Marketing your probate vendor team, dealing with cold call reluctance & probate agent imposter syndrome

In this episode, Bill Gross and David Pannell share tips for marketing your probate vendor team, dealing with call reluctance, and how to overcome objections about your real estate experience.  Bill discusses professionals conservatorship sales and how to network with fiduciaries, and how to navigate the sale of inherited property with missing heirs. This episode is great free real estate coaching for anyone looking to develop their business and success mindset.

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Episode Segments for How to build momentum in your real estate business; Dealing with cold call reluctance & probate agent imposter syndrome

Probate listings, title, and escrow: Problems at closing (Probate Sale)

0:00 Probate listings, title, and escrow: Problems at closing (Probate Sale)

Scripts for new real estate agents vs. new probate agents (Imposter Syndrome)

2:38 Scripts for new real estate agents vs. new probate agents (Imposter Syndrome)

How to market your probate service team and find vendor partners (Building your Vendor Team)

5:54 How to market your probate service team and find vendor partners (Building your Probate Vendor Team)

Dealing with rejection when cold calling for real estate leads (Sales Coaching)

12:39 Dealing with rejection when cold calling for real estate leads (Sales Coaching)

Building momentum in your real estate business (Real Estate Mindset)

17:44 Building momentum in your real estate business (Real Estate Mindset)

Selling an inherited house with missing heirs (Probate Process)

20:10 Selling an inherited house with missing heirs (Probate Process)

Texting probate real estate leads (Probate Marketing Ideas)

25:02 Conservatorship sale of real property (Probate Conservatorship)

Resources & Additional Links for this Probate Coaching Session:

RESOURCES:

RECENT CONTENT:

  1. Episode 73 Probate Real Estate Coaching: Probate data sources, marketing frequency, and driving for dollars
  2. Ask The Expert with Bigger Pockets Henry Washington: Finding real estate deals in 2022 with BiggerPockets Henry Washington
  3. Success Story: How to become a successful probate real estate agent: Zac Mazur’s story
  4. Probate Cold Calling Tips: Underwater Mortgage Cold Call Objections! Probate and pre-foreclosure scripts: https://youtu.be/W5eDD52_u4U 
  5. Bite-Size Coaching:
    1. What to say to probate attorneys: Handling Objections ‘We already have a real estate partner’ https://youtu.be/hKqKqg6grO4 
    2. Real Estate Letters of Intent: When they work and how to pitch them | Coaching highlights https://youtu.be/zOGBxsu4RG4

FOR THIS EPISODE:

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: How to build momentum in your real estate business; Dealing with cold call reluctance & probate agent imposter syndrome

Call reluctance and imposter syndrome PLUS Scripts for new agents in probate.

1) Probate listings, title, and escrow: Problems at closing (Probate Sale) [00:00:00]

Great. Hey, so this call, we do I am sorry, I got here maybe a minute or two late. I am bill gross. I am just like you guys. I am a practitioner of real estate. I am a real estate broker associate with eXp Realty in Los Angeles, California. And I also have a probate team I am building nationwide. I sell houses and this morning talked to a seller on the phone, on a listing appointment with all my team members.

That is what I do. I was a little bit late cause I was talking to somebody else as well. So, I apologize for that, but I am a practitioner I took Chad’s program three and a half years ago, as I mentioned, and I consider him my probate coach ever since. I have taken other programs, but I can say that this is the one that has really transformed my business.

And so, when he had some personal issues, I offered to step in and host this because I need this weekly program to go on and I am willing to be a service to help out. The purpose, this call is for us practitioners to share best practices and questions and work through the program as we build business. There are no silly questions because if you have a question, no doubt there are one or two other people on the call and there are people listening on the YouTube who would also have the same problem.

And I always tell agents I coach that if you don’t have problems, you’re not working hard enough because we as agents get paid to solve other people’s problems.

That’s our basic business. And probate is another I’ll. I’ll just share with you guys a story this morning. I have a team member in Southern California who asked me to go to listing presentation via video with a seller. Seller listed the property and discovered now the listing agent didn’t order prelim when they listed it… mistake. I didn’t read the profile when they listed it.

Basic mistake. Discovered in escrow that the property was owned not just by the who signed the listing contract, but by a decedent as well. And they had to cancel the escrow and cancel the listing. We are going to list the property and we’re going to represent the estate and help them through the process, help them through the legal process of the probate.

