As Los Angeles Real Estate Cools, Some U.S. Housing Markets Turn Ugly

Five days after the L.A. Loft Blog reported significant drops in condo prices around Downtown, Forbes has released a list of ugliest market areas.  The report pays attention to problems such as upside-down homes with negative equity, decreasing value and too many days on market.

States leading the way in real estate ugliness include: IL, NJ, VA, GA, MD, FL and CT.  Fortunately, California is not on the ugly list. While CA has its issues, home values remain magnitudes higher than the ugly states thanks to sunny weather, diverse economy and lifestyle.


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Probate Los Angeles

Probate Sale California

There are always many ways to minimize the difficulties of legal problems, and fortunately, there are also ways to find the positive side and take advantage of Downtown L.A. real estate opportunities that are created by legal issues such as lawsuits, litigation and probate.

Probate Sale Los Angeles
Probate Sale Los Angeles

When a loved one has passed away, sometimes they did not create a living trust or will that are required to avoid probate court. When these important legal tools are lacking, a probate court judge must make decisions about the deceased person’s real estate sale before any potential heirs or debtors can be taken care of.  #probate #california #losangeles

A trustee is usually the person who creates a trust. A successor trustee is commonly the inheriting offspring of the dead trustee.  Most siblings cannot even agree on where to get dinner, so when a probate sale is required, it is usually best to choose one person to represent all heirs so that there is no squabbling about all of the details.

When a parent dies and the offspring cannot be easily found, the probate court must use heir hunters, which finds heirs and gets to keep up to 45% of their inherited money for all of the trouble of locating them.

When there are no will and no trust, then there usually needs to be a grant deed and probate.  Only real estate owned by a trust can escape the delays and high costs of probate.

Authority
There are two types of authority: Most prevalent is full authority (Only when someone passes away). About ninety percent of probates are full authority.

Other factors can create the need for probate, such as medical incapacitation, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  A conservatorship is done in probate court also.  A conservatorship is an example of limited authority.

Full authority is more flexible as there is no need for judge approval to sell. Instead of taking on average 9.5 months, full authority can sometimes reduce the process down to as few as 2.5 months to close escrow.

With limited authority, there is a case in court.

There is no need for court when the property owner obtains a trust and will ahead of time. A trust is a contract. A living trust says that if the property owner becomes incapacitated, a judge does not need to tell who to appoint as the conservator to take care of the incapacitated person’s affairs.  The trust document appoints the conservator.

If the deceased person had no estate planning package and no trust, then nobody knows which inheriting child to put in charge, so family membesr will need go to court to request to be conservator, and then a judge will hold a hearing to determine capacity and who to give the conservatorship to.

A Notice of Proposed Action must be issued when dealing with the sale of real property in a probate. The notice must be writing and sent to all interested persons, heirs, beneficiaries, anyone or any entity requesting information on the probate proceeding.

Trust documents (all 5 are required):
Trust – either revocable or irrevocable (most are revocable because things change)
Durable Power of Attorney – needed for when trustee has dementia etc only given to someone who is very trustworthy to have access to the incapacitated person’s bank, government dealings etc.

Advance Healthcare Directive – Give legal permission so that one or two authorized persons may access medical records and deal with doctors. A Pour-Over will eliminates need for clear intent to put items in trust. A pour-over will is a testamentary device wherein the writer of a will creates a trust, while decrees in the will that the property in his or her estate at the time of his or her death shall be distributed to the Trustee of the trust.

Trust Transfer Teed
– Allows the property owner to grant the home they own to a grantee without an opportunity for the deed to be considered.

There are many other details that need to be considered and taken care of in a probate sale.  These include decisions on how to take title, how inheritances are taken, tax laws such as capital gains, minimizing delays, legal authority, starting the probate process, probate selling process, multiple offers, deposit requirements, over-bidding process, appraisal requirements, valuation and sub-trusts.

Legal issues such as probate sales, lawsuits and litigation can often reduce prices and create other exciting deals for home buyers and investors.

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Probate Real Estate California
Probate Real Estate California

Copyright © This free information provided courtesy L.A. Loft Blog and LAcondoInfo.com with information provided by Corey Chambers, Realty Source Inc, BRE#01889449 We are not associated with the homeowner’s association or developer. This article is not written by a law professional, and does not constitute legal advice. It is provided to share one real estate professional’s limited experience and information on real estate issues only. For legal advice, consult an attorney. Buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants and all others who may be impacted by real estate or legal issues must do their own research and get legal information and assistance from a legal professional. For more information on real estate, contact (213) 880-9910 or visit LAcondoInfo.com Licensed in California. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale or rental. This is not a solicitation if buyer or seller is already under contract with another broker.  |  QUESTION OR COMMENT