Happy to share that this deal has finally closed escrow and both seller and buyer clients are very happy! This was one of the most complicated situations that I’ve dealt with in a while: on the listing side, a probate sale; and on the buyer’s side, an FHA loan. My seller clients, both from out-of-the-area, were dealing with the death of a family member and trying to navigate the Oakland probate process and the house needed to be cleaned out. I helped them with the entire process, from hiring haulers to managing painters, flooring installation, misc repairs, yard cleanup, etc. It took a few weeks to get the house presentable but once we were done, it looked great. We decided to sell this one vacant and didn’t stage the interior; the kitchen had been recently remodeled but the bathroom needed attention. We provided a pest inspection and a home inspection as disclosures. The buyers came through during an open house and after three or four visits to the property, made an offer. Their financing was FHA, which can be a bit complicated; however the sellers decided to work with them and the deal moved forward. We ended up making some required repairs, such as exterior painting & cleanup, & everyone worked together to get things done. It took a few weeks longer than we anticipated, but we finally closed the deal. There was a lot of drawn-out probate drama that included switching the process from a court-administered sale to independent administration. A huge shout-out to Casey Sullivan of Summit Funding who arranged for the buyer’s loan & successfully guided them through all of the underwriting & repair drama (which included a successful appraisal rebuttal). The sellers are happy that the house was passed to some awesome new owners. Congrats to Mike & Nik & I hope you have many happy years there! Check out A Brown Table: Nik’s award-winning food blog. Maybe he will make me a dessert one day.