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Trusts and Estate Sales | Managing the Details When a Loved One Passes Away

tlr-admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 17:03:05 +0000

According to the US Census Bureau, US boomers are the second-largest population group in 2022, comprised of 69.6 million people ages 58 to 76. Our parents are aging. 70 million people means that many of us will be dealing with the inevitable task of handling our loved ones estate or possessions after they have passed. There are three different ways a person’s estate is handled after they pass and it depends on what they did prior to their death.

A common practice by baby boomers has been to create a trust. Trusts are usually established to provide legal protection for a persons assets and to ensure they are distributed according to their wishes. Additionally trusts save time, can limit tax implications and prevent the need for court involvement as well as the fees associated with that. People typically put their homes, bank and stock accounts or other assets in a trust. In the trust they name a Successor Trustee, someone who is responsible for handling the liquidation and distribution of the assets of the estate.

When no trust is in place the person’s possessions and assets must go through Probate. Probate is complicated, but simply put it is the judicial process in which the state “proves a will” or decides how to distribute assets because no will is in place. If a will is in place, one in which a person names who is to be in charge of their estate after they die, the court names that person the Executor with “Full Authority”. That authority, once given, allows all decisions going forward to need no further court intervention. In California this process takes about three months.

On the flip side, if no will is present, it is called dying “intestate.” A judge will determine how who to appoint as administrator of the estate and how to divide the assets based on state law, not the deceased’s wishes. This court appointed Administrator has what is called “Limited Authority”. Due to the limited authority of the Administrator this process takes up 12 months and requires many court hearings, court approval and can cost 10’s of thousands on legal fees.

As Realtors who are Certified Probate and Trust Specialists we have dealt with each one of these situations first hand. We have represented Successor Trustees, Executors, and Administrators. No matter which process the estate is going through it is often very emotional and overwhelming for the family dealing with it.

Over the years we have worked with many estate sale companies when helping our clients get their loved ones home’s ready for sale. What we found was an industry that was lacking transparency, clear communication, compassion, and follow through. Being witness to these transactions left us feeling frustrated and powerless. Watching our clients receive sub par service and being treated in a way we felt was not nearly what they deserved made us realize there was a great need to be met. A need that we felt we were inherently built to fill.

We have always been people who focused on taking care of others, doing the right thing and going the extra mile. As Realtors that way of operating set us apart from our peers so much so that we were able to build a successful company solely on referrals. Eventually we rebranded our real estate business with the tag line “Hustle and Heart.” After years of client interactions and closed transactions we felt it perfectly personified how we approached everything we did, not just professionally but personally as well.

Matt and Kelly Lee - Realtors and Certified Probate and Trust Specialists in Placer County

After a client needed a loved one’s estate liquidated fast, and no estate sale company could do the job, we decided to start Hustle & Heart Estate Sales in conjunction with Team Lee Real Estate. We felt this partnership was the perfect combination of businesses to help clients dealing with this specific situation. We used all the learnings from our background in business, real estate and management and coupled it with the take-always and missed opportunities we saw from other companies to create what we feel is the most comprehensive estate liquidation experience around. You can check out our subsidiary, Hustle and Heart Estate Sales and the services they provide at: www.HustleandHeartEstateSales.com.

When working with Team Lee Real Estate and Hustle and Heart Estate Sales you don’t have to worry about a thing. We handle everything from start to finish, including communicating with Probate Attorneys. This allows you the time to focus on the most important task of emotionally processing the loss and grieving your loved one.

We will first meet with a family to asses their specific needs, situation, and timeline. Hustle and Heart Estate Sales provides three different options based on the amount and value of the items that need to be sold. We can do a full service estate sale where all the possessions in a home are sold, even vehicles. Another option is consignment. We take specific items to our store front or to our on our multiple online platforms. The last option is a clean-out. This would be the case if the family wanted to take most of the items or the items didn’t have much value. In a clean out all trash and debris is removed ensuring the home is ready for sale. Many situations call for a combination of some or all of these.

