subject: Probate Investing, The Real Estate Deal Goldmine [print this page] Real estate has always been a competitive market. No matter whether the market is good or bad, people are drawn to the possibilities that real estate opens for making some amazing money. With the downfall of the market and the rocky economy, many real estate investors and professionals have fallen on hard times. The problem really has nothing to do with the economy or the fact that it has been a buyer's market for a while now, but more to do with the fact that real estate professionals are simply not finding the segments of the market that are hidden gems.
One of the hottest market segments is probate real estate. It is often overlooked. Probate real estate investing is often thought of as morbid or a market without much opportunity. The reality is that probate real estate is a market segment that is alive and well, so to speak.
What's Hot About Probate?
Probate real estate is unique in many ways. To begin with there is hardly any competition in this market segment. Why? Well, as mentioned above, many investors and real estate professionals see it as something difficult or not worth their time. They fail to see the goldmine in probate real estate. That's there loss and your gain.
No competition means more money for you. You won't be competing with others to get the property and you won't have to worry about negotiating prices so you can get the deal over them. This market is wide open and ready for investors.
Another great thing about probate real estate is that it is a market segment that won't be going anywhere. It is here to stay because everyone will die at some point. Most people will have estates that go to probate. Various government regulations want to ensure they get the earnings off of the taxes of the estate that is due to them. About a quarter of all cases that come to the court each year are probate cases. That is a lot of opportunity.
Now, the owners of probate real estate are the heirs of the deceased. There are many different scenarios, the property can be left to one heir or multiple heirs who must share it. In many cases, whether one heir or multiple heirs own the property, they simply do not want to deal with it. Inheriting a property means inheriting the mortgage, other associated bills and having to maintain the property. Many people would rather sell and just take the money. This opens the door to the investor.
You get sellers that are motivated and more than happy to take whatever they can get for a property. Most are not going to try to push prices sky high because they simply just want to sell. It isn't often you will run into someone who is dragging their feet about selling and even if you do there are many more properties out there that are up for grabs. A good deal all around.
How to Get In
Getting into probate real estate investing is not as hard as you may think. First of all, wills and deeds are public records that you can track down for yourself. This will usually give you the information on the property along with the name of the heir that is was left to. You can contact people this way. You also can make things easy and market to probate attorneys. A lot of people use probate attorneys and so you can often get enough business through this route to keep you going. Just drop off a brochure or your business card to local probate attorneys to get started.
No matter what you do, getting into probate real estate is profitable. Probate is something many people won't touch. All you need is the motivation to get started and you can tap a market that is pretty much competition free and lucrative. It really is a goldmine that is unnoticed in the real estate market. Now that you know about it you have the opportunity to get started in something that can really make you a real estate tycoon.
