To understand the special issues that arise when selling real estate related to the disposition of an estate or through a probate, we two interviewed an award-winning Certified TopAgents who specialize in this area.
Dan Farris, Brown Harris Stevens: Dan has been selling Manhattan real estate for nearly 20 years. He has successfully worked with many estates and probates, selling properties, providing broker opinions, and managing the staging process.
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Joanne Douglas, The Corcoran Group: Joanne and her team annually close between $15-30 million in estate/probate sales alone. She is an annual member of Corcoran’s President’s Circle (Top 25 agent in the firm) and has been selling Manhattan real estate for 25 years.
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What makes selling an estate different than selling a non-estate apartment?
Joanne Douglas: There’s nobody living in the home…and unfortunately you can feel that when you come in. But you don’t want it to feel that way. Usually, in an estate/probate situation, the apartment is dated or very cluttered. It’s very important to convince the trustee or heir to hire a professional cleaning crew. Sometimes it’s even worth white-washing the apartment. If possible, we prefer to keep the furniture because the apartment will photograph better, but if we have to, we’ll hire a haul-away crew to remove any shabby furniture. In certain instances, we’ll bring in a professional stager who will bring in accessories to warm up the apartment. It may cost a couple thousand dollars to do that, but it makes a huge difference in the sale.
Dan Farris: In terms of the presentation, it is important to make the home look as inviting as possible. If there are things such as leaks or signs of leakage, fix them and paint them so they look good cosmetically. When you’re dealing with an estate/probate, you need to remove the clutter so the apartment is appealing. If it smells, you should rip up the carpet. Some apartments only need a touch up, but others may need to an entire paint job and re-flooring. If there are any signs of death or medical care, for example a shower or toilet seat that provides assistance, remove them. You want the home to be appealing to people moving in.
What are some of the non-staging issues you face selling an estate?
Dan Farris: Many times you’re dealing with an attorney, not the heir or executor. Because you’re communicating through another party, there can be communication problems. Sometimes it’s best to have everyone sit down and talk.
Joanne Douglas: If you’re dealing directly with the heirs, and there’s more than one, they might not always agree on pricing or which offer to accept. Sometimes one heir will want to hold out for more money, while the other wants to sell. As an agent, this requires a lot of diplomacy.
When you’re dealing with a bank, it’s very different. If you’re dealing with an attorney and someone working directly in the bank, then you need to be in constant communication. My team often communicates with attorneys in estate/probate sales with a periodic report– we’ll regularly email a report which includes the number of calls we received, the number of potential buyers who toured the apartment, and any offers we have received. Executors have a fiduciary responsibility, so they have to quantify their decisions. I provide them with as much information as possible – comps, prices per square foot, etc. – so they are able to support their decision, whether it is dropping the price or accepting an offer.
Do buyers approach estate/probate sales differently?
Dan Farris: Sometimes buyers don’t even know it’s an estate or probate sale until they really get into it. But when I’m working with a buyer, I never tell my clients to assume that they can get a bargain simply because it is an estate sale.
How can a real estate agent who has extensive experience working on estate sales or with a probate benefit a seller?
Dan Farris: An agent who has sold estates before can help ensure that all parties are prepared for the process ahead. Another really important way that an experienced agent can help is with staging. Brokers who don’t the importance of getting rid of all signs of death actually hurt the process.
Because there are so many parties – attorneys, heirs, and executors – the most important way an agent can help is to coordinate the lines of communication so that everyone is on the same page.
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