Lately, it’s been for clients who are trying to refinance on the house mom or dad left to them.

Once you “lock in” that interest rate, you’ve got X number of days to close the loan, correct? Well, if the real estate attorney, title insurance agent or title company gets to it soon enough, you might find that you need to probate the house first!

Important things to know:

1. Before you go to refinance or even sell, get the probate out of the way.
2. Probate judges don’t expedite probate cases just because you’re trying to get that 4.9% interest deal of the century. Nope, doesn’t matter how bad you really need the money.
3. Probate in Florida, even summary administration, can take a month or two. In complicated cases, maybe even 6 months!
4. Even if you’re just probating mom’s house, it’s not necessarily simple. Don’t assume it’s simple.
5. Get organized. Collect the death certificates, Wills, last recorded deeds and make sure all the beneficiaries are on board.
6. If there’s no Will, ALL of the beneficiaries need to be accounted for. Yes, all of them.
7. If you’re trying to sell the property, make sure you’ve got probate in order before you sign any purchase/sales agreements. If you’re refinancing, make sure your mortgage broker or banker knows you may have to probate the property.

Just a few good tips to get your ducks in a row. PROBATE COMES FIRST!