The Perfect Location

Thinking Of Selling A Home You Have Recently Inherited? What You Should Know

If you have recently inherited a home from a loved one that passed away or became incapacitated in some way, then you may find yourself considering your various options regarding your newly inherited home. When you are leaning towards selling that home rather than keeping it as an investment property or as your own personal home, then you are likely wondering what you can and should do to get that house that you have inherited off your hands. Get to know some of the factors that you will need to consider so that you can better decide if you are going to proceed with selling your inherited home with the help of a real estate agent.

Consult With The Estate Attorney About Any Legal Stipulations

Sometimes, a person who leaves a home as a part of their inheritance will also leave instructions regarding that house. One of these stipulations may be about the use of the home. You can use the home for certain purposes only, such as a personal residence.

On the other hand, your loved one who passed away may have written into their will that the house cannot be sold for a certain period of time or cannot be sold to anyone outside of the family at all. It is important before you even try to contact a real estate agent to begin the listing process that you check with your loved one's estate attorney and make sure that you are legally able to sell the home at this point in time. That way, you are not wasting your time and effort trying to sell a home that cannot be sold.

Clear Out Personal Possessions And Have The Home Inspected

If you are given the go-ahead by the estate lawyer to proceed with a sale of the home, you will want to take a few steps before you list the home with a real estate agent. One of those steps is to clear out your loved one's personal possessions. This can be a challenging task, physically and emotionally, and should not be rushed.

Even if many of the items in the home were already distributed among other family and friends, there are sure to be pieces that have been left behind that were unwanted or that were not specifically listed as part of the estate. You will need to go through these items and remove them from the house (to storage, your home, through a sale, or to the trash) so that it looks open and cleaned out.

The next step is to have a home inspector come out and take a look at your inherited house. Have them look for any obvious issues with the house such as mold, a bad roof, and the like. You will then need to decide if you are going to offer a low, discounted price so that the buyer can better afford the repairs or if you are going to do the repairs yourself to be able to list the house at a higher price.

With these tips in mind, you can better determine what you are going to do with the home that you inherited and get the process moving, whether you decide to sell it or keep it.


Share