The house needed some updates but 5 months later Hurricane Ivan destroyed my house therefore I was immediately thrust into the real estate investment reality. 

Notes originated for the secondary of institutional portfolios are not the main thrust, those come from distressed situations directly with the bank and borrower in unique situations, not tapes.There are much better note opportunities from the note holder, not brokers.

I believe it could be a really valuable tool for military members who are thrust into the world of real estate every 2-4 years when they have to PCS.

So I believe he was thrust into a position he didn't normally do and therefore dropped the ball on ALL the paper work.

I did not anticipate what they did next - they filed an insurance claim and thrust me into a battle with their insurers legal dept.

Considering most PRs that have this duty thrust on to them, depending on their ability to deal with the emotional issues and also the assets in the estate, it can take anywhere from 2-12 months before they're ready to even talk about it.

From myself getting thrust into this world of real estate as a result of 9/11 and ripped my life apart as an airline pilot.

Yeah, you’re right about the 12-, the exemption would be prorated....but, you can shield part of the gain thrust the prorated 121, and exchange to defer the rest of the cap gain/depreciation recapture. 

If you want to chase down probate leads, you've got some homework to do first, like the probate laws for your area and how someone can navigate the process (your counties website should have some guides for this), how to find good estate sale reps, how to do clean outs for cheap, vendor lists, etc.. all the things someone that is overwhelmed with the role that has been thrust upon them and how to best help them.

In the Air Force, we referred to it as "all thrust and no vector" which means you have a lot of energy but no focus on direction.Read some books.