And because of that, I’m going to get a listing somebody else went all the way down to the 11th hour, and we’re going to get paid. And that’s the purpose of this call. It’s not just, I get paid, which is great. I love getting paid. My team member gets paid. We love that, but we’re helping somebody who really this customer is really indigent.

Like this is life changing money. They thought 30 days away from getting paid. And they find out that they can’t. So that’s what we do. That’s our opportunity we have here with families. There’s a whole assortment of other problems we can help them solve. Uh, While talking to him, it turns out he has another property that we’re going to hopefully list from as well, that has another probate issue.

So that’s what we do. And how do we do that? We do that by finding people with problems and offering to solve them. So anyhow, anybody have any questions today? It’s meant to be interactive. If you’re here, feel free to raise your hand. If not. Here you go.

2) Scripts for new real estate agents vs. new probate agents (Imposter Syndrome) [00:02:38]

So how can you overcome imposter syndrome when representing yourself as a Certified probate expert?

So, Vince asked a great question. And this is one that all of us were new in real estate. This is a common challenge that we all have, and the same problem exists in every probate training program. But the same problem if you think about it is real estate agent problem as well. Vince, are you an experienced agent or brand-new real estate agent?

28 years. Okay. So, at some point though, and this is a, again, a common issue. Think back when you’re a brand-new agent somebody said, you know how long you’ve been in the business, and we all feared that question. And I wish coach agents. There’s two ways. You can answer that question when your brand new one is “I’m brand new, but the good news for you is that means that you are my most important client.

I also happen to have a whole team of people who are going to help me with this. So, if there was any time, I don’t know what to do. I’m going to go to them and ask them. I must double check all my paperwork, but I’m going to kill to get your home sold and get you the best price possible. Is that the kind of agent you want to have helping you?” That’s an option.

Second option is you can rely on the experience and expertise of your team. Every realtor works for some sort of office. You have a broker, you have an owner, and if you don’t. Your part of this group, you can legitimately say “I’m part of a probate network of 3000 real estate agents and investors across the country.

And I’m on that call every week, working with experts, the best of the best. We talk to attorneys; we talk to vendors to find out the best practices. So not only are you getting a real estate agent, but you’re also getting somebody who’s involved in the largest probate network in the country.” Now you must believe that for it to come across to somebody else.

Let me ask you when I said that did you believe that answer? That sound real for you? If it, if did, but yes, if no, be honest. Say no.

I once had an attorney ask me how many properties I sold in court. I got some yeses. I can’t get you nos. I’ll take I’ll. I’ll assume if it was no, you don’t want to put it in there because you’ll embarrass me. You can’t really embarrass me. I had an attorney ask me how many properties I had sold that needed court confirmation.

And I hadn’t sold any at that point, but I’d seen hundreds of them. The funny thing was, I told her none. And even though she was referred by an attorney who I’d done other work for, and I know would’ve done a great job. I have watched her since and she doesn’t, the agent she works with is not good. I did get her business a year later.

I came back to her said, hey, I’ve closed 25 court confirmations in the last year. I’ve done more than anybody else other than the courts appoint, And I know I can do a great job on yours. I couldn’t get a return, a phone call or an email. So sometimes that question is just a nice way of saying I don’t want to work with you.

Sometimes it is a question, but I believe you need to have that answer down. You need to write it out you need to role play it. You need to video yourself saying it. But you need to get to where you believe you are the best. And so, the key phrase that you used Vince was imposter syndrome.

You’re not an imposter. If you’ve been in business 28 years, you’ve probably sold hundreds of homes. And I know what company you work for, but you have a broker or owner or somebody there who’s very experienced and has done maybe some probate or maybe at the regional office or the national office or whatever.

And even if not, that, if you’re all on your own, you have all of us as experts to help you in your business. So hopefully it helps Vince. And if not, then you must think about changing to where you can get those kinds of resources you need.

3) How to market your probate service team and find vendor partners (Probate Vendor Team) [00:05:53]

Philip asks is there a probate vendor template available for service provider team building.

So, Phil asks a question that comes up regularly in Chad’s coaching which is that he’s advising us to be the solution to our customer’s problems. I tell people. I’m your real estate resource from the front sidewalk to the back fence, digging deep into the mineral rights and air rights above you.

