Probate is the legal process by which the estate of any deceased person is validated and executed. It can be a long and costly process for the sellers. Probate validates the Will, if one exists. It pays off existing creditors and distributes the assets to heirs and beneficiaries. The reason probate real estate bargains exist is that they are a part of the estate of a deceased individual. There is no legal hassle involved in buying such property. When you acquire property that is a part of an estate, you help the beneficiaries to settle the estate via a sale of assets. All the property, furniture, stocks, bonds, real estate, cars, etc have to go through probate.

Not all beneficiaries are interested in keeping and maintaining everything they inherited. The estate might also involve people who live in another city or even another state. They may not wish to relocate just to look after or inhabit property left to them. Sometimes, a house may be willed to more than one person. In this case, the property must be sold in order to ensure that everybody gets their fair share. Most beneficiaries who decide to sell would rather sell for less money immediately, than wait for much better prices. The attorney fees keep eating away at the final gains. So, you are likely to encounter very highly motivated sellers who would appreciate your help in getting on with their lives.

Trying to make a profit in foreclosures can be quite difficult. The foreclosure business has become quite popular recently. You probably end up chasing the same foreclosures and REOs that all your competitors are after. In many areas, it is very difficult to handle the procedures, even if you are interested, because of saturation. With a probate, there is no publicity or listing and hence, very few people would actually know where to find these properties. With probates, the person who knows the market is liable to profit up to 30-50% discounts.

When buying foreclosures you are very often dealing with people who do not really want to sell the property. The homeowner doesnt trust you and he feels that you are taking advantage of his misfortune. Foreclosures involve getting the homeowners out, which is not very pleasant. People who offer the properties in foreclosure could also be bankrupt at the same time and would prefer staying in their house, rent-free and delay the procedure. They also have others knocking on their doors and calling them at all hours and realtors promising them full equity and full price.

So they see themselves with many options and may not want to talk to you. The homeowner is losing the roof over his head and in some cases, can get quite nasty. In probate, the people do want to sell and the house is very often not their primary residence. So, you end up dealing with people who are not only motivated to sell, but also not highly stressed about it.

When someone passes away, their heirs are left with a very large responsibility in the form of real estate that many don’t like dealing with. If you can offer a reasonable price, a quick sale and a simple solution, they will be more than willing to sell to you. Trying to dispose off a property far away from where they live becomes very difficult for them. In most cases, they don’t want to hold on to the property and don’t want to figure out the logistics either. This is especially true if there are bills to be paid against the estate of the deceased.

Many people who are over 65 years old defer their property tax liability. When they pass away, these deferred taxes become due. The heirs inherit this tax liability and in many cases, like to turn the property into cash at the quickest possible time, to pay these taxes and other costs like Liens or Attorney’s Fees.

When you get all your information together, you are ready to assembly your INS application package. The package should include:

· A cover letter listing the documents that are included in your package

· Completed Form G28 Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative, if someone is assisting you with your visa application

· Your personal letter requesting a fiancé visa that briefly states how you met your fiancé and your understanding and intention to marry her within ninety days of her arriving in the US.

· Completed Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé

· Completed Form G-325A Biographic Data Sheets (four for you, four for her)

· Completed Form I-864 Affidavit of Support

· Supporting documentation such as tax returns, bank statements, brokerage statements, phone logs, photographs, et cetera

· Proof of your US citizenship and copies of the relevant pages of your passport (information page plus pages with visas to CIS countries)

· Certified copies of birth certificates for both of you. Certified copies of divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees if you or your fiancé have been previously married. Your fiancé will need certified translations of all these documents into English as well.

· Letter from your employer

· Letter from your bank

· Letter from the person who will be marrying you (priest, rabbi)

· One proper visa picture of you and your fiancé taken within thirty days of your application.

All of these forms and letters must be dated within ninety days of the date your application is submitted.

General tips on assembling your package:

If your package is bulky (it should be if you are doing it right), use ACCO fasteners with two holes punched in the top to hold your paperwork together and so documents don’t fall out of the file and get lost.

Use tabs and fasteners to separate and label each form or document.

Do not send original documents! They may be lost and will not be returned. Always send copies of original documents.

Submit as complete a package as possible. The INS officer and US embassy personnel should be able to process your application with the documents provided to them by you.

Keep copies of all applications and documents submitted. Do not assume that INS or US embassy personnel will have complete access to all of your documents. If officers have to find or review prior documents or files, your case may be delayed substantially.

You will need to submit a complete packet for each application and process. One complete packet will be submitted for INS processing and another complete packet will be submitted to the US embassy where your fiancé visa will be processed.

Application for Form I-129F Fiancé Visa Petitions must be filed at one of the INS Service Centers located in the United States. Your petition cannot be processed at an INS office overseas. To find out where to file your application go to the INS website.

There are four service centers in the U.S. Send your package to the service center for the state where you live. See the INS map on the INS website.