Wholesaling Probate Properties

...So I just received my first probate data cd from my county's tax assessor's office, populated with over 10,000 names and addresses ranging from 1968 to 2012. Just as luck would have it...there are hardly any new probate properties on the list from this calendar year (only 2 to be exact). If I can remember correctly, It is best to market to those who most recently received the probate property within the past 60-90 days, which I assume would make this list nothing more than useless. This is one of my first experiences in the wholesaling field, so I may be wrong about something. Can someone please shed some light on this???? Thanks.

Estates can take some time to settle, even years. Once the estate has settled the heirs may still own the property and want to sell. So I wouldn't limit to the last 60-90 days.

Perhaps you could cross reference heirs of estates that still own property 3-2 years latter.

Originally posted by E Martin:
...So I just received my first probate data cd from my county's tax assessor's office, populated with over 10,000 names and addresses ranging from 1968 to 2012. Just as luck would have it...there are hardly any new probate properties on the list from this calendar year (only 2 to be exact). If I can remember correctly, It is best to market to those who most recently received the probate property within the past 60-90 days, which I assume would make this list nothing more than useless. This is one of my first experiences in the wholesaling field, so I may be wrong about something. Can someone please shed some light on this???? Thanks.

Im new as well and about to start marketing to people going through probate, but I plan on getting the information myself by checking everyday to see if something new is filed. I agree with Ned that some estates can be complex and can take months or years to settle, I would think most get resolved rather quick. In my lack of experience, but educated guess, it seems like the faster you get to them the better. A lot can happen in a couple years, much less 20,30+ years. Chances are the people who received the house that long ago are either dead themselves or sold it. If it takes you a lot of time to go research each property to see if they still own it, it very well might not be worth it.

Thanks for the feedback guys...

@Ned Carey: You have a great point...I just remembered that my late grandmother's probate proceedings for her estate have yet to be settled, and she's been dead for almost 2 years. I would imagine that there are many other cases pending in such a manner as family members sometimes fail to agree on things. I'm thinking of expanding the direct marketing to a 3-5yr threshold. Would it be a push to go even further??

@Will Sifert: I've been looking into the public notice probate proceedings that are most current in my state and I am having a little trouble understanding exactly what is being inherited. For example, the said case will have the name of the deceased, and the name of the Heir set to inherit the state, and on what day it will happen. Nothing more. How are you getting the addresses? Are they listed in your state, or do you use whitepages, melissadata, etc....?

I'm thinking of expanding the direct marketing to a 3-5yr threshold. Would it be a push to go even further??

I wouldn't go back further. However good marketing is about testing. Try it. If it works keep doing it. If it doesn't work try something else.

Thanks Ned...I'll keep you updated on the results.

E Martin,

you got some good advice from Ned about going back 2-3 years. Although it is a long time ago, you still may find some opportunities. It's important to get your name in the hat early, but you want to make sure that you consistently keep your name in it because as the months pass and the estates get older, other investors who are tyring to get that same property will start to fall off. That's just how it goes. You have to stay consistent with you contacts because these can and will take a long time to close. Those that are 2-3 years old, are ready to go but you'd probably be the only guy trying to approach them after that amount of time because most of your competition will have moved on to other things.

Go get'em.

E

Start with the current filings and stay current, then start working your way backwards, This will also educate you about timelines and other happenings in the world of probate.

i have had deals result 5 years after probate because of heirs fighting it out, or heirs that decided to keep a property found out landlording wasn't what they expected, or co-owning was a pain, or they don't need to own property to remember mom, and decided getting some money to blow was much better.