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.