Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
excessive cost of sale of house.
I'm an administer of my mother's a state the estate is in probate her House was put on the market and sold under probate law that is as is property. We found a buyer and the house was sold. The house was in escrow, we found out that the house had substandard conditions that needed to be upgraded before the House could clear escrow. We had to work with the city permit Department to clear this up, we put up a considerable amount of money just to get the plans developed and approved, now we are getting bids for the work . The cost of this work has exceeded anything we had imagined the lowest bid was $13,000 plus what we have already don brings the total to more than $20,000. plus the house was discounted to sell it what if anything can we do .
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: excessive cost of sale of house.
Are you the only administrator? If there are others, are you working closely with them? Do any of you have legal representation? Was the property appraised before sale?
Handling an estate, even that of a parent, is pretty tricky and I would not advise anyone to act as an executor or administrator of an estate that included real estate without retaining an attorney to provide consultation.....that doesn't mean paying for huge hours or turning the work over to the attorney, but there are many pitfalls for the administrator and these can include personal liability to the (other) heirs.
Often, elderly people do not have the income, and perhaps not the interest or knowledge or personal ability, to maintain their residences well. It is not uncommon for estate properties to require substantial repairs to make them marketable.
You need to do the best you can, under the circumstances, to maximize the proceeds. This means using attorneys, appraisers, getting bids from several contractors, etc. Above all, be sure you are bonded (if required) and that you are following all the requirements of the Probate Code. If the net selling price turns out to be less than anticipated, that's unfortunate for the heirs, but at least you as administrator will have avoided personal liability through following the rules and making the best of the situation.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
