Are Estate Sales A Good Deal?

If you're looking for a deal in real estate, should you be looking at estate sales?

An estate sale is usually when the owner has passed away and the property is being sold by the trustee acting on behalf of the deceased owner.

That process — just getting that permission — can sometimes take up to a year. That means it's probably been over a year since anybody lived there. Except for our favourite raccoon family. And hopefully they’ve stayed outside.

Because no one has lived there, the seller makes zero warranties. So will the appliances work? You don't know. Will the light fixtures work? You don't know. Was there water damage? You don’t know. The seller makes no warranty, so really you're buying it as-is.

So should you be looking at estate sales when you're looking to purchase a home?

My view — yeah you should!

Because it's a riskier property, the pool of buyers is smaller. That means the price is lower and, hey, what if you move in and the lights are fine and the appliances are working and there's no water damage? You just got a steal of a deal. All you have to do is paint a little bit. That's a great deal, right there.

Of course, there are chances that you might have to fix some of those things that I talked about. Even then, the reduction in price usually ends up being enough to offset that risk.

As long as the big stuff is good, like the foundation, then you’re good.

So if you think the risk is worth it, definitely check out estate sales. And if there are issues, we can refer you to all the right people to get them sorted. No sweat. That’s just one of the many benefits of hiring a full-service agency like us.