Sometimes, real estate agents overlook one of the best ways to help more people and find more listings. Tune in to this episode and learn more! 

• When Jimmy’s mother-in-law died, they were looking for a way to know the value of her property, but they didn’t know anyone in the neighborhood, and they couldn’t find any sales agent to help them. 
• In times such as these, the emotions are still high, and when you get an inherited property, you won’t know exactly what you want to do with it right away. 
• This is a critical time for real estate to add value to people. It’s a time when professionalism and help are a necessity. 

The fundamentals when someone inherits a property

• Probate is the legal process following a homeowner’s death, and the property is transferred to the heirs or the people who are part of the estate. 
• Someone has to file for the probate to allow the debtors to claim things that they own. 
• In this day and age, the most significant asset is real estate. 
• In the probate process, individuals need to file for someone to be the executor of the estate or to be the person that will act as the administrator for the estate. The judge then comes in and names that person as the estate’s administrator. 
• The means that the administrator has the full right to sell or distribute the funds on behalf of the estate. 
• The administrator also has the opportunity to list the property for sale. This is where the administrator can add value to the estate. 

Looking for probate properties

• Every single probate case goes through the local county court record system, which means it’s a public record. 
• In most areas, they don’t show you all the details, so you need to go to the courthouse and request the details on probate cases. You will see in the filings which properties already have administrators and which ones don’t. You can ask for all the details, including the name of the executor of the estate. You can also jump on your property appraiser’s website to start identifying the people that you can reach out to and begin to add value. 
• You can also try the US Probate Leads. You can buy the leads instead of searching for them. They have an ongoing monthly option as well. 

Speaking with the executor

• Put yourself in that person’s shoes. It means that you need to be careful when speaking with the executor. Be sensitive while getting the information that you need. 
• You need to know the value of the property. Look into their desire: whether they want to sell to liquidate quickly and cash in the property, and you need to figure out if there are debts to be settled. 
• The first thing you can do is call the executor and introduce yourself and your reason for calling. Assure the executor of your purpose and how you are of help to him/her. Make sure that he/she understands that you’re offering help. Make yourself an expert and the go-to person of the executor. 
• In a typical situation, your goal is to add value over time. This is your drip campaign, and it includes emails, texts, videos. Your next approach is to send them an email with a valuation update. You can also follow-up via phone call. 
• Provide them with all the things that they might need, especially when they aren’t able to look for solutions or answers to their needs. 
• There’s a higher chance that the people you’ve helped and have added value to will come back to you, but even if they don’t, you will still do this because it’s the right thing to do. 

“Take More Listings With This Overlooked Strategy (Probate Listings)” episode resources

• Connect with Jimmy Burgess on LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as his YouTube channel.  

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