Bellingham Real Estate Questions

 Under current economic conditions, many of the questions we receive involve difficulties with making mortgage payments, but as the following question indicates, there are many other facets of real estate sales that can be confusing as well.

“My parents’ home  is about to be sold as part of their estate, and the proceeds will be split between my brothers and I.  I live in a different state – how long should it take for me to see the proceeds of that sale after it closes?”

Proceeds from a real estate sale are available to a seller immediately upon closing (the definition of closing is that funds are available to the seller and title is recorded in the name of the buyer).  This means the estate will have the funds immediately upon closing.  As to when the funds will be disbursed to you and your brothers, that depends on the person(s) in charge of the estate.  This could be an executor, an administrator, a personal representative, a trustee or the court.  Sometimes proceeds need to be used to pay liabilities of the estate or held to pay expenses related to other assets which have not yet been sold, which can delay disbursement to beneficiaries substantially.

You should have received information from the person in charge of the estate upon the death of your parent.  Contact them for specific information as to when your funds should be available.

If you have a thought or an experience to share, please feel free.  Pooled knowledge is really helpful.  Just post a comment – or a further question – and we can all help each other.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!