What Is a Probate Sale? What is Court Confirmation?

Why Do Houses Go into Probate?

If you are looking to purchase a property that is in probate, you might find a great deal on a lovely home. However, these properties come with many requirements and are sometimes a risky, lengthy process that might not pay off. However, if you are patient and willing to go through the probate process, it can be very lucrative.

A house might go to a probate sale if the owner of the home passes away without a will. It will also go into probate if the deceased person does have a will, but not if they have a living trust. Probate sales occur when the executor or administrator needs to sell the piece of property to distribute the assets. 


What Is a Probate Sale with Court Confirmation?

With a probate sale, potential buyers need to make a 10% deposit of the listing price at the time of the offer. However, this does not necessarily mean that they will get the home. Usually, probate sales go to auction during a court date, where buyers bid against one another. If your offer is not the winning bid, you get your deposit back. 

After the first offer is submitted and approved, the court will set a court date. This is usually between 30 and 45 days after acceptance of the offer. You might think that once you have a court date, the sale is a done deal, but this is not the case. The property will continue to be advertised and will also accept other offers. Some of these offers might be higher than yours, and you might be able to raise your offer between bids, depending on the state.

Then, on said court date, all of the potential buyers with the accepted offers show up to court. Here, buyers can try to outbid each other. Everyone who is outbid gets their deposit returned, and the highest bidder needs to pay their deposit. This is known as the court confirmation, because you leave the court with a confirmed buyer. 

Conclusion

Court confirmation is when, as the name suggests, the court confirms a buyer of a probate property.

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