The Home Seller Died. Now What?

Today, after having sold hundreds and hundreds of homes, I encountered a situation that I have never had before. We were under contract to purchase a home and the seller actually passed away in the middle of the transaction. Had never encountered that before and did not know what happened next. Is the contract still good? Where do we go from here? 

This week has been a big learning experience. For those that know me, I am a big fan of training. There are no failures in life, only successes and learning opportunities. This was a big learning opportunity. Some things you just can not predict, right? You don’t know what you don’t know. The party to the transaction passed away prior to settlement and it turns out that they were the only party to the transaction on that side. 

When that happens, there is a clause in the contract - Section 38, for anybody who is in Virginia and wants to look - of the standard For Sale contract that says that contract is still good, whether it is the seller that signed it or the heirs. The heirs also have to abide by it. So, as it turns out, even though the seller - the only seller in that transaction - passed away, the contract is still valid. So the buyers are still under contract on that property and the heirs are required to see that sale through. Obviously, it does change the timing a little bit. There is going to be a little bit of footwork that has to happen: getting the property re-deeded from the original seller into the name of the heirs. Actually, I had a trip to the county clerk's office to help the new heirs with that process because again, I had never done that myself. I did not know what that process looked like and they were from out of town. So, I was sort of the boots on the ground, trying to help them through that process. They still want to see the property sold. We are all doing everything we can to make sure that everything is still going off without a hitch. 

If you do need anything at all, do not hesitate to reach out to me at 571-393-1082 or [email protected] I cannot promise that I have seen every circumstance. But, certainly, even if we come across one that we have not seen in the hundreds and hundreds of home sales that we have done, we are going to find a way forward! There is no question about that. 

If you are looking for somebody who has the experience and can represent your best interests, I would love a crack at it. I would love the opportunity. My team is the Valor Group. We are all prior military, law enforcement and firefighters. We would love the opportunity to earn your trust and your business.