Anything to do with your property, I’m here to help you. I either have the answer or I’ll get you the answer. So, when I say it like that, who is the key person on the service provider list? When I say it like that, who’s the number one most important.

You are.

I am the service provider.

Now, most times as a service provider, I’m going to delegate that to somebody else.

Who’s going to do the actual work. I’m not going to cut a tree. I’m not going to do junk out. I’m not going to do Molly maids and clean it up, but I’ve got people. And if I don’t have people in that area, I’ll find people. You must be committed to being that person.

I had a property were. I represented an investor buying a probate property.

The listing agent didn’t want to lift a finger to clean out the property. It was just junk everywhere. And there were cars on the property and cars present some other legal issues. But I also knew I had the opportunity to earn the business of the attorney by offering to step in and say, “Hey, we need to get the junk out.

There are health issues here. There’s stuff that’s unsafe in the refrigerator. That would be a health issue. If cars are a value to your estate, let me help you with that.” Now I didn’t drive down and hotwire the car to sell it to somebody. I called the guy who did that. It was a couple phone calls to find somebody, and then he did its state got some cash.

And I, I said, I’m going to take that cash and use that to clean out the property. And the attorney was great with it. The attorney said, spend it all, get all that stuff out of there. All they wanted was a couple key items that I took care of. And here I’m the buyer’s agent doing that. So, to answer your question, Philip, you are the service provider.

And I don’t know, I would spend time finding people on your list. What I’ve done is as I find them, I interview them on YouTube and use that as marketing material, I’ve interviewed junk out people, cleanup people estate, cell people, every kind of vendor I can think of…. to demonstrate to probate attorneys the different people that I know.

But I don’t need to wait to get business till I find one of each provider, because I’m in LA.

I might need five of each in each direction, the valley, the South Bay, and Orange County. So, it would be endless to build the roster. It will be, but I will forever be adding people into my list.

Okay. And then Scott says you know more than they do.

Well, that is the truth, if you saw the movie catch me, if you can, Leonardo DiCaprio is an imposter. He plays a high school substitute teacher in; it was math or history. And they asked him how could you teach a class?

You were just a couple of years old and them, and the actual, he said was why just write the chapter ahead of them. If I knew one chapter ahead of them, I was an expert. Okay. And then says you specialize in real estate appraisal for the 20 years now, transition back to sales. Look, you have been in real estate the whole time, and I think that we segment ourselves on a way customers don’t.

If you spent 20 years doing appraisal work, you have seen way more property in your realtor, and you look at more values.

You leverage that. Do not diminish that. Leverage that when you talk to your customers about your business.

Yes, you should see the interview with Frank Abagnale on Johnny Carson.

That is catch me if you can. That was the actual real-life person. That is fantastic.

Pete says, “can you go through the kind of questions you ask when an interviewing prospective vendor? I give out a lot of referrals, but don’t get any back.”

So, Pete, I will agree with you that I give out way more frozen than I ever get back.

But I am not giving out the referral to get their referral, though. I would like it and expect it, but I would get my feelings hurt all the time. But I am giving out referrals for the benefit of the customer, not for the benefit of the vendor.

And that is where I think we can get off track if we’re giving business to somebody, because we think we’re going to get it back, we’re not really giving, we’re taking.

We are just, it’s a complicated form of taking. And so, what I would say, Pete is the best vendors I find are so busy. They are going to forget you and you need to reach out to them. You add them into your COI, your center of influence, or your sphere of influence marketing package, and you email them, and you call them, and you reach back out to them.

The questions I ask, I think the first thing I always in an interview is start off with personal questions. Where would you grow up? Where would you go to school, and how’d you get in the business.

And then I try to describe their business in detail. And I also try to talk about who is successful using their business and who’s not and what the distinction is.

Those are always the things I focus on.

So, things like: the most successful agents, what do they do? What is it the less successful agents do not do? And what holds people up from being successful? Those are the kind of areas I always focus on.

Hope to help. So, watch my videos, my YouTube channel is Bill Gross eXp, and I interview different vendors there.

Vince says, you like to see where referral vendors being bonded, I think is the type of bonded insured, or could they be mom and pop outfits? I do not really care. Bonded insured is important in certain things if you are handling money or valuables, but for the most part, I’m looking for somebody who has a track record of success.

So, I do not get too deep into those things. But it is good to be bonded. It is good to have insurance, so hope that helps.

