15 Probate with Court Confirmation Sales in the San Francisco Bay Area

The above photo is of 2254 21st Ave. Oakland CA 94601. 2 bed, 2 bath, 1,300 sf, 4,242 sf lot. It was listed at $539,000. At this time there was no information about the court date and the first overbid amount.

1. 30699 Chimney Ln, Union City CA 94587. No court date and no first overbid amount given.
2. 36 Maximo Ct., Danville CA 94506. Court date 6/13/17 9am in the Martinez court. No first overbid amount given.
3. 15385 Inverness St., San Leandro CA 94579. No court date and no first overbid amount given.
4. There are 11 other properties for sale

It's amazing that the listing agents are not providing the court date and first overbid amount. The court wants the most money for the estate and to do that the listing agent is required to keep marketing the property.
If you are interested in probate properties, call me. There are probate sales that do not require court confirmation. They're faster and more secure.
To buy these properties you would have to show up at court to bid with ready money.

People sometimes don't know what's going on with their properties.

I had asked the seller if there were any outstanding debts against the properties. She said no. "I own it outright."

We list the house and accept an offer.

We got the preliminary title report* as usual. In a couple of days I get a call from the escrow agent. "What about the $45,000 personal loan on the prelim?" I react, "huh?"  the escrow agent said, "We need a payoff demand. It looks like it's a personal loan. Can you get the contact information from the seller."

So I called the seller.
Me: "Do you know anything about this loan? It looks like it's 30 years old. It's owed to a man."
Seller: "That was a long time ago. Just tell them that debt no longer matters. Please."
Me: (Really?!) "That's not the way it works. The loan has to be paid off or the title company won't insure the property. The buying bank won't make the loan because banks don't lend on clouded titles. Do you know where the person is?
Seller: "No. He passed away a long time ago."
Me: "He's dead? Oh, no."

So I called the escrow agent.
Me: "Jamie, the person who made that loan has passed away."
Jamie: "You're gonna have to do a probate."
Me: " I knew you're were gonna say that."
Jamie: "I know a good probate lawyer."
Me: "Yeah, me too."

And that's how we ended up in a probate sale situation. Guess what? It''ll be a few months to resolve it. So the sale is cancelled. Oh, my.

Me: "What's this about defaulted property taxes? It says $10,114!"
Seller: "Really? I don't know anything about that."


* Preliminary Title Report: A report done by a title company before issuing title insurance coverage. The report shows the ownership of a specific property along with the liens and encumbrances that will be paid off and covered.

1748 9th St. Oakland was a very big home is West Oakland. Built in 1905, this was a Victorian with plenty of original exterior and interior detail. The tax records indicated a duplex with 5 bed, 1 bath, 2652 sf, on a 3250 sf lot.
It was beautiful inside. It had big rooms and high ceilings. What a gorgeous property.
However, the property needed everything. Doors, windows, walls, etc. Basically, it was a cash purchase.
The first overbid fore it was set at $289,250. So the winning bid was $275,000. The investor who I knew that was interested in the property couldn't go that high.
Court confirmation took place on May 15, 2013 at 9 am at the Berkeley courthouse. There were no over bidders and the court confirmed the sale.
I'd love to see this home restored and at what the list price will be.

There were no over bidders for Yale. I met with the listing and buying agent in court just to say hello. They asked me if I was bidding or if I was bringing someone to overbid. I told them neither.

The first over bid was $300,800 so I estimated the winning bid must have been around $286,000 [($286,000 + 5%) + $500].

The house went pending Jan 25, 2013 and went to court on April 11. 2013. That's not too bad. But, oh, I heard that this was the second time for them being there because there was some problem the first time.

The confirmation was nice and boring. No one bid up and no one opposed the sale. The buyer looked happy and relieved.

As usual, the court confirmation was in Berkeley at 2120 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Dept 201.

I decided to go to probate court because it was last day of the year. Another reason was that I knew the buying agent.

First things first, the judge was an hour late. Jeez! I thought she might have forgotten that it was a working day. The Honorable Cecilia Castellanos is well known for being late. Sorry judge.

The sale being confirmed was for 607 Jean St. Oakland CA 94610. It was listed at $585,000 and it came up for confirmation at $650,000. There had been multiple offers on it. Nobody else showed up to overbid, despite many people calling. Usually when the amounts are large, nobody shows up.

It was nice to bump into Ruben Sundeen, who was representing the seller. We have done a deal before.

Next court date for me will be on January 11 to see the first confirmations which will be 3925 Edenvale Place, Oakland CA, listed at $99,000, first overbid at $165,875. Also, 25843 Bel Aire Dr. Hayward CA. listed at $225,000, first overbid at $242,000.

And so we go into 2013.