Selling Your House | Mandich Property Group

What Are Your Options With An Inherited Property?

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:

You can move into it
You can rent it out
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.

If you are thinking of selling an inherited property read this article “Benefits of Selling A House For Cash”

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.

It’s Important To Set The Price Right From The Start

Many homeowners may think that if they set the price high from the start that they can always lower it if they don’t get any interest. This may well be a very bad strategy, which was covered in this article:

Be reasonable

Hensal said it is important to price a home properly from the beginning. If a seller is forced to drop the price, “it’s only human nature to wonder what’s wrong,” Hensal of the potential buyer’s perspective.

“You’re just selling your competition if it’s priced too high,” she said. “You’re better off pricing it properly right out of the gate.”

Cummings-Waldorf added: “It’s like anything. I may want to sell my car for $30,000, but if it’s not worth $30,000, I’m not going to get $30,000.”

Pricing a home too high is the “kiss of death” in real estate, said Greenwich Realtor Jane Brash of Coldwell Banker.

“You want the momentum from the very get-go,” she said.

Otherwise, Brash said, it’s a downward spiral where buyers are turned off by the price while the home languishes on the market and, eventually, buyers start assuming something’s wrong with the property, causing it to linger even longer.

Read The Full Article “Property Rounds: Pricing a home properly key to quick sale” Here

It’s a good point that you are actually helping to sell other people’s houses by pricing yours to high from the start, as well as the fact that buyers will wonder what is wrong with your house if you drop the price. Another problem could be that buyers may wonder what is wrong with the property if it has been on the market for some time and hasn’t sold – all due to it being over priced.

Pricing Your House To Sell Fast

There is a lot to consider when setting the price of your property. This is one reason why realtors get paid what they do. If you are using a realtor then you are putting your trust in them. We would suggest that you do some investigating on your own and don’t just take their word for it. If you are selling your property on your own or “FSBO” (for sale by owner), then you are going to have to do some extensive research. Thankfully the internet is here now and you can do most of your research from there.

So where do you start finding the right price for your house? Check this out from The Balance which has some great info on how to get started:

Pull Comparable Listings and Sales

Look at every similar home that was or is listed in the same neighborhood over the past three months. Appraisers do not use comps older than 3 months.
The list should contain homes within a 1/4 mile to a 1/2 mile and no further, unless there are only a handful of comps in the general vicinity or the property is rural.
Pay attention to neighborhood dividing lines and physical barriers such as major streets, freeways or railroads, and do not compare inventory from the “other side of the tracks.” Where I live in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, for example, identical homes across the street from each other can vary by $100,000. Perceptions and desirability have value.
Compare similar square footage, within a 10% variance of up or down from the subject property, if possible.
Similar ages. One neighborhood might consist of homes built in the 1950s next door to another ring of construction from the 1980s. Values between the two will differ. Compare apples to apples.

Read The Full Article “How to Price Your Home for Sale” Here

Superb advice on setting the price of your property. This is how we always start at determining the value of a property. If you deviate to much from those rules above you will get the pricing of your property wrong. Sometimes it will be necessary to deviate from those rules a little because you may not find a property like yours within a half mile of your residence. It’s important to remember that if you have to deviate from any of the above rules, then the others become that much more important. It’s also important to note that when comparing apples to apples that you also take into consideration whether or not a property has updated kitchens, bathrooms or any other part of the house.

Summing It Up

Don’t make the mistake thinking that you can over price the property, only to lower it later down the road when it doesn’t sell. Over priced properties that sit on the market only make buyers wonder what’s wrong with the property. Next, take your time and do your homework, make sure you use accurate comparables, properties very similar to your house for setting the price.

Don’t forget, if you are in need of selling your house fast, we buy houses fast in any condition throughout the Metro Atlanta area. Learn more by visiting our site at MandichPropertyGroup.com.