Okay. And Pete, you’re welcome. Good. Okay, so we knock through some questions. Let us see. Does Chad say do not give out the probate real estate vendor list directly to the PA or is that not correct? So, Deborah, I would not. I think that I do give out certain… It is funny. If you go to my website, I have a list.

For example, of probate data, Chad does not sell probate data. At his prior company. They did all the leads.com is where Chad used to coach, and they were in the business selling the data. And I think their data’s good. It is good quality. They I think vet it well and double check it or whatever you can do, it is not perfect, but I’m not involved with them.

I mean, I like them, and I appreciate them, but I also know that their data is a little more expensive. And for agents starting out, it is difficult. And if you are not going to use their mail service, they’re they integrate really well with their mailing. If you are going to use mail, I would say use their data and use their mail service.

And the integration’s great. If you are not, if you’re just going to call, there’s usually some cheaper alternatives, especially if you’re getting started, but I list all data services on my website. And you can so I give out a vendor list, I guess I am violating my own rule, but I would generally not.

I do not give out the vendor list to anybody because it’s always changing and upgrading. I want them to call me. I started in the Mike Ferry system and the whole goal, there was never everybody call you and you were just prospecting sellers and setting appointments.

And I would say this is 180 degrees opposite, which is, I want people to call me. I want attorneys to call me. I had one call me last week for document. Could I introduce him to my title rep, could I send him a link to the software, and he get it on his own? Of course. I want them to call me. Of course, I want them to call me to be the solution to the customer.

So, I would not give out the probate vendor list just because I want them to talk to me. I want them to value the relationship. And I do not have a problem giving ‘me vendors, but I don’t want to give out the list. I want them to call me for questions if that makes sense.

4) Dealing with rejection when cold calling for real estate leads (Cold Calling) [00:12:39]

Uh, Rich has his hand up.

What is going on, man? Hey just I wanted to ask David quick question, because I know he hits the phones a lot I am getting some really nasty people on the phone. I am getting people telling my business after I say, hey so really quick, what are you guys doing with the property in the estate, or real estate in the estate?

So, I am getting like nasty people saying, oh, none of your business. What do you, what, know, how do you handle?

You just got to rub some sugar on those conversations…

If you could just focus on two good contacts out of a hundred leads, probate leads, distress foreclosure, expired, for sale by owner leads.

If you could just hone on in a 45 minute or a 90-minute window to prospect, and you could get two good people on a market update that are going to sell a house in the next year. Not today.

I think we are taught that we need to get that appointment right now. That probably works in 2013 but if you listen to the calls now from people and have VAs and all those people, they’re using the exact same script that’s taught: Hey, I have a team, hey, I’m the best person to sell this house. They do not want to hear that bullshit. Sorry, my language. They do not want to hear it. The thing that constantly comes back to my mind is conversation but handling the objections and conditions.

So, the best thing you could do, and my advice is to write down all the conditions and objections that you are going to come across in that niche. And once you practice, you do not need to role play with people that are not going to show up to role play with you. You need to go on a run, or a walk, a five mile walk and practice those objections aloud, outside your head. And the conditions.

So, when you are on the phone, they say, so when you’re on the phone and they say, hey, I don’t have a house. But it says right here on the records that you still own the house, is there something I am missing? Well, they just want to get you off the phone. It is kind of like when you go into a furniture store and you say, I’m just looking.

It is the conversations.

You have a pattern to interrupt.

You have bridge questions, which I say objections, and condition questions. You have you have bridge questions to get the information you want to figure out if that is going to be a lead for you and you are going to be able to solve a problem for them.

If those two things are not there, you’re not going to have a good conversation that leads to an appointment 12 months from now, 18 months from now.

Everybody’s goal on this. If you are calling and prospecting probate is to fill that CRM up with people that have a have the intention to sell.

I have 400, 500 people in here, but I am only expecting to get 30 of those people to actually sell with me this year. So, the numbers are ridiculously low, but when you go to list a probate property or buy the house, which I am totally into, I would rather not be the listing agent at this point. I just want to buy houses.

But it is that conversation. You just got to have those principles. You want those principles to up that conversation. So,

Yes.

I would say, and I know what David’s saying right from his experience, but I would say to you. There are two mindsets you need to master when you cold call. Number one, like Dave said, it is a numbers game. If I gave you a $1 billion diamond mine, would you complain about the dirt between the diamonds?

No, you would say thank you and dig the diamonds out. Right?

