So, my husband and I have been on this crazy house-hunting journey for the past two years. We made three offers that got rejected, and finally, we found a house that we really liked a little over a month ago. We wasted no time and put in an offer, which was accepted by the older woman selling the house. Everything seemed to be going smoothly – the appraisal went well, and even though the house was being sold As-Is, we were prepared for it. We signed all the necessary documents, and the closing date was set for 7/31.
But guess what? That week rolls around, and suddenly, we’re told that the closing date needs to be moved to 8/7. The listing agent casually mentions that there was some issue with the deed after the seller’s husband passed away, and the wife had to deal with it. I mean, seriously? We were annoyed because we were already planning to end our apartment lease in just over a month, and now this delay is throwing off all our plans.
As if that wasn’t frustrating enough, 8/6 arrives, and we hear nothing. Our realtor reaches out to the listing agent, only to find out that, oh, by the way, the title is currently in probate, and it could take up to a month. Can you believe it? It felt like a slap in the face, with the whole situation being treated so nonchalantly. The listing agent tries to put the blame on the 80-year-old seller, saying it’s her fault for not sorting it out earlier, but really, shouldn’t they have made sure everything was in order before putting the house on the market?
I decide to do some research on probate, and what I find is not reassuring. It seems like the process could take anywhere from 6 to 12 months to complete. And to make matters worse, the seller’s late husband probably had children from a previous marriage, so who knows how that could complicate things further? It’s a messy situation because the wife married him later in life, and he owned the house solely before they got married.
Honestly, I’m starting to panic. Are they just telling us not to worry, assuring us that it will only take up to a month for the house to be transferred into the seller’s name so she can sell it? It all feels a bit too good to be true, and I can’t shake off this feeling of