One of my sellers died before signing contract

[Dave Martel]

Hello BP, I hope someone can help me out with this.

I got a call Friday from a motivated seller and met them on Sunday. It turns out the house is owned by three siblings ( two sisters and a brother) all of whom are on social security. The brother became ill a while back and was placed in a nursing home. With the loss of his income the two sisters fell behind on the mortgage and the house is in foreclosure, cure deadline is Oct 15.

After walking through the house and speaking with the sisters we made a deal and they signed my contract. I spoke with the daughter of the brother and she agreed to the deal as well and was working to get power of attorney.

When I got home today I had a message from one of the sisters saying that the brother died this morning and his daughter wasn't able to get the power of attorney signed. I haven't called back yet and don't know if there is a will.

So where do I go from here? The sisters still want to sell and I'm waiting for a call back from the law firm working the foreclosure to try to push the sale. I feel super awkward calling to find out if there is a will but if there isn't I would imagine it could take months to get sorted out. Even if there is a will wouldn't it still take a while? I already did a title search and it is not a joint tenant deed.

What do you all think?

[Account Closed]

With or without a will, the brother's share is now owned by his estate, until it is transferred to heirs or beneficiaries. His relatives will have to figure out how they will proceed, as they may have other estate assets and/or debts to deal with. IMO, the positive is that you have two community property owners, the sisters, that are motivated to sell.

Nothing is stopping you from buying the interests that belong to the sisters. As an owner with an undivided 66% interest, you would be in a pretty good position to solve the brother's estate issue if the heirs don't rally. The challenge would be getting the sisters to accept the discount that is appropriate for buying partial interests. Appropriate discount = dirt cheap. In my experience the partial interest offer often motivates the other owners/heirs to solve estate and probate issues asap.