So bad phone numbers. I get this all the time. Most of the phone numbers are bad. Yes. Most phone numbers are bad. There you go. Deal with it if you want to make a lot of money.

Many people are not nice to me in the phone. Yes. Some people, depending on your market area, I am in LA, it’s different in different areas.

A lot of people are not nice on the phone. Deal with it.

It is a numbers game. And like Dave said, if you get one or two a day, you are going to build a great business. So, it is a numbers game and you deal with it emotionally. Just know that is the process.

But on the other side of that at the same time, you have to have the mindset that there’s a reason why they respond to me this way.

What do I need to do to be better so they do not?

People are mean to telemarketers, correct? People are not mean to a local friend of theirs calling to help them. So, they must see you as a telemarketer, not as a local friend.

So, at the same time, you must look at it, your numbers but the exact same time, how could I be better next time?

And Dave asked or, gave you some nuggets there, right? A pattern, interrupt, make sure you are asking questions to help them, make sure you’re not going for the close too quickly.

Asking them what they are going to do with the house…. it is kind of like saying, when can we go to bed together to a girl on the phone?

I mean, it might not be the right time to ask that question and she might slap in the face as a result. So, we need to think about, again, it is a numbers game, get over it, but the same time. What could you do better next time on that phone call so that they will treat you better make sense? And yes. Thank you, bill.

Thank you, Dave. Thank you.

And rich and bill, even if, even though I prospect and I get on the phones, I still struggle every single day to start my dialer. Yes. I, I avoid it today for some reason. I did not want to. Yes. I still have a hundred people to call today. I honestly avoided it today. Yes.

Okay, there you go. It is partially because it’s the July 4th weekend. I am like, man, I just had four days off. I am going to take a fifth. Okay, there you go. You know, Thanks rich. Thanks for being on and asking question. That is fantastic.

5) Building momentum in your real estate business (Probate Success Story) [00:17:44]

And Pete says that he just got to lead, that he had sent out to two years ago.

That is the business that we’re in. Like Dave Pannell was saying, you need to have a way to nurture these leads for the long haul.

Not all going to be two years. I will say on the average, they will be two years.

Studies in a real estate show: the average lead from first ask about buying or selling to closing escrow on average is two years.

It was an amazing study done by Boomtown, which is a CRM company. They would buy leads for clients and would track them in their software. So, they knew the actual number. If agents knew that… like, Zillow does not advertise that because they know no agent would buy their leads if they knew the average is two years.

That does not mean some don’t buy in a day or a week or a month.

It is a bell curve. but that the average tier is you must have a system in place to keep those going for two years.

And bill it is to everybody that’s watching this video and on…. Most people do not want to make the calls, but if you look at the future and say, look, I don’t want to be on these calls in three years. You are going to, you’re going to make yourself make these calls and you’re going to get good at those calls over the next 18 months.

But you are also going to build capital up. And that capital is going to allow you to do other type of marketing that will bring in the same quality ready now type buyer or seller.

If it is a pain point for you. You just got to ignore it. It is a challenge, like Joe Rogan says on his blog: we have to challenge ourselves daily to improve ourselves. We must get very uncomfortable. And as soon as you do, you are going to be amazed on the business that you create.

Just to show what I mean by a bell. Just quick. The average lead is about two years. This is the curve. Think of this as time. So, they list the property. They ask about a property in by or sell week one month, one month, two-month, three year one. This is year two. This is, something like a year, three year four, something like that.

Yes. We make money on those that want to do something right away. But the bulk of the business is two years. Half of its two years or longer, right? So, you want to have a business that hits this fat part of the bell curve. That does not mean we ignore the ones that want to sell right away.

It just means that we understand that we are building a business.

This is not just a job where you call and get a listing. It is where you call and you’re building a business, of future leads and such.

And then Vince goes back to the service. He says, if you want to be of service connects, expect to strike gold every time, treat people well in hope for great reviews and referrals down the road, a hundred percent.

It is amazing that if you just help people, how the business comes to you, and you don’t need to worry about where more comes from.

Okay. Any other questions on building your service business or phone calling or the program’s coming up?

6) Selling an inherited house with missing heirs (Probate Process) [00:20:10]

Bill, I have a quick question. Go ahead, Regina. I have a former client who has a family property that they want to sell. And the bottom line is that there were six people, six family members on title. Three of them are now deceased. I have consulted with a couple of probate attorneys, but there’s one family member that’s homeless and estranged from the family.

