Ask if the seller has Independent Administration authority of the court in his letters. If so, all he needs to do is notify the heirs and give them 2 weeks to object. If they ignore it the PR is authorized to consummate the sale in 2 weeks. If they are all willing to do the sale they can submit an approval and the sale can be completed once the PR (Administrator/Executor) has the written confirmation from the heirs (before the 2 weeks). If it requires court confirmation it may take a bit longer depending on when the clerk is able to calendar the mater. In Sacramento it takes about 4-6 weeks to calendar after we’ve drawn up the petition.

It depends if the property sale fall under the "Independant Administrator" or must it be confirmed by the court.

If it is under the Independant Administrator, the sale will be pretty much like a regular sale.

If it is subject to court confirmation the court and judge will need to confirm the sale. it is subject to overbidding (another buyer can show up at the confirmation and bid the price up and purchase it on the spot).

When a listing is posted on the MLS (multiple listing service) it is a requirement to state whether it is a probate. Usually the buyers agent makes an inquiry to the lisiting agent to determine which process will take place.

I would ask my Realtor to see what process your offer falls under and what the expectations will be. In some cases the attorney for the estate will collect multiple offers for review and/or court confirmation. Good luck.

Hi Ed:

In California, I agree with Ed, really depends on whether this probate property has an executor and/or if it needs court confirmation or not. If not, the sale goes through as regular sale for you. Sometimes even with the requirement of court confirmation, if the situation has been cleared before hand, the process is minimum - we have one going through office now.

However, if it is a contestable case, then it will be tied up for a long time. Although in Marin, we are required to disclose this upfront - whether there is a probate and whether the probate needs confirmation. Also, if needs court confirmation, the agent will provide the overbid procedures (there is a set percentage to overbid) so you know the situation before you submit the offer.

Yes, more detail will certainly help in this case.

Sylvia.

That depends on whether the power of sale has been granted to an administrator or if the sale has to be confirmed by the court. If an administrator has the power of sale the transaction should go forward fairly normally. Probate sales are normally sold as-is. The administrator probably didn't live in the home and is exempt from real estate transfer disclosure laws.

If the sale has to be confirmed by the court, you might find yourself in an overbid situation if there are others interested in the property.

Please be more specific and I may be able to provide you with better information.

Hey Michelle,
I am in AZ. Every state is different.
My first answer is that you are going to wait a very long time.
Then I looked around the web and found this site below. He really spells it out for California.
Good Luck
Keep me posted.