Probate Florida Real Estate - Determine Value Prior to Sale

Beneficiaries and heirs should not abandon probate property without first determining what its fair market value is. The value of Florida real estate including vacant land has skyrocketed and an appraisal or market analysis may be needed to determine its true value.

Probate is needed to transfer good title for all land or real estate in the decedents sole name or held as tenants in common to pass the tenants in common interest. If more then 2 years have passed a summary probate can pass the title to the property to the heirs or beneficiaries. This allows the probate of the land or real property to pass through probate more quickly and with less cost involved.

By Mike Hoyemmoyem @ News-Press.Com Published by news-press.com 2005

Savvy buyers cash in big on cheap lots
Sellers naive to land value
Patricia Pavlus of Pittsburgh and Adel Assadd were happy last Sept. 15 to sell a vacant lot in Lehigh Acres for $800.But probably not as happy as the company that bought it, Olympic Land Title Corp. of Orlando. Olympic sold the lot for $36,900."They were basically going to pay us $800 in cash," said Assadd, who is Pavlus' husband. "They agreed to pay $800 plus do the probate."

When he was told Olympic sold the lot for $36,900 to a man who sold it for $45,000, Assadd didn't really know what to say."Good for them," he said.
Florida has a long history of questionable real-estate deals. But with property values skyrocketing in Southwest Florida as never before, quick-profit deals may be running more rampant than ever.Land records show the same red-hot real- estate market that has resulted in scores of fraudulent deeds being filed in Lee and Charlotte counties also has prompted untold numbers of calls and letters to absentee property owners across the country and around the world from buyers who may be hoping the owners don't know land values have shot up dramatically.

Polly Reynolds of Lebanon, Tenn., sold a lot in Lehigh Acres to Olympic last Oct. 14 for $2,600. Reynolds didn't sound upset when she was told the lot is probably worth 10 times that much.

Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson said it's too bad people have sold land in the county at prices below market value when a simple check of his official Web site will show most vacant lots in the county are worth far more than $800 or $1,000." It's unfortunate people are taken advantage of, those who are not in the know."