How do you handle, how do you overcome a person like that?

I mean, they are obviously they are going to be part of the inheritance, but if they don’t cooperate, then they can’t sell the property.

Well, that is not quite true. What state are you in Regina?

California Southern California.

Yes. Have they filed a probate yet?

No, it is not filed yet. No. Okay. So, they file a probate and there is one or two things that happen.

: the person who files as the executor. So, when you have six family members, some are involved. Some are not involved, but anybody, any of them, really, anybody can file a probate. The judge is going to give priority on certain conditions.

But once one files, the brother who is not cooperating doesn’t hold up the sale of the property as long as they file probate and then the court can approve the authority to the brother, sister who steps up.

They went through probate back in 1995. It was the father’s property. So, these six siblings were part of the orders as the owners of the property. So out of those six siblings, fast forward, now three of ‘me are deceased.

So, now they have to kind of do a mini probate for the deceased heirs.

Yes. Those three family members that passed away. Yes. So, one of those heirs. One of the adult children. He is the one that has the mental problems, and nobody knows where he is. And so, he would be the hold up because you need corporation from all three.

No. You do not need cooperation from all three. You need, as far as the probate again, I am not giving legal advice, just business advice based my experience, but.

Right.

You can probate without all three, agreeing to it. Only one must file probate and bring it to court. And if the court agrees to probate the other three estates and distribute, whatever, the court agrees to it.

You must notice the other party. They get noticed. They get mailed to their legal, in the proper manner, they get noticed of the filing of probate.

They get noticed when’s time to sell the property.

Then if the executor has full authority, he files a notice of proposed action.

And if the other party does not respond, then the heir(s)’ share can be sold.

 Bill, but they do not know where this guy is. He goes homeless at one time. They do not have an address for him. They do not know where he is at. So, there is a process that if they, they have to.

Make a certain effort to find him. And if they cannot, there’s certain vendors they use, and the court will accept that they… I have seen this happen numerous times… where they present to the court: You know, we used this company, a private detective, a service or this or that, depending on the circumstances.

Okay. And we cannot find them. And so, all you can do is all you can do. Now, if that person is an heir, their money might be held for some reason. But his percentage of it could be held in the probate, until they finalize the probate, and they try to reach him then.

It is funny how people pop up once there’s money available. But it does not mean they hold the sale.

It means that he will hold up receiving his percentage of heirship. And at some point, in time that gets distributed some other way if he does not respond, but there’s services that they use. And again, that is why I use the attorney service I use either, the right kind of attorney who does probates like this all the time.

See a non-probate attorney is going to tell you why it is way too much work! A probate attorney.

This is just a normal day at the office.

mm-hmm.

This is no different for me as a listing agent than there is a tenant at the property. Okay. Well that just means I do these things. Oh, there is no tenant that I do those things.

The right attorney knows the service and will deal with all that.

Okay. And we can talk offline if you want to referral for the right kind of attorney or you might want to use a service like EZ-Probate.com. I interviewed them on Thursday, and they do these things well, too. Oh, thank you. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Okay. And so, can you buy the other shares out?

Well, again if he is an heir, the probate must give him his heirship you can buy out his inheritance rights.

But at some point, whoever buys them is going to want to get paid. And that means they must go through probate, still eventually.

So.

And Katt makes a point: You must make a case to the probate judge so the probate judge will have something to rule on.

Right? So, you document efforts and. I think that, like I said, there’s certain services that different attorneys use that meet certain standards depending on the condition.

There are private investigator services, I have interviewed some of those people that will try to track people down.

And as I said, it is amazing when you have money coming how people can find track them down and they get paid a bonus based on finding people.

So, there are those services.

Okay. Interesting stuff today, guys.

Other questions, comments. You are going to come on the call tomorrow on probate court, networking.

Any other questions, challenges, problems. Come on. You have, this is free. It is funny we sell coaching services. My time I bill out a thousand dollars an hour. So, I am glad to answer your questions for free here. Who is working probate and has a challenger question. What is holding you back from achieving your goals right now.

7) Conservatorship sale of real property (Probate Conservatorship) [00:25:02]

I have a question, Bill.

Go ahead, Phil.

