PETITO FOR 3 · Dirty Title Goldmine

PETITO FOR 3

PETITO SUMMARY — 3 HOMES, FAMILY TRUST AND HEIR DISPUTE

Where: California

Who: 2 family lines

What: One branch of the family lives in all 3 homes right now.

I'm sharing this for feedback. I want to know if this deal looks good to other experienced operators and would like some insights if I'm missing anything.

PROPERTIES:::

Home 1:

- 3 bed, 1 bath, 1,160 sqft house

- 0.32 acre lot

- Value guesses (at 70% of full price):

Zestimate: $239,260

Propwire: $231,988

XLeads:

AVM: $266,186

MKT: $383,040

Home 2:

- 2 bed, 1 bath, 897 sqft house

- 0.34 acre lot

- Value guesses (at 70% of full price):

Zestimate: $249,190

Propwire: $181,805

XLeads:

AVM: $280,242

MKT: $341,964

Home 3:

- 1 bed, 1 bath, 662 sqft house

- 0.4 acre lot

- Value guesses (at 70% of full price):

Zestimate: $200,970

Propwire: $155,339

XLeads: N/A

AVM: $256,346

MKT: $305,298

Total value for all 3 homes (70% of value):

Zestimate: $689,420

Propwire: $569,132

XLeads:

AVM: $802,774

MKT: $1,030,302

EQUITY:::

Total taxes owed on all 3 homes: about $10,600

Home 1: about $4,140 owed. Late on taxes from 2023 to 2025. This year is paid.

Home 2: about $2,130 owed. Late on taxes from 2023 to 2025. This year is paid.

Home 3: about $4,330 owed. Late on taxes from 2021 to 2025 (the longest). This year is paid.

*Solar Lien (amount unknown)

TITLE:::

- The grandparents used to own all 3 homes.

- In 2007, they moved all 3 homes into a family trust. From that point on, the trust was the legal owner, not the grandparents by name.

- Both grandparents have since passed away. One passed in 2018. The other passed in early 2019.

- In 2021, a solar lien was placed on one of the homes. But both grandparents were already dead by then. This means the lien may have been taken out through fraud — someone may have signed for people who were no longer alive to sign anything. This is a big red flag.

INTERESTED PARTIES:::

- One branch of the family (the late son's side) owns half of the estate, 50%. This half splits between 4 people: 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Each one gets about 12.5%.

- The other branch of the family (the daughter's side, who lives in all 3 homes now) owns the other half, 50%. We do not know how many people are on this side yet. No matter how many people there are, they still only own 50% total between them.

THREATS:::

- Solar lien fraud: The 2021 lien was signed after both grandparents had died. The lien itself is real, but it may have been taken out through fraud.

- Uncooperative side: The family branch living in the homes is not friendly to this deal. They have not paid taxes or kept the homes in good shape.

- Missing will and trust papers: A will exists, but no one knows exactly when it was made or where it is now. The 2007 trust papers are missing too. The uncooperative side of the family most likely got rid of the will. They may have gotten rid of the trust papers too. Cooperative heir remembers being told that the plan was for their late father to receive everything as this was mentioned by his mother that the will was kept in a safety deposit box.

- If we can't find the will or the trust papers, the next step is to ask a court to rebuild the trust. (Petition to Confirm Trust Terms, under California Probate Code Section 17200.)

- The lawyer who wrote the trust has passed away, so there is less proof to work with.

- If the court can't rebuild the trust, the estate goes to intestate succession. Under those rules, the estate still splits 50/50 between the two family branches.

- If that happens, we would need to go through probate, a court order to partition, and most likely eviction, to clear the title and remove anyone who shouldn't be there.

OPPORTUNITY:::

- We first talked to 2 sisters from the son's side of the family. They showed interest at first, then stopped replying.

- Later, we reached the 2 brothers from that same side. They gave us a verbal yes. That is about 25% of the whole estate locked in, which is half of that side's 50% share.

- Once the brothers sign paperwork, the sisters will likely come back and follow along.

QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:::

1. Based on what you see here — missing will, missing trust, a lien that may have been fraudulently taken out, and an uncooperative family living in the homes — does this deal look doable to you? Where would you decide to walk away?

2. Has anyone gone through a Section 17200 petition to rebuild a lost trust when the lawyer who wrote it has died? How long did it take, and how much proof did the court need?

3. What's the biggest risk here that I didn't list?

Let me know what you think, or any risks we might be missing. Thank you!

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PETITO FOR 3