Attorneys · CPAs · Fiduciaries · Care professionals
For Attorneys and Professionals Who Refer Clients
What We Handle for Your Client
Short answer: when your client has a home to sell or a loan to sort out, we take the real estate and the lending off your desk and keep you informed at the points you choose. Surroundings is a Sacramento real estate and lending brokerage led by Maggie B. Hopkins, a real estate broker and mortgage broker. You keep the legal, tax and financial advice. We handle the home.
- Probate sales. We handle full authority and court-confirmed sales for executors and administrators, priced, prepared and marketed to fit the case. More on probate and trust sales.
- Trust sales. We handle sales for successor trustees, following the terms of the trust and the trustee's instructions.
- Divorce sales and buyouts. We handle a sale of the shared home, or a buyout where one spouse keeps it, with the loan side reviewed before the settlement depends on it. See selling a home in a divorce, or share the short guide written for your clients (it prints on one page).
- Senior moves. Our Well MOVED™ service coordinates repairs, estate sales, donations and movers around the sale. See downsizing and senior moves.
- Reverse mortgages and refinances. As a mortgage broker, Maggie shops loans across a network of approved lenders, including reverse mortgages (HECM) and refinances. See lending.
How a Referral Works, Step by Step
Short answer: it takes one call or one form, then a call back within 2 hours and a plan in writing before anything happens to the property.
- You call or send the form. Call or text Maggie at (916) 549-3131 or use the refer a client form. No client names are needed at this stage. The type of matter, the county and a way to reach you are enough to start.
- We call you back within 2 hours. We ask what you need from us, who has authority to sign and who else should hear from us.
- We put a plan in writing. After we see the property, your client gets a written plan. It covers a price range based on recent sales, the repairs worth doing and the ones to skip, a timeline and the expected costs of the sale. If a loan is part of the picture, the plan covers that too.
- We update you at the points you agree to. Common points are the listing going live, offers received, an accepted offer, contingency removal and closing. Some offices want every step. Others want the milestones only. You decide.
- We send the documents your office needs. That includes the signed purchase agreement, counteroffers, listing terms and the escrow estimate. They're ready for your file or for your Notice of Proposed Action or report of sale.
What You Can Count On
Short answer: we work alongside your advice, never around it.
- Your advice stays yours. We don't give legal or tax advice. When a question belongs to you, the CPA or the court, we say so and send it back to you.
- The same updates to everyone in a divorce. Both parties, and both attorneys when there are two, get the same information at the same time. We stay neutral. How the proceeds divide is up to the agreement, the attorneys and the court.
- Homes sold in any condition. Deferred maintenance, a full garage or a yard nobody has touched in years all get a real plan. We can compare an open-market sale after targeted repairs with cash offers from our buyer network, so the person signing chooses with the numbers in hand.
- Vendors coordinated. Cleanouts, estate sales, donations, repairs and movers run through one team. Your client isn't managing five vendors alone.
- No placement fees from any community or care provider. We don't take placement fees from senior communities or care providers. We're paid for the real estate and lending work we do.
- A free choice of lender. Clients can use us for the loan or bring their own lender.
Probate and Trust Sales
Short answer: we sell probate homes with full authority or court confirmation, and trust homes at the trustee's direction, on the schedule the matter allows.
When the personal representative has full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, the sale runs much like any open-market listing, with your office handling the Notice of Proposed Action. When the sale needs court confirmation, the accepted offer goes to a hearing where other buyers may overbid. We prepare buyers for that from the first showing, so nobody is surprised in the courtroom.
Probate filings are public, and heirs often get mailers with low cash offers soon after. A priced comparison of real options helps a low offer stand out for what it is. For the heirs themselves, our inherited home checklist lays out the first steps in plain words.
Divorce Sales and Buyouts
Short answer: we sell the home or help one spouse keep it, and we check the loan side before the agreement relies on it.
A buyout usually means a refinance in one spouse's name. Because Maggie is a mortgage broker, she can review whether that loan looks workable before the settlement counts on it. That review is available whether the client uses us for the loan or another lender. Approval always depends on underwriting.
When the home sells instead, both parties get a neutral price range and a prep plan ranked by cost and return. Spending decisions then rest on numbers rather than on who wants what.
Senior Moves With Well MOVED™
Short answer: we plan the move and the sale as one job, and we take no placement fees from any community or care provider.
For many older clients, the house is the hardest part of a move. Well MOVED™ coordinates repairs, estate sales, donations and movers. Then comes the sale itself, on a timeline set around the client. Maggie is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) and a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), and she holds a B.S. in Health Care Administration.
Two free tools help the people around your client. The Well MOVED™ guide helps an adult child prepare for the family meeting. The Sacramento giving map lists places to donate household items. When staying home is on the table, a reverse mortgage conversation may belong in the plan. The client's financial planner and CPA belong in that conversation too.
Credentials and Licenses
- Licensed since 2006, with 23 years in real estate and lending combined
- Certified Probate & Trust Specialist
- Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®)
- Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS)
- Certified VA Loan Specialist
- Maggie B. Hopkins: CA DRE Broker Lic #01750680, NMLS #349517
- Surroundings brokerage: DRE #02220140, NMLS #2528307
Who You'll Work With
Maggie B. Hopkins leads probate, trust, lending and senior moves. She's your contact for the plan, the pricing, the paperwork and any loan.
Rachel Dee Minyard, REALTOR® and Creative Director (CA DRE #02213398), lists and sells homes. She prices and positions the home and gets it ready to show at its best.
Call or text Maggie at (916) 549-3131 to reach both of them. Maggie handles every loan herself.
Which Courts Hear Cases in Our Area?
Short answer: cases are heard in the superior courts in our four counties. Your office confirms the right court and its local rules for each matter.
- Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
- Superior Court of California, County of Placer
- Superior Court of California, County of El Dorado
- Superior Court of California, County of Yolo
Do you have a matter now? Send the refer a client form, or contact us with a question first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you pay referral fees?
We do not pay referral fees to anyone who isn't a licensed real estate broker. California Business and Professions Code section 10137 bars a broker from paying unlicensed people for work that needs a real estate license.
How fast do you respond to a referral?
We respond within 2 hours. Call or text Maggie at (916) 549-3131 or send the refer a client form, and we'll call you back within 2 hours.
Can you work with a court-appointed administrator or a professional fiduciary?
Yes. We take direction from whoever has authority to sell. That may be an executor, a court-appointed administrator, a successor trustee or a professional fiduciary. We work within the court's or the trust's requirements.
Do you give legal or tax advice to my client?
No. We handle the real estate and, when the client wants it, the loan. Legal and tax questions go back to you or the client's CPA.
Does my client have to use your lending?
No. Clients are free to use any lender. Many like having the sale and the loan with one team, and that choice stays theirs.
How do you handle a divorce sale when the parties disagree?
We stay neutral. Both parties and both attorneys get the same information at the same time. Decisions about the proceeds stay with the agreement, the attorneys and the court.
Which areas do you cover?
We cover Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties, including Sacramento, Elk Grove, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, El Dorado Hills and Davis.