So, I am in my third-year real estate. I took the Probate Mastery course about two years ago. Really opened my eyes. And I was lucky enough to do a couple probate cases last year. And it was really rewarding and it is kind of a niche I think I want to focus on moving forward, but so recently I actually came across a lead It’s a house, just a couple blocks from where I live.

And I noticed in the notice to creditors that there was a, what they called a professional conservator. And so, I looked that person up just to see, what, who they are and sent them an email. And have not heard back from ‘me yet. It has been about a week.

There is a lawyer, obviously on the case. And so, I was curious to know. What your experience has been, what you know about the role of a quote unquote professional conservator? Is it just someone that that the estate or, I do not know if it’s the attorney chose to represent the the estate of the decedent and how you might advise going about contacting either this professional conservator or the attorney on the?

So, you are in Colorado, right? Yes. So, there’s different terminologies in different states. There are conservatorships that need somebody to run it. Of conservatorship is for somebody who is incapable of making their own legal decisions.

Typically, they have Alzheimer’s or they are in a coma. If they are a minor that we call that California guardianship, as opposed to conservatorship. Who is going to make those decisions.

And most commonly they hire somebody, an attorney to represent the conservator, or what’s called a professional fiduciary. The same thing, professional fiduciary.

Their job, their profession is. They work with attorneys, they work with courts, representing people who can’t represent themselves. And there are certain common problems that come up as far as healthcare for elderly people.

Or on, on the youth side, there’s certain common problems as far as psychological evaluations, schooling things like that.

There is an industry of people who are called professional fiduciaries and they typically manage trusts or conservatorships or guardianships.

I think that is what we’re referring. Yes, it’s possible. I mean, I saw professional conservator and it threw me for a loop there. So, I will, they’re the conservator and they’re professional as opposed to let’s say a family member. Yes. Right. Cause there might be a family member who might step up and say, hey, I will take care of my brother.

And it is a lot of work. And if there is any kind of conflict, your subject getting sued. And so, there are provisions and if there is an estate where there’s, then that person can get paid for their time and effort and energy. So, you want to hire, let us say an attorney who would do a really good job on that.

 I was going to say so, so this conservator acting as a fiduciary is the personal representative for the estate of the decedent.

And so, is it safe to assume that then this is the person who is going to decide on the sale of the property? Like what would their role be, I guess, potentially in the bottom line, which is selling the property?

Yes. I mean, their job is to do what is best for the estate, not for an individual party and most commonly they’re the ones who make decision. Like now, like anybody, like any attorney they will make decisions within consultation with their clients, they want their clients to be happy. So, they might find, well, one of the parties wants to keep the house and decide not to sell it.

And they all agree to that. Then it is the job of the executor, the professional fiduciary in that case, to carry out the desires of their clients as long as it’s legal and disclosed properly.

But like anybody, I would think, I would say they are the ones ultimately who have the legal authority to make the decision.

They may make it in consultation with their clients. And so, it is probably maybe the kids or somebody else who then is really making the decisions, but then could be through this fiduciary could be GI.

So, given all that what would be your advice? Would it be something where, I continue to try and break through and establish communication with fiduciary, or should I go straight to the attorney? What would be your advice to, to push the envelope here?

Well, I would say I would never call a professional to ask for business. Okay. I would call professional to offer assistance or support.

And so, I would look for an opportunity where you can help them. If you are experiencing probate, that’s the reason to call: “I know that some real estate agents don’t know all the process and procedures, but I happen to experience in the area. I would love to offer assistance that I can help in any way.

I can offer a free evaluation of the property. You could drive to the property…” There is a lot of things you can offer of service to the conservatorship that might be of value.

So, I would look for those opportunities and try to lead with value rather than asking for business.

Sure. Now the other option is attorneys in general.

Now you are in Colorado Springs. So, it is problematic today in Los Angeles to invite people to lunch. Many restaurants are still shut down. LA is still very COVID centric.

Um, not looking into the political discussion, just the reality is our courts still are not open. City council meetings are not live. They are only zoom. So, in LA I would be afraid if I invited an attorney to lunch that they would think that I’m irresponsible. Number one, because who goes to lunch now, we are in the middle of a COVID panic. Now you might go, oh well that’s ridiculous Bill. That is the reality in Los Angeles.

And that is not the case normally, pre COVID, I would see almost any attorney would be open to a phone call that says, Hey, Philip I’m Bill Gross yeah. I see your professional conservatorship, or I see your attorney working in the probate space. I am a real estate agent who focuses and I’m an expert in probate, stewardships, not looking for any business.