Once the possessions are sold and/or removed the home is ready for sale. That’s when the the Team Lee Real Estate side jumps in. Team Lee will ensure the home is shown in the best possible light. We will coordinate, attend and even help pay for services to help the get the home market ready. Based on the home’s condition and the family’s goals that could include getting a painter, landscaper, housekeeper, carpet cleaner, pest inspection, handyman and always a professional photographer.

Team Lee Real Estate and Hustle and Heart Estate Sales are built on relationships. We honor those relationships and realize they are the most important part of our businesses. Our commitment is to take personal care of our clients at each step of the way. We will make the estate liquidation and home selling process seamless and stress free with great integrity, dedication and compassion.

The post Trusts and Estate Sales | Managing the Details When a Loved One Passes Away first appeared on Hustle and Heart Properties.

The Open Floor plan is no longer King!!

tlr-admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:43:34 +0000

For about ten to fifteen years, all we heard as realtors was “ it has to have an open concept”. Everyone was infatuated with the idea of the entire family being in one giant and open central location of the home. Every buyer seemed to have grand ideas of hosting nightly parties , cocktails around the kitchen island, or watching a family movie while cooking in the kitchen. With the evolution of technology and social media, home buyers were experiencing shrinking boundaries and less privacy in their everyday lives… and wanted the same sense of openness and constant engagement in the layout of their home..

Well… the pendulum is swinging the other direction! Buyer after buyer is looking for defined spaces , privacy, and areas in the home to regroup and rest. Society is constantly changing , working from home is more prevalent than ever, and multigenerational living is becoming more and more a necessity for families. In short, people in general , and an increasing number of home buyers are falling back in love with the traditional floor plans and designated living spaces that a lot of us grew up with . People are looking for a room that doesn’t have an 80”television on the wall to read a book. Parents are excited about a separate family room to enjoy some coffee in before the kids wake up. People working from home are dying for a room to make a home office, where they don’t have to try to concentrate over the sounds of their loved ones living life. Eating dinner around an actual dinner table in a real dining room is no longer a thing of the past. The world can be heavy and exhausting, and everything seems to be go go go these days. We are getting new home buyers weekly who are looking for a home they can simply slow down in.

In addition to a rapidly growing work from home workforce, multigenerational families are becoming more prevalent than ever before. The cost of housing across the country has made it a necessity to have elderly parents or
newly minted adult children living at home. There are three or four generations living under the same roof in every community, a few extra walls or rooms in your home have never been more important to living together.

So, if you think your house is antiquated or old fashioned, or too traditional, fear not, what once was old is new again! Home sellers should be excited to highlight their formal dining room, den, breakfast nook, office, or loft. Show off every nook and cranny of your home with pride, You are about to have buyers flocking to your home excited at the prospects of living in a home just like yours.

The post The Open Floor plan is no longer King!! first appeared on Hustle and Heart Properties.

The Toughest Boss I’ve Ever Had… My Wife.

tlr-admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 16:41:36 +0000

So at 40 years old, I find myself working for.. well.. myself, and my wife at the same time.
As a realtor for almost five years now, I’ve come to two key conclusions. The first is that I love every aspect of real estate. I love working with both buyers and sellers, the negotiation with other realtors, exceeding client expectations, helping people find their dream homes, and continually trying to change what it means to be a realtor. The second thing that I have come to realize is that my wife is a badass, a force of nature, and the only person I would go to war with, she amazes me daily!

Much like most of you, I’ve had a wide range of bosses, from the pushover who wanted to be best friends, to the narcissistic prick that cared only about their success. Having held a wide range of jobs at varying management levels has given me a ton of perspective about what it means to be a leader, manager, or boss. Was I the best boss when I managed others? Was I the best version of myself when engaged with former bosses? I worked my ass off to be great in both roles, but I’m sure if I had slowed down and reflected in life, I could have been better! And just like that , twenty years of working for others and managing hundreds at a time has left me jaded about working for other and only capable of working for myself.

