Losing a loved one is a terrible thing. The grief can be overwhelming, especially when it’s a parent. Hopefully they have a last will and testament for how things will be handled after their passing It can make things much easier for you, especially if you have siblings.

There can be a lot of things that need to be addressed after their passing. Final expenses, credit cards, cars, pets, and a host of other things – including a house. In this article we will talk about your options when it comes to a property.

First, if you are reading this and have recently lost a family member, we are truly sorry. If you have inherited a property and want to sell it, we are here for you. We promise to make the entire selling process as easy as possible for you. You can reach us at (770) 756-8680 or visit our site to complete a brief form and we will be in touch shortly.

What Are Your Options?

Really, you pretty much have 3. If all of these are available to you or not are dependent on your individual situation:

1. You can move into it
2. You can rent it out
3. You can sell it

Moving Into The Property

If the house you inherited is nicer than yours, you may want to move into it. This does depend on whether or not you have siblings and you can all agree that it’s okay for you to take ownership of the property. It will also depend on whether or not there is an existing mortgage that will need to paid and you can make the payments.

Lisa Johnson Mandell from Realtor.com explains more:

In the best-case scenario, the property is paid off and comes to you, the sole heir, free and clear. In that case, you’ll be personally responsible only for property taxes moving forward, inheritance taxes (if any), and any repairs and improvements you choose to make.

However, if you’re not the sole heir and inherit the house with, say, your siblings, moving in will also mean compensating the other inheritors (and hoping they aren’t gung-ho to live there, too).

Whatever decision you make, try to base it on a balance of emotional and financial factors: While you may have always dreamed of keeping the place in your family for eternity, if that’s not possible, don’t beat yourself up. Remember, the deceased had meant this inheritance to be a gift rather than a miserable weight on your life. So do what makes sense for you.

Read The Full Article “So You Inherited Property—Now What?“

Lisa makes a good point about the deceased was passing on a gift. Time and time again we have seen siblings squabbling over who was getting what. We also like Lisa’s point of compensating the other heirs if you plan on living there. If you own another property and selling it consider giving you siblings a portion of those proceeds.

Renting It Out

This is also another possibility, especially if you are the sole heir. There are some things you need to ensure to be certain this is a feasible option. What kind of condition is the house in? If it’s newer then you won’t have to worry as much about repairs. If it’s older, than you may have to replace the roof, HVAC system or maybe even new appliances. If there is a mortgage on the property you will have to make sure that the rent covers that.

Then there is the whole aspect of dealing with tenants. They can be demanding. Who wants a call at 3 a.m. with them complaining about they can’t sleep from the noise of the faucet dripping , or they clogged a toilet and it’s over flowing?

There is an alternative to you dealing with them yourself – Property Management Companies.

Tim Jones recently wrote this on the Daily Republic on the subject:

Keeping it can be an investment. You can hire a property management company to manage the tenants, repairs, etc. associated with the house. Ultimately, it could turn out to be a good long-term investment, regardless of whether you ever move into it or not.

The advantage of a professional property management company is that you don’t need to be versed in landlord-tenant law, and don’t need to handle the day-to-day worries.

Read The Full Article “All Things Real Estate: 2 choices with inherited house: keep it or get rid of it“

Property management companies are a great option for taking care of your property and tenants. Some companies will even find and screen the tenants for you. It does come at a price though ranging usually between 6-10% of the monthly rental amount.

Selling The House

This option we run into a lot because, well, we buy houses. Over the years we have purchased multiple probate properties. Just like the other two options you still have to weigh your options. The condition of the property is going to make a difference on how and who you sell the property to. Where the deceased hoarders? Does the house need extensive repairs. Does the property need updating? Hopefully there isn’t more money owed on the property than it’s worth, although this isn’t as common as it was a few years ago.

If the home is in good shape and you have time you can probably list it with an agent. But check out what Christine Bartsch has to say about listing with an agent on Homelight’s blog:

When you’re lost in bereavement and the complexities of probate, it’s natural to look to the familiar—such as hiring your favorite real estate agent. But unless your favorite agent specifically handles probate properties, this is a mistake.

While most probate sales functions similarly to a traditional sale, there are some key differences that require specialized know-how. A probate real estate agent will know how to handle these differences, such as selling a property that requires court confirmation or drafting contracts when the probate property is still in the decedent’s name.

If you don’t live near your inherited property, you’ll need to hire a probate agent who’s local to the property rather than you. This ensures that your agent knows the laws and ordinances of the property’s home state, city and county that may impact your sale.

Read The Full Article “I Just Inherited Property in Probate, What Happens Now?“

Great advice from Christine – be sure your agent is familiar with the probate process in the state the property is located in.

Here is a video that explains even more indepth about some of the things you may face in selling a probate property;

Summing It Up

Having to deal with an inherited property or probate property is almost never easy. Go through all of your available options and choose which will be best for you. Probably one of the biggest things we can suggest is that you talk things over with your parents before they pass and make sure they have a will so that things won’t be as burdensome for you when they do pass, it’s the responsible thing to do.

