If someone you love passes away and leaves you a home, it can be hard to part with the property. The economic thing to do is sell the inherited house if you’re not willing to rent despite the sentimental value.
Selling inherited property takes the maintenance responsibilities off your shoulders, and someone who can use the property more will eventually purchase. Your relative would most likely want someone in the home that needs it.
Do you need to sell an inherited house? If you do, continue reading our comprehensive guide. These are the best 15 tips for selling an inherited house.
How to Sell an Inherited House
“How do I sell my inherited house?” We get this question all the time. Use the following list of tips for how to sell an inherited house. Hopefully, this ends your search for “how to sell inherited property?”
1. Decision
If you’ve been searching “how to sell my inherited house,” it’s important to decide what you want to do. When things like maintenance and renting just aren’t in the cards, the best thing you can do is find out how to sell an inherited house. Make the decision and stick to your guns, being careful not to do anything you will regret.
2. Establish Status
When it comes to the subject of how to sell an inherited house, there are three ways the property is transferred.
- Probate. When a home is transferred in probate, it can take as long as 24 months until it’s in your name.
- Transfer on death deed. This can easily solve the question of how to sell inherited property. Usually, the former owner made this decision well before death, which awards you the property instantly.
- Living trust. This is the easiest start regarding how to sell an inherited house. Usually, a living trust situation goes forward with no hiccups.
3. Tax Consequences
“How do taxes work when I sell my inherited house?” When you’re learning how to sell an inherited house, understand you are still responsible for taxes. There is estate tax, capital gains tax, and personal property tax. You will need to honor one of these three after learning how to sell an inherited house.
4. Are You the Personal Representative?
The courts or person that passed will appoint a personal representative. Learning how to sell inherited property means understanding if you fall under this category. The personal representative makes important decisions regarding the home.
All creditors must be paid by the personal representative. If the deceased owns anything outstanding and it can’t be covered, the home may be taken to satisfy these debts.
5. Address Disagreements
“How do I sell my inherited property if there is more than one person involved?” This can be a tricky situation. Unfortunately, the deceased made the mistake of leaving two people responsible for one item before they passed.
It’s important to come to some type of agreement. This is an important rule when you learn how to sell an inherited house. The last thing you want is the matter being taken to court. This can cause a huge rift between loved ones.
6. Do You Need a Mediator?
When you’re going through the process of how to sell an inherited house, sometimes agreements can’t be reached. This is especially common between siblings. It’s possible that a mediator must be involved.
A mediator is a third party that can help with how to sell an inherited property. They have no predetermined opinion and can help establish terms with a neutral view.
7. Update Homeowner’s Insurance
Until an agreement is reached on how to sell an inherited house, you should update the homeowner’s insurance. This is especially true if the home is unoccupied.
Vacant homes have the potential to be vandalized. Ensuring the homeowner’s policy is updated will cover any damage that occurs while the home sits vacant. Any uncovered damage can lower the value of the home. This is the last thing you want in this situation.
8. Divide Personal Property
One of the most important steps regarding how to sell an inherited house is dividing the personal property. Certain items contained within the house may go to different people.
Divide these items before moving forward with the sale. Things will go much smoother when all of the items are given to their rightful owner.
9. Prepare the Home for Sale
This is one of the most unpleasant parts when it comes to how to sell an inherited house. You must prepare the home for sale. This includes repairs and bringing everything up to code.
10. Decide How the Home Will Be Sold
You need to decide what method will be used to sell the inherited home. Will you use a real estate agent or sell to a cash home buyer? The answer to this question depends on how fast you want to sell the property.
11. Open Estate Account for Shared Assets
One solution to sharing an inherited home is to open an account. These funds should be divided equally between all parties involved.
12. Use an Agent Who Does Probate
Inheriting a home in probate can be tricky. If you are in this situation, you should hire an agent who specializes in selling probate homes.
13. Declutter
Once items are divided, there still may be things left over. Be aggressive about decluttering the house and donating unwanted items.
14. Make the Property Look Nice
Do a little landscaping before you list the home. Sprucing the property up some will go a long way when it comes to selling.
15. Consider a Cash Buyer
If you don’t want to wait and just want the situation settled, consider selling to a cash buyer. This can get you, and all parties involved the money they need.
Knowing how to sell an inherited home can be confusing. It’s not a very common situation to find yourself in. However, by using these steps, the situation can go much smoother. When you cooperate with all parties involved and remain civil, a solution can be reached faster than you think.
If you want to sell your inherited property, contact us today!