Four plus years as a realtor has helped me grow more than any other time in my life. It is beyond rewarding, exciting, challenging, humbling, infuriating, and fun, all at the same time. But with all of that said, managing myself has made it clear that I might be the most difficult employee ever.. My time management is average at best ( I get distracted by other tasks that are more interesting, and I can procrastinate with the best of them). My work ethic is second to none. I would say I’m as capable as anyone around. I have an opinion about everything and anything , which I see is a trait my 7 year old is starting to embrace. I have a mouth which just doesn’t stop , and I could be a much better listener. Ok, that might be sugarcoating it, I’m just a lot to handle and a challenging personality.. This is where my wife comes in, and for as much as she can piss me off, she might be the best boss I’ve ever had. We are a real estate team , husband and wife, best friends, and simply meant to be the others half. We are realtors together, at the same broker, and a couple years ago, we structured our S corp so that Kelly was in charge and I worked under her with the corporation writing my paycheck. There was a lot of other things that went into this , but that’s for another time. Probably the hardest transition in my professional career has been fully embracing working for my wife, while working for myself, and knowing my success depends on my efforts now more than ever.

I would consider my wife and I both very much type A with a little bit of an edgy attitude. That doesn’t always make for a great relationship between manager and employee, and at first it was a complete train wreck. Every time we talked about business , family, or kids, or money would get dragged into the conversation. Anytime one of us was annoyed with the other about something in our personal life, the conversation would always spiral away from work. For an entire year, we were terrible about communicating, we couldn’t resolve conflicts, we got annoyed at each others slightest movement… it was tough to say the least. For two people both in our second marriages, with a his, hers, and 2 of ours blended family, and decades of management experience, owning and managing a business together has been the toughest thing we have done. Countless times, it almost fell apart, one of us was constantly on the verge of going to get a different job, to at the very least create some space, man there were some epic battles! Then IT CLICKED.

One day in the wake of a tough couple fights we sat down and figured it out, and the key was time for ourselves by ourselves. Between 5am and 6:30 turned out to be the time that saved our business, strengthened our marriage, and made us better partners, parents, and friends. I know, you just said to yourself, 5am is way too early, the point is to find your time. We worked less, every morning started with coffee, conversation, no agenda , and zero electronics. It helped to better focus on our kids, family, friends, finances, vacations, our home, and ultimately clarified what we needed to do for work. There are a lot of obligations in life , a ton of time commitments, and countless emotional / mentally draining moments each day. Carve out some time to just be and reflect about the good in your life. I really started to appreciate my wife/boss when we committed to this time each morning. I have never seen a woman so passionate and driven in my life, and if it needs to get done, she will be relentless until it is. I lovingly call her the Pit bull, as there is zero quit in her, she’s a scrappy one.. and honestly if anyone pisses me off, I just unleash her, 😂.

Kelly has made me take more pride in the work I do, because I want to make her proud of me more thank anything. She is the most impressive woman I know, and nothing feels better as an associate than impressing your bad ass boss. Now she may be a bit chaotic at times, or loud, or she can be emotional and impatient. But all those things coupled with her tremendous ability and heart make her the only boss for me.. I’m a lucky employee.

The post The Toughest Boss I’ve Ever Had… My Wife. first appeared on Hustle and Heart Properties.

Realtors Going the Extra Mile

tlr-admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 21:33:26 +0000

Does your Realtor do this?!?

With an upcoming listing in Colfax going live March 4th preparations are already underway to ensure it is market ready. Let me update you on what the Team Lee difference is when listing your home:

Pest Inspection ordered and *paid by us

Dumpster being dropped Wednesday *paid by us

Painter coming next week to paint cabinets and doors… *paid by us

Bark and plants ordered for yard… *paid by us

Cleaner scheduled, *paid by us

Work days scheduled. Matt or I will be there to help the homeowners tackle a list of to-do’s.

Does your Realtor do this?!? If not, contact us today to see what Hustle and Heart is all about!

The post Realtors Going the Extra Mile first appeared on Hustle and Heart Properties.