Case Study W Mendocino Ave Stockton: Stop Foreclosure, Open Probate, Sell the House and Move On

Buying a House that is in Foreclosure and Needs to go through Probate is a challenge

Stop Foreclosure Stockton:

When the Bank Posts a Notice of Default on the front door it is a declaration that the house is headed to Auction. Despite all of the hyped strategies to stop or avoid a foreclosure, there is only one sure way to stop a foreclosure dead in its tracks… pay the mortgage up to date and pay the fines and fees current. It really is that simple.

We all have to agree that despite the desire to pay the mortgage if you don’t have the money, the mortgage is not going to get paid. Miss at least 3 payments and a Notice of Default is posted, by then a date has been set to sell the house at auction and it is published in the local newspaper. That is the protocol.

The House at W Mendocino Ave, Stockton CA was no different. The Notice of Default went up, panic set in and the Sisters that inherited the house wanted to sell it before they were even on title. It happens a lot and even though real estate is not that complicated, it does have rules and if you are not on title you have no legal right to sell. There is also another rule when dealing with title… the more people that are on title, the more complicated the title issues become, especially those people have died.

Title Company’s never act on their own. They look to get instructions from a third party, usually the Probate court to establish the rightful succession of of ownership.

So the thought of just adding another person to the title of a house could have serious consequences when it finally comes time to selling that Stockton house because anyone that is also on title must agree. No matter what the situation, it takes less time to take care of title issues before they reach epic proportions. Correcting them after the fact can be a long and drawn out process. Sometimes it’s simple.

Here is their Story:

2 Sisters (one local)
Mom and Dad pass away
There is no will and the house remains in Moms name after her passing
Probate has NOT started
The house has a Mortgage in default

Mom and Dad Pass away within a few years of each other and as is typical in a lot of families, there is no will and there is no one appointed as executor to deal with the estate. The siblings attend the funeral and talk about how to deal with mom and dads house and the sibling living in closest proximity to the family house is left in charge until something can be decided. In most cases like this, there isn’t a lot of cash in the estate and the children are left unprepared to deal with the house and often don’t even know that Probate is required to take legal Title. As such, there is no discussion of probate and the surviving heirs divvy up Mom and Dads belongings.

In this case its decided that the sibling living closest to the house moves in, takes care of the mortgage, property taxes, insurance and other maintenance issues of the house and everyone is happy, after all Mom and Dad would have wanted it that way”.

A few years go buy and all of a sudden there is a crisis caused by a job loss and the payments are not consistently being made and over the course of a year the sibling living in the house is three months behind on mortgage payments and a notice of default is posted. Panic sets in. To make matters worse, the property taxes have not been paid in three years and there is no money to do that either.

The other sister has no clue until she receives a phone call telling her of the impending Foreclosure crisis. Neither has the money to pull the house out of foreclosure and pay the back taxes due. To make matters worse the auction date is 5 days away.

Homeowner Concerns:

With an auction of the house pending, the sisters started making phone calls and the reality of the situation set in. How in less than 5 days, can we sell a house that is NOT even in our name. How can we pay the mortgage to stop Foreclosure, open and close a Probate without any money and not lose everything Mom and Dad worked for?

Its a daunting task and yet it can be done. I have helped many families like this and for almost 10 years and it requires a lot of commitment and and a lot of risk.

Sure the sisters could have just let the house and whatever equity that was there go, or they could find someone to help them out of the situation. They called me. My name is Peter Westbrook and I’m the owner of Westbrook REI and We Buy Houses in Stockton, Sacramento, Manteca and Modesto.

FIVE DAY CHALLENGE:

Purchase the house from the Sisters that don’t have title to the property
Getting Bank Authorization to talk to me
Sending the right paperwork to the bank, remember the loan is in Moms name and she is not there to authorize anyone to speak about the loan. Death Certificates and proper Authorization forms.
Getting the exact payoff information including late fees, attorney fees and any other fees in including impound account shortages
Wiring the exact amount the bank requires to the right account on time
Attaining Confirmation of receipt
Confirmation that the Property is off the Auction list at the Bank and the County

Ongoing Challenge

Handle all paperwork associated with all aspects of the House, the Foreclosure, the bank, Insurance Company, the County for Taxes and of course updating the Sisters
Make the ongoing monthly Mortgage Payments
Pay for Homeowners insurance
Clean up and pay for any code violations
Hiring and paying for a Probate Attorney
Addressing all of the issues that are outlined on the Preliminary Title Report including liens to prepare for Probate Judgement (in California this can take up to a year)
Advancing Money to the Sisters for the Equity in the house

OUR SOLUTION:

Enter into an agreement with the Sisters to Purchase their interest in the House and buy their equity out
Wire necessary money to Mortgage Holder to Payoff the Foreclosure in less than 3 days
Hire and pay for a Probate attorney and necessary filings
Continue to make the Mortgage and Insurance payments
Create a timeline and advance money to the sister occupying the property so that she could move out
Advance money to the sisters prior to the closing

It took over 18 months from the time we saved the house from Foreclosure until the Probate was approved by the court. In that time we maintained all monthly mortgage payments, Insurance payments and property taxes due on the property.

Once we took official title ownership of the property we invested heavily into the clean up, repair and renovation of the house and converted the once 3 Bedroom 1 bath home into a 3 Bedroom 2 Bath home.

Some Real Estate Problems Are Resolved with the Sale of the House

At “Westbrook REI” and “We Buy Houses that are Ugly Stockton”, we are the best at what we do because we work at it every day. We understand that a commitment to customer and a commitment to our business only happens with hard work. We have years of experience and a plan that we follow. We are a real company with real people that are committed to helping you achieve your goals.

Again, we’re not real estate agents. We are actually Stockton house buyers and have our own cash… so we can make you an offer on the spot. Once we make you an offer, you can take that offer, shop it around if you want, talk it over with friends and family, and think about what you want. We won’t pressure you one bit.

If you want the best LOCAL We Buy Houses Company in Stockton, Sacramento, Manteca and Modesto then give our company a call today, we offer simply solutions to complex selling issues. Our house buying process is very easy with no hassle and we can close on YOUR time.

We Buy Houses Stockton CA, Get Your Offer at http://www.ibuyhousesstockton.com or call Peter Westbrook today at (209) 481-7780.

We Buy Houses in Stockton, Sacramento & Modesto

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Sacramento and Westbrook Real Estate Investments. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

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Hear What Others Have To Say…

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.