Ep. 17: How to Get Probate Lists with Sharon Vornholt

Sharon Vornholt is the creator of the Louisville Gals Real Estate blog and the popular podcast “Let’s Talk Real Estate Investing.” Sharon began investing as a rehabber before the Louisville market crashed in 2008. At that point, she turned her attention to wholesaling and found a niche with probates. She is the owner of Innovative Property Solutions and joins us to talk about the probate process and the Louisville market on this episode of Target Market Insights.

Key Market Insights

• Spent 10 years as a rehabber before wholesaling in 2008
• Was doing direct mail prior to the Internet and is her #1 source of leads
• Loved probate lists because less people work probate and most owners don’t want the house, they just want the money
• You have to get probate lists locally, in many cities you have to go to the court house
• Over 3,300 counties in the US and each has different probate procedure
• Call the probate court and asked how do you get a list
• For Louisville, commissioner sales and foreclosures are published between the 7th and 15th on a Friday each month
• Don’t worry about when someone passes away, focus on when the estate is opened, that’s when they are ready to sell
• If you can’t get a list, you need to pull the records one at a time
• Target homes are 3-bedroom, brick, ranch homes in the $160k-$250k price point in good neighborhoods
• Louisville market’s best area is East of I-65
• Areas to avoid for rehabbers: Downtown, West End
• Highlands is a popular area near parks
• Wholesalers need to stay on top of rehab costs, follow up and confirm actual costs vs. projections

Bull’s Eye Tips:

Winning Your Market: Marketing is the most important thing to get leads

Market Changes: Belong to your REIA and check MLS for updates on sales prices

Daily Habit: Plans the next day the night before and recaps what she did right for the day

Resources:

Let’s Talk Real Estate Investing Podcast  Best Business Books:

The 12-Week Year by Brian P Moran and Michael Lennington 

The Compound Effect by Darren Harding

Digital Resources

Trello – https://trello.com/

Tweet This:

“As a wholesaler, 2008 was like Christmas every day of the week” “With probate, the owners don’t want the house they just want the money” “Create a marketing plan that gives you 3-5 ways to get deals”

Places to Grab a Bite:

Bristol Bar and Grille – https://www.bristolbarandgrille.com/

Connect with Sharon:

Website: https://LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon.vornholt Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharon.vornholt Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/svornholt

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