This is our December 2019 Santa Clara County probate home sales market activity report. The data consists of homes sold in probate and homes sold in trusts. There were no conservatorship sales in the month of December.
There is a legal process an executor and administrator must follow to administer an estate. The process includes how to sell a probate home.
This report is comprised of statistical data from December 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019, extracted from MLS Listings “MLS” as of January 1, 2020.
The data includes single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses and may not include “off-market” sales. On “off-market” sale is when the property is sold without listing on the Multiple Listing Service.
Probate Home Sales in Santa Clara County in December 2019
The breakdown of the sales activity is as follows:
- There were 2 homes for sale
- 2 single-family homes
- 1 probate
- 1 trust
- There were 8 pending sales (under contract)
- 6 single-family homes
- 2 condominiums
- 7 homes in probate
- 1 trust
- There were 5 homes sold
- 4 single-family homes
- 1 condominium
- 5 homes in probate
One of our probate homes we listed for sale closed escrow on December 17, 2019. The final sales price on 662 Chatsworth Pl was $1,040,000. We will soon be writing a post about that transaction. It was the second home we sold on behalf of the administrator of the estate. The first probate home sold was on Lieb Ct. in Alum Rock, San Jose.
DISCLAIMER: All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
Highest Price Homes Sold
The highest price probate home sold was a single-family home located in Los Altos 94024 zip code. The home has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, approximately 1,625 square feet of living space on a 10,413 square-foot lot. The home is 78 years old.
The home listed on September 5, 2019. List price $2,398,888. The MLS reported pending status on November 22, 2019. On December 20, 2019, it was reported sold. The final sales price reported was $2,510,000 which is more than $111,000 above the list price. The buyer had conventional financing.
Lowest Price Home Sold
The lowest price home sold was a condominium located in Palo Alto in the 94306 zip code. The 56-year-old condo has 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and 998 square feet of living space.
It listed on October 25, 2019, at a list price of $925,000. On November 19, 2019, the status was reported as pending. On December 19, 2019, it was reported sold. The final sales price reported was $925,000. The buyer had conventional financing.
Selling a home in Santa Clara County Probate Court
How to probate an estate in California? The process for an executor or administrator selling a probate home in Santa Clara County starts with the attorney filing California probate forms for a petition for probate. The process is administered by the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Probate Division.
At the petition for probate hearing, the petitioner asks for authority from the court to administer the estate. The authority granted by the court depends upon if the person died with a Will, or Intestate without a Will, and if Full Authority is granted under the Independent Administration of Estates Act or IAEA. There are reasons the probate judge may not grant full authority.
Having full authority to act does not mean that the process is easy or can be accomplished quickly. Read our page How long does probate take in California to learn more about the timeframe.
The way to avoid probate and conservatorship is to create proper estate planning documents which include a trust document and other supporting documents. Attorney Scott N. Carter explains in the short video below.
Successor Trustee Selling a Home in Trust
When a successor trustee sells a home held in trust we need to confirm the title to the real property is held in the trust. We also confirm the representative capacity of the person selling the home. Once we get all of the necessary documents we can execute a listing agreement and open escrow.
A successor trustee of his brother’s trust listed a Willow Glen home with Kathleen Daniels, Broker in December 2019. We will soon be writing about that sale when it closes in January 2020.
There are some seller disclosure exemptions when selling a home in a trust. We go over the process with our clients upfront to ensure they understand what is expected of them as well as all of the details we manage.
My heart goes out to people when they lose a loved one. It is hard enough to mourn the loss of someone we love. Adding legal issues on top of that creates an X-Factor that cannot truly be measured. My heart wants to help in ways that extend beyond selling real estate.
People are grateful for our attorney resources. It helps people to know they have highly competent and trusted legal resources to take over so they can ultimately get their job as fiduciary done!
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Probate Real Estate Services
We specialize in probate real estate services. That means selling homes in probate, conservatorship and in trust. We have helped many executors and successor trustees over the years sell homes.
We understand the challenges people face. Experience does make a difference. We believe a higher level of service is needed when representing an estate. We are all about high tough versus high volume of sales. We know that we cannot provide the highest level of service we provide to our clients and also do a high volume of sales.
That is why we limit the number of clients we work with to ensure we can provide all clients with the highest level of representation. Working with out-of-state and out of area clients generally requires more of our time.
We track probate home sales in Santa Clara County because it is one way to keep our fingers on the pulse of the probate market.
When you need help, call Kathleen Daniels at 408-972-1822 or contact us and request a consultation.