Bellingham Probate Sale Success: Inside an “as-is” sale in 2025
This week, I'm going to share a crazy fun story about a sale I'm not quite finished with.
It started with a call the day after Christmas, a call from Kendra Cristelli.
Kendra is the Executive Director of Whatcom County Support Officer, the angelic group of volunteers who are dispatched by 911 after an unexpected death or severe trauma.
Kendra was calling from a small, 2-bedroom bungalow in Bellingham, which had just become the responsibility of an elderly estate administrator.
The admin was very much hoping to hand the reigns off to someone who could clean the place out, clean it up, and do whatever needed doing to get it sold.
That set-up is music to my ears, and about 30 minutes after Kendra called, I was standing in the front yard looking at this little fixer-upper:
I walked through the house and its basement (as best I could) and took stock of the lifetime of accumulation, some of it donate-able, most of it destined for the dump.
The bio-hazard clean-up crew was already on site (thank you Kendra!) and hauling out what they had to, which wasn't much.
In about 30 minutes, I had a plan together:
I'd have my go-to junk hauler haul away the rest of the stuff inside.
I'd have my go-to landscape crew give the bushes and lawn a haircut and rake.
I'd have my go-to cleaners wipe down the inside, but just to remove the worst of it -- this wasn't "deep clean" territory, at all.
I'd have my go-to home inspector check the place carefully top to bottom, and write a report that we could hand to all prospective buyers.
We had the home inspected for two reasons:
1) Because an estate sale doesn't require a "Seller's Disclosure Statement" since the administrator never lived there and doesn't know what might be wrong.
And...
2) To acknowledge the need for (substantial) repair, probably a full-gut remodel, and to support the "as is" nature of the sale, as well as our price.
Throughout these subs' working on the property, we covered payment of the invoices to make it easy on the administrator, with an agreement to settle up with him at the close of sale.
The cost of the prep work looked like this:
Bio-hazard clean-out: $837
Regular junk haul-out: $2518
Landscape clean-up: $248
Interior clean-up: $370
Home Inspection: $495
New front door knob: $26
Grand total: $4494.00
By the time that work was complete, the subs paid, the dust settled, we knew exactly what we'd be selling, we had a strategy, a plan, and a price.
Now, the administrator shared that he'd heard from another Realtor they'd have to replace the wiring, and get the furnace working at the very least.
Those two jobs alone could approach $15K or $20K easily, which would give any administrator some serious heartburn.
I saw it differently.
It was clear the house had good bones and a good foundation; it was straight, level, and solid throughout.
But all the mechanical systems, finishes, fixtures, appliances, not to mention the extremely quirky, non-functional kitchen layout, were ready for a complete makeover or replacement.
I suggested we fix absolutely nothing, and price and market it for what it is:
A project.
The administrator loved it, and agreed to go that route.
With photos taken, a walk-thru video ready to publish to social media, and a too-good-to-pass-up price of $350,000 we hit the market!
We went live on the MLS on Wednesday, January 22nd, and the floodgates opened, immediately.
Nine showings on Day 1.
Another eleven showings on Day 2.
We had set an offer review date of Monday, January 27th at noon.
Agents and buyers called and my phone rang non-stop.
Our handy inspection report was emailed out far and wide.
The buyer pool was mixed:
Half were investors or builders looking for a project, and they could readily see the promise this one had!
GREAT location, GREAT lot with alley access, GREAT potential to add a garage and a second unit in the back...
SUPER quiet setting in Columbia, SUPER nice neighboring houses, SUPER good bones to work with if you didn't want to do a full tear-down...
And a SUPER attractive price point.
The other half were owner-occupants, understandably drawn by the low list price, looking to get out of their rental situation and into ownership.
Those calls made me think of how many people will have a chance at ownership due to the new zoning laws taking effect, that will allow more construction of small houses on small lots.
There is certainly a market and a need for it, if Bellingham and its population continue to grow as they have been.
(That's a topic for another newsletter, or a private sit-down over tasty beverages.)
By the end of the weekend, we'd had over 40 showings, plus a busy open house.
Predictably, some of the feedback was that it was certainly overpriced at $350,000.
Then, by noon on Monday, we had our offers in hand.
Ten of them, in total.
All of them were over list price, by varying amounts, most of them using an Escalation Addendum.
That means they added language to their offer that set a max price, and an increment by which they'd beat the next highest offer.
All of them waived inspection, meaning they did not require any time or freedom to have their own inspector or builder vet the property condition further.
Some did various things to sweeten the pot even further, such as by making the earnest money a substantial amount, that was payable to the seller (the estate, in this case) upon signing the offer.
None of them asked for any repairs, or discounts for a new furnace, or anything else like that.
In the early afternoon on Monday, the estate administrator and I met, talked over the offers, and he chose the one that most benefitted the estate in terms of price, simplicity, and timing of the close of sale.
That date, the closing date, is this coming Monday, February 3rd -- a seven-day close.
Therefore, in the next newsletter, I'll be able to share the price and terms of that winning offer with you, and I look forward to doing so!
How would you approach this project?
Would you enjoy doing a project in Bellingham like this one, remodeling a 664 square foot Bungalow built in 1928?
Who would you want on your team to work alongside you?
Would you stay loyal to the Craftsman style that defined its original era?
Or would you incorporate modernizing elements like custom light fixtures, patterned or textured materials, creative uses of glass, steel and wood in just such a way?
Would you then move in, or would you rent it, or sell it?
How about adding that second unit out back?
Or make this existing house the ADU, and add a larger main house?
The options are fun to explore.
It's a pleasure for me to represent a property like this, with an administrator who hopes for a certain experience.
Kendra knows I love this type of sale, and I have a lot of experience with them.
I look forward to many more, and sharing their stories with you.
