Pulling Durham NC Estate Office Probate Leads Checklist
Welcome! I’m going to show you how to tap into the treasure trove of probate property data at the Durham County, North Carolina Estate Office. If you’re a real estate investor, wholesaler, agent, or just curious about probate properties in Durham County, NC, you’ve come to the right place! I’ll take you through a suggested checklist that I’ve used to navigate the estate office like a pro and get all the details you need. Let’s embark on this adventure together to unlock the secrets of probate property data in Durham County, North Carolina.
Before we get started here are a few things to note:
- Every court in the state office is different and may have nuances that are different from Durham county, North Carolina. Be sure to adapt the principles to your office. If you’re in Durham county feel free to connect with me and we can go together and support each other.
- The term Probate Lead is misleading, because we are gathering data here. You only have a lead if you have a prospective buyer, willing to sell now, or in the future. This is not a substitute for income-producing activities, such as talking to prospects!
- A special shout out to Chad Corbett, Bill Gross, and Bruce Hill from Probate Mastery for encouraging real estate professionals like me to visit our local courts to learn how to be more valuable in the probate real estate world.
Let’s get started, my friend! 🏡
This list is compiled in no specific order.
- Have a clear purpose for your trip. For example:
- To learn the process for pulling files
- To meet clerks and officers in the court office
- To pull a range of files
- To pull a specific file
- Be cordial to absolutely everyone you meet, especially the support staff and security guards. These are the gatekeepers, keeping us safe and helping everyone do their jobs efficiently.
- Consider bringing thank you cards, snacks, donuts, and even food like pizza every now and then to show your appreciation. It goes a long way!
- Be able to clearly state what you are looking for.
- Present yourself as someone who is interested in learning more about the Probate process so that you can help make the clerks jobs easier and assist people through the process.
- Understand the specific process for requesting files.
- Use the system that works for you to record the data. I like to take pictures of specific documents, and later have my assistant place that data into a spreadsheet that we use to contact representatives and attorneys related to the estate cases.
- Consider parking and parking fees.
- Know the abbreviations and terms located on the front cover of the files.
- LOAD – letter of administration
- Probate- Probate
- Will- valid Will associated with Estate
- AFTCP — affidavit for the collection of personal property
- Guardian/guardianship
- Small estate — Estate under $20,000 in total property
- Large estate— Estate over $20,000 in total property
- Admin WRDE – administration wrongful death
- Download and review all the documents associated with the probate process to know where important information is located
- Check the inventory sheet for property and assets associated with the estate
- Review the request to file probate to locate the personal representative’s (fiduciary) contact information, such as name, me, address, and phone number, if available.
- Make a note of the decedent’s name and the file number.
- Make a note of the beneficiaries list and document information
- Document the attorney’s information as well. This could be a mutually beneficial resource. You will find many prospects who need attorneys and attorneys who have cases that need property support.
- Check insurance forms for beneficiaries. Quite often phone numbers are available there.
- Have big ears and listen to the cases and situations that arise, particularly recurring issues, and find out how they are resolved.
- Consider having business cards available; but be sure to get the prospect’s contact info. It is more important to have their information as opposed to relying on them to contact you.
- Ask the clerks for any documents or checklist for the probate process.
- Have a system and routine for pulling data and using the data.
- Remember, the data is very important, but what is more important is using the data and speaking directly with people who have ability to make a decision about the property.
Good luck on your journey, and feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or thoughts! I can be reached by email at courtney@estateproservice.com or feel free to schedule a time to chat at calendly.com/estateproservice
Disclaimer: The Durham County Office of Clerk of Superior Court is not affiliated with Courtney Rollins or Estate Pro Service, LLC in any way. The Durham County Office of Clerk of Superior Court does not have any attorneys on staff and cannot give any legal advice. No exceptions.
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