jim she had not known about the pot growing and she was now worried about what Jim would do if he felt threatened.
I just know that I had a hard time seeing a positive outcome with all of the activity and the potential for abuse by Jim. At this point I didn’t want to leave Rena and Dennis in the lurch, I knew that they needed help more than ever. The local kind that could at least keep and eye on things. I am not sure about you, but, I can only imagine how vulnerable Dennis and Rena felt to have all of these additional issues foisted upon them.
Rena told me that once they finished packing up the truck that shed like to meet somewhere to sit down and talk. We agreed to meet in an hour at a Starbucks about a mile away. Rena was so upset by all of te events and very sensitive about the new twist with Jim.
We discussed everything in detail. I told them that while I didn’t like the position that they had found themselves in I was nervous about Jim, the marijuana and kind of people that tend to show up once the word gets out. I told them that I was willing to help any way that I could. I explained that friend or not it, was going to take longer than two weeks regardless of who purchased the property to unravel the mess with the trust, the attorney and the status of the probate. I explained that even if we could agree on terms, she needed the probate courts approval that would give her the authority and the ability to sell the house. I recommended that I talk to an attorney that I use for probates and that I make copies of everything she had. Another leap of Faith by Dennis and Rena. gave me their folders.
As for the house, we discussed its condition, the equity and what the title report, appraisal and comparative market analysis had revealed. We talked about a sales price and we agreed on a number.
I then recommended that we tell Jim that I bought the house, (he didn’t need to know the details or the limitations), and in the interim I was the property manager. Most important she allowed me to give Jim a deadline of three weeks. She wanted me to tell him. Interesting thing about deadlines. They are like lines in the sand and Jim did not respond well. I told Jim that regardless of what his agreement was with Rena’s brother was, the marijuana activity needed to stop, harvest or not and that Jim needed to move out immediately and the plants needed to be gone within the three weeks. Jim reluctantly agreed. How’s that for a set of morning problems?
I purchased padlocks, changed the locks on the house boarded up the windows in the front of the house. Rena left for Seattle that afternoon and never had to return, even for court. Part of our agreement was that I deliver all remaining useful furniture, clothing and appliances to the local Salvation Army or Goodwill. I did that three weeks later when we junked out the property.
There is so much more to this story. The twists and turns are unique. The legal maneuverings by the attorney were brilliant and Rena and her brother finally received their inheritance form their brothers estate without any adverse tax consequences or losing any social security benefits.
Before we were done we;
- We evicted tenants that Jim had illegally rented the house to in the interim
- Enforced the Unlawful Detainer and called the sheriff to lock them out
- Called the sheriff to stop the illegal marijuana grow for a second harvest
- We hired a new Probate Attorney
- We paid for the new Probate Attorney
- Assisted Rena establish a Tax id number for the trust
- Assisted Rena establish a bank account for the trust for funds to be transferred into
- Closed on the house 14 months later with clear title and everyone happy
- Rena Never traveled to Sacramento again. We cleaned out the house and donated the rest to Charity.
I talked to Rena at least four times a month for 16 months. We became good friends and when the sale of her house was done she said thank you for selling my inherited house in Sacramento. “When I first called you I wasn’t sure who buys houses in Sacramento. I wasn’t expecting this much help and I certainly didn’t expect you to pay for the probate”.