I would just love to meet you and learn about your business. I would love to go to lunch with you sometime and see what you do and see there’s way I can help you are available next week on Tuesdays, Wednesday?

Better invite them to lunch. Attorneys are open to going out to lunch other than COVID.

Now you need to figure that out in your area, but that is what’s true in Los Angeles.

Okay. Great. Well, thank you very much.

My pleasure.

Christopher asked, what geographies are you seeing the most increased in probate filings? Well, I do not know that Christopher, I personally work LA county. I cannot say if it’s increasing or decreasing anywhere else.

I do not really run the data.

And Peter mark offers in Colorado. There is a company called fiduciary services. Okay, good. I think again, I think each area, the business is there is a little different terminology. It is interesting. I just interviewed a guy who is the clerk to the probate judges in Philadelphia.

Now in LA county, we call those people, probate attorneys, not probate attorneys that clients can hire probate attorneys that work for the court, that review documents and support the judge in processing the probate paperwork. To us clerks sound like a secretarial position, but in Philadelphia, the clerk to the judge, just like the Supreme court clerk.

It is a very prestigious position. So, it is not secretarial nature. It is very much a position of respect. So, every area has a little different terminology, and some are funny that they get different names.

Oh yes. And, Katt says that the conservator can- does not mean they obviously always do- but she points out that they can bill the estate for their time.

Even a family member can. And even with probate, at least in California, if you file to be the executor or you, the petition on a probate and you take the job as the administrator or executor, you’re entitled to fees and there’s a limit down to what you can charge, but you’re allowed to pay yourself fees in exchange for the time you put in. And same with the conservatorship, they can charge for that.

So, if you are going to pay somebody, you could pay yourself or you might want to pay somebody else that might be more efficient with it.

Okay. I think we will come up in the end of the hour here. Any last-minute questions, challenges, problems we can wrap up with today. Hey Dick. When S you on the call. Your friendly faces.

Anybody else have any questions? Challenges, problems. Thank you, Vince. Appreciate the feedback. I agree with you. I thought it was a great session. Covered a wide variety of topics today. This call is meant to be answer questions like this wide variety. Because if you are working in this business, you’re going to come up with all kinds of crazy questions and problems and challenges.

That is the nature of our business. So, we want to give you that opportunity to do. not seeing any, I think will we will wrap up unless somebody has a lot. Oh, there we go. Winston’s got his hand up. I, Winston, I predicted you’re going to do that. How can help you? What I wanted to do here; bill is can we still sign up with Chad’s new class for $250?

Is that still doable?

 I think it is now done to 400, but if you go on the website right now, you’ll see it’s the, it was two 50 through, I think it was Friday last week or no, it’s June 30th. And then now it is $400.

Pre-launch and then you get another $50 off if you use the prob the promo code prelaunch. So, it is 350 at this point, net. Thank you!

Sure. Do not snooze. You might lose. Okay. Questions. Thank you. You ran. You’re welcome. Okay. And you, Mario, thank you for coming in.

You’re welcome to participate again. It is meant to be participative, and I always tell people on these calls, the more you participate, the more money you make, the more you give, the more you get. And so, look for opportunities to grow your business. Do not be shy. Raise your hand. Jump in.

Ask questions on chat box is good. Video calls and talking is even better if you can. That is why we have this. That is why I’m hosting this is because I need this call every week to ask questions and be available with the group and with Chad. So, let us all continue to work together and be successful.

I am Bill Gross. I host probate weekly every Thursday at four o’clock Pacific time, 7:00 PM Eastern and then it is live streamed and recorded on my YouTube channel. Bill Gross eXp is my YouTube channel and the social media hope you can catch up with me there.

This is Probate Mastery weekly real estate coaching.

We do this every Tuesday at noon, Pacific 3:00 PM Eastern. These coaching calls are recorded and put on YouTube on the YouTube channel for Probate Mastery. It is also on the Probate Mastery website. That is the best place to go for recordings, snippets. Do you have questions you want to research? It is a great resource.

Katt does an amazing job on the Probate Mastery website. So, feel free to join on there. And then hopefully you guys are going to jump into the EARN program, if that makes sense for you. And otherwise, it has been a pleasure today. Hope to see you guys’ next week. Thank you so much, everybody.

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