Some people enjoy remodeling their home and making it their own. Others not so much. In this write up we will cover some of the things that you should do and mostly things you should avoid when planning and executing any remodeling in your home.

But first, if you think you have to remodel your house before selling it – think again. Here at Mandich Property Group we will buy your house in as is condition. Even if you have things you don’t want to take with you – it’s not a problem. Reach out to us at (770) 756-8680 or visit our website to complete a brief form and we will contact you shortly.

Now – on with some tips on Remodeling your home!

Create A Budget

This seems like a no brainer, but is often overlooked. Planning a budget is a must. If you have to go to an outlet store and start getting prices – do it! As investors we can tell you from experience that we almost always run over budget. We do try to stick to it, but in the end we want a product that we are proud of and that a new home owner will enjoy. The last thing you want to do is cut corners at the end of a project just to get it completed, only to not be satisfied with the end result.

Ayn-Monique Klahre from Real Simple goes on to explain even more about the importance of planning a budget:

Since the general rule of thumb is that it’s going to cost more and take longer than you think, make sure you have a big enough cushion in there that you’re not breaking the bank (adding an extra 10 to 20 percent more to the initial estimate is a good start). “If by some miracle you come in under your number, you’ll be happy to have a little extra for decorating!” says DiClerico.

As a general rule, you’ll want to spend more on things you interact with—like cabinets with doors you’ll open and close dozens of times a day—versus things you use less, like decorative tile.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Most Common Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid“

The last sentence in that snippet is extremely important. If you are doing a kitchen remodel you don’t want to spend all of your money on marble tile and granite counter tops only to have to buy cheap appliances because you are out of money.

Know Your Limitations

Just like Clint Eastwood said in the movie Magnum Force – “A man has GOT to know his limitations”, the same holds true when it comes to remodeling your home. There have been countless times when we have gone to a property that someone wants to sell and it’s very obvious that

• they did the remodeling work and had no clue as to what they were doing or
• they hired a sub par contractor or may have took the lowest bid

In either case we knew that the work would have to be redone.

Donna Boyle Schwartz talks about this in her article from Bob Vila’s blog:

Be realistic about your DIY skills. You may be a wizard at painting, and you may even be fairly proficient with Sheetrock and decorative molding, but certain projects are best left to the pros. Indeed, many communities require that plumbing and electrical work be performed by a licensed contractor. The last thing you want to do is take on a project that is beyond your level of expertise and then have to pay a professional to come in and fix your mistakes. Figure out what you can and, more importantly, cannot do yourself before you start a project.

Read The Full Article “The 7 Deadly Sins of Home Remodeling“

It’s extremely important to remember that if you are doing any kind of addition you should always hire a licensed contractor for plumbing and electrical work and get the proper permits.

Choose Your Contractors Carefully

So now you may know that you can’t or don’t want to do everything in your home remodel. Maybe you just don’t have the time, that’s totally fine, the last thing you want to do is get in over your head.

When it comes to hiring a contractor do yourself a favor and get quotes from at least 3, more preferably if it’s a larger project. Nationwide’s Blog (yes, the insurance company) has some great tips on choosing your contractor:

Don’t rush your decision on hiring a contractor. Interview multiple contractors and reach out to their references and previous clients. Make sure each contractor understands what you want. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions about materials, layout and the construction process. Don’t select your contractor based on price alone; compare price quotes and references, and make sure you can work easily with them.

Read The Full Article “The Biggest Home Renovation Mistakes to Avoid“

We would add that you should also research them on the web. Look at their Google listing and check out their reviews. If they have a lot of bad ones – well maybe you should think twice about using them.

Every homeowner (including investors) want the same thing from a contractor, Good, Cheap, Fast work. The problem is that really only two of those at a time is possible. Here is a diagram that helps explain:

For example, if you want good work cheap – then it won’t be fast. If you want cheap work fast – then the quality of the work will suffer and if you want high quality work done quickly – you guessed it – it won’t be cheap!

Doing Projects In The Correct Order

This is something else that is commonly overlooked. This can be really important if your storage is small. You don’t want your new appliances delivered before they are ready to be installed and you have no place to put them.

Tami Brehse from Business Insider explains more:

Budgeting is an obvious part of the planning process, but many homeowners neglect another important part that requires strategy: workflow. Poor planning here can result in delays and added costs.

“When remodeling, things need to occur in a certain order,” Helling said. “For example, you don’t want to refinish flooring and then paint.”

Paint — or a crew of painters and gear — can easily damage brand new floor coverings, so flooring should almost always be done last in a renovation project.

Another commonly overlooked part of the workflow is cleanup. Will your project require a dumpster? What about a truck to haul away debris? Think through your project from start to finish to ensure you’ve accounted for all the necessary steps in the process.

Read The Full Article “The 8 biggest mistakes people make when remodeling their homes, according to real estate agents“

Finally here is a quick video from News 5 out of Cleveland that gives some quick pointers:

Summing It Up

Remodeling can be a daunting task, but if you plan properly you shouldn’t have as much stress and will be able to save some of your hair 😉 . Create your budget, check out your contractors and in general – plan properly. Try and have fun and don’t yell at your spouse or significant other to much!