One of the most common changes in a person’s life that would require them to address updating or changing their estate plan would involve the purchase of real estate. Whether you are buying your home, a piece of investment property, or both it should all be dealt with in your estate plan.

If you buy real estate and haven’t started the estate planning process, it’s definitely time to consider starting. Estate planning is more than just having a will and other documents drafted for you. It’s also about planning ahead and looking for potential conflicts. It helps ensure that you can protect your loved ones not only from the probate process, but also from the family fighting that can ensue when you have a large illiquid asset that has a mortgage attached to it, or possibly even just unable to agree on whether to sell it and how much to sell it for.

Once you actually have your estate plan in place, changes that are needed for any buying or selling of real estate can be incredibly simple. If you have elected to create a Trust, it’s as simple as placing the property in the name of your Trust when you buy it. If you don’t have a trust, we just need to make sure the proper deed is correctly drafted and recorded. Even the smallest mistakes in the deed could affect what ultimately happens to the property, and failing to record it entirely would make the deed completely useless upon the landowner’s death.

It’s still a buyer’s market out there. While it’s unfortunate that foreclosures and short sales are occurring frequently, these do create a way to upgrade your home, and a possible investment opportunity for those interested. However, finding that opportunity can be difficult if you don’t have an excellent realtor on your side.

I’ve asked Jana Allen with Realty Executives to quickly touch on how she can help you with that purchasing process.

Purchasing a home is a big decision and not always the smoothest road. That is where I am here to help as your real estate agent. I will walk you through the process from determining where you want to live, contract, negotiations, inspections, to closing. There are many details and I am here to help make them easier. With the current market, there are more choices and options than in the past with short sales, foreclosures, flips, new construction, and resale. You need an expert to help you navigate these crazy roads.

For most families, their largest investment is their home. Not only is it an investment, but also where you raise your family, relax, decorate to your style, and make a home. So with purchasing and owning a home, you need to protect your investment. No different than if you have life insurance ensuring your family is protected upon death, you need for your home to be protected as well legally.

If you are looking to purchase real estate, call Jana at 816.645.5642. My wife and I used Jana and her husband Tim to purchase our home, and we highly recommend them!