Buying Deceased Estate - Pros, Cons and Gotchas

Pros
- Better than average chance of finding cash hidden in the walls or backyard;
- Even better than average chance if you buy it furnished and it has an old mattress..

 

How about a double deceased estate? First owner was an old GP who was found dead on site. An older gentlemen bought it and subsequently passed away a year later. Not sure if second owner died on site as well.

I did a reno on the property, sometime working late alone into the night and slept on site. No sign of trouble from the dead. The living on the other hand ...

 

Don't do any work there, the house is after you too!

 

A deceased estate I had my eye on was scheduled to go to auction, developer swooped in and purchased it prior to auction significantly cheaper
I spoke to re agent who stated the sellers were happy with the price, as you stated siblings wanting their money and quick sale

Definately possibilities of securing a bargain

On the flip side Last property deseased estate it took months to settle, due legal process, though can work in your favour

 

I purchased a deceased estate a few years ago. Two days before settlement we were informed that one of the beneficiaries was under 18 and a court would have to review the purchase to ensure the interests of a minor were being properly represented.

Settlement was delayed a week. No big deal in the end.

 

Yep we have had a few delayed but up to a few weeks for probate issues but no big deal in the scheme of things. Be flexible and accommodating remember people are dealing with the complex family situations.

 

I would group these together:

• deceased estates
• mortgagee auctions

I've purchased a development site at mortgagee auction in a hot market. The agent knew the house would sell. I got a good (but not great) deal. The bank had a very reasonable reserve. The agent spent most of his pre-auction pitch talking down the property (pointing out every easement and complication to build). I still had lots of competition as the market was hot.

It seemed clear to me that the agent was working for the bank and the bank just wanted to cover the mortgage. The agent knew it would sell and wanted to give full disclosure to cover his own backside.

A deceased estate with several parties involved is probably ideal. One where at least one party just wants quick dollars. They may not be at all invested in the property, or even have a good grasp of what it's worth. The agent will just want his/her commission.

 

Hi Guys,

I know this thread is about buy deceased estate which is known upfront. And it's ilegal for the Agent to hide such fact but how can one research if the house has someone died in it if not one of the owners themselves?

If I buy a house and later found about about the incident, what legal actions can i take?

 

With a deceased estate, you should expect a bit of hassle during negotiation phase (presuming it is a private treaty) if there is more than one beneficiary involved. It is amazing how beneficiaries forget they've just gotten a big pile of money land in their lap in the form of the worth of a house they've inherited, and yet they will bicker about wanting an extra thousand on the pricetag (which when there are four beneficiaries involved is a mere $250 each... and yet there will be bickering).

The other thing to keep in mind is that the family will be so fatigued by the process of the trauma of losing a loved one - grieving while dealing with the legalities of probate, and clearing the house of furniture and attempting to clean it, that at some point they'll reach their limit of tolerance. They will probably just wipe their hands of it at some point, so you should assume that it is unlikely that the property will be handed over at settlement nice and clean and with the lawns mowed. As such, it is best to presume you'll need to do a bit of cleaning and mowing. There may even be the odd piece of furniture left behind, so be ready to move it to the nature strip for eager citizens to take home with them, or have a charity group such as St Vincents come and take it away. Delaying settlement on account of a bit of cleaning is not necessarily productive, since there is normally a cost involved in rescheduling settlement... so you might as well just pay a cleaner.

It can also be helpful to request the selling agent alert the family to any free hard & green waste collection the council offers - the family may not live in the same suburb as the house being sold and may be unaware of services that help them remove waste from the site and avoid the inconvenience of acquiring a trailer and going to the tip.

 

I don't think it is illegal for an agent to hide the fact it is a deceased estate.

Google the address to see if there are any news stories of people being murdered - but most times the articles will not give the full address. It would be surprising to find a house where no one has died before. People are dying every day!

 

I thought the agent have to disclose a deceased estate as a deceased estate. Wasn't there a court case about about it and buyer end up getting his money back or something like that?

 

Are you referring to houses where there is a murder? There was a case about a house in Ryde Sydney where Sef Gonzales murdered his family. This sort of thing needs to be disclosed, but I have never heard of a requirement for a deceased estate to be disclosed.

 

You could always ask the neighbours if you really care. Ask the agent, ask the neighbours, check the internet, check the papers. That's all you can do really. I don't know if an agent has a duty to disclose, although the agent in Melbourne that I dealt with was certainly upfront about the property I bought. The fact the previous owner died in the house didn't seem to deter any buyers.

 

We wanted to buy a house down the road from us that was well and truly unkept. There were five siblings and although some of them just wanted to get rid of it, a couple of the others made a big song and dance and their lowest acceptable price seemed ridiculously high to us. Someone bought it for that price and it was vacant for way over a year while he renovated. It resold for what I expected it would, but i cant see the buyer making any profit out of it unless he paid cash for it and thus had zero holding costs. Even then it wouldnt be much.

 

If there is a murder in the house such of the Lin or Gonzales home, does that not imply "Deceased Estate", or is the term only for owners of the house (due to illness etc)? Both are still death of owners.

 

A person can be murdered and their remaining family members independantly choose to sell their home. This is not a deceased estate.

 

No. They are 2 different things which sometimes overlap. A deceased estate is a property being sold by a dead person's legal personal representative such as executor.

What if Ivan Milat killed a backpacker in his house and then sold the property? This would not be a deceased estate, but a house where a murder occurred.

 

It would certainly be a material fact and need to be disclosed. If they know about it that is.