Property - Condominium unit, Monterey Park, CA. Single decedent-owned property. Currently vacant — no tenant/eviction issue, and no rental income offsetting holding costs during probate. Equity - GROSS EQUITY 380k / As-is value estimated $450k–$500k./ Encumbrances: ~$47k in delinquent property taxes, ~$18k in HOA arrears. Notice of Power to Sell — Auction in October Title - Deed held in name of decedent parents, held JT with Son. Date of death for parents is 2002. Son death unconfirmed. No will on file; intestate succession applies — contingent on confirming SON had no children of his own, since children would take priority over siblings under CA intestate succession. This is the single most important open item before proceeding. Interested Party - Two presumed heirs, siblings of decedent (pending confirmation above): - SISTER OF DECD— Las Vegas, NV. Bedridden, history of two strokes; capacity to act as PR or contract in question. Older husband taking care of her. Has own children — not heirs unless she predeceases finalization. - BROTHER OF DECD — Illinois. No current contact established. Also has own children — same note. Threats - Verify DECD own heirs (children) first — could invalidate entire heir assumption - Auction 2026 OCT - Delia's capacity — signature vulnerable to challenge without independent counsel/capacity documentation - No contact with BROTHER — required for probate can proceed - Vacant property — insurance/vacancy risk, no income offset during hold - Elder abuse exposure if heir purchase price isn't defensible under Probate Code §11604/§11604.5 - HOA lien priority in a tax sale unconfirmed — affects what heirs actually stand to claim in surplus scenario Opportunity - Two possible exits: 1. Pre-sale / Probate acquisition — stop the tax sale, acquire heirs' interests in the property itself, exit as-is to an investor buyer. 2. Post-sale excess proceeds claim — let the county tax sale proceed, acquire heirs' rights to the surplus (auction price minus taxes/costs). More bounded/calculable payout, and potentially a cleaner claims process than full probate but similar timeline

I am working on a lead where the mom died in 2000 and doesn’t have any probate. No will. The title is still on her name. The son is disabled and doesn’t entertain speaking to anyone. So it’s a dead end. I just identified the daughter long distance and will try to speak with her. The problem is probate takes 12+ months and the tax auctions is less than 4-6 months. So no time. Also cannot do a summary probate because the property value is 500k plus. I can cure the taxes if we can have a purchase agreement in place with daughter and son. Any other ideas to resolve this? Another question is - is this a dead end of the daughter doesn’t respond or don’t want to deal with this.

Came across a Tax defaulted SFH with an inactive real estate attorney. I've skipped traced his number which coincidentally has a voicemail saying its not the person we're trying to reach. I've read about being proactive about profiles on some of these forums. Would you reach out to someone like this? My gut says move onto the next.

When you hit a dead end with the immediate heirs listed in raw docket data, what's your go-to move for tracking down unlisted family members without spending 3 hours on skip tracing for a single lead? Stacking standard tools is starting to feel like a massive time sink when the legal layers get complicated. Curous to know how you guys handle the initial vetting bottleneck.

P E T I T O situation P = Property Duplex located in Carmichael, CA Only (1) ONE APN # exists for the duplex property. One side rented for $2,300 per month, the other side is VACANT and in need of work so that it can be rented. E= Equity Estimated Value $800,000 TODAY The property is FREE & CLEAR of any debt Property was acquired for around $200,000 many years ago; pre 2016. T= Title Originally was titled in the Name of a Father (now deceased) as to a 50% Interest and (1) one of his daughter (elderly daughter # 1) as to the other 50% Interest in the Duplex.She (elderly daughter # 1) lived on one side and the Father lived on the other side. She helped care for the aging Father. The Father passed away back in 2022 and his estate was probated. The OTHER Daughter (younger 2nd Daughter) prior to his passing was given a DEED by the Father subject to his Life Estate interest; Upon the Fathers passing in 2022, Younger Daughter # 2 then became the OWNER of 50% of the Duplex property along with Elderly Daughter # 1 still owning the other 50% interest. I= Interested Parties Both of the daughters each now own 50% undivided interests in the Duplex property valued around $800K which is FREE & CLEAR of any debt. Elderly Daughter # 1 has relocated but has been RENTING out her 50% portion of the duplex (for $2,300 per month) as stated above. T= Threats The relationship between Elderly Daughter # 1 and the Younger Daughter # 2 is contentious. They barely speak. It seems that Elderly daughter # 1 feel entitled to 100% of the DUPLEX property as she was the one who cared for their Father before he passed.The 50% SIDE of the DUPLEX now owned by the Younger Daughter # 2 cannot be readily rented because it’s in desperate need of many upgrades to get it rent ready (like a new HVAC system, some electrical work, new flooring, the updating of the bathrooms and the Kitchen, etc.). Thus younger daughter # 2 side of the duplex is NOT able to produce any income from rents; Yet she still must share in 50% of the expenses for Taxes, Insurance, etc.