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How to Sell My Inherited House
You can sell an inherited property for cash! We buy houses as-is.
Life is full of unexpected curveballs. Did you recently inherit a house from your parents or other family members? Not everyone plans to (or wants to) own property in their lifetime. If you have wondered how can I sell my inherited house, this comprehensive guide will help. Maybe you already own a house or live out of state from the property you inherited. What should you do? Thankfully, there are multiple options based on your family’s needs/goals. Click here for more information about how to sell a house fast and help your family out.
When a home unexpectedly falls into your lap, it can be stressful and overwhelming. We are here to take the stress out of the process. We buy inherited houses throughout the United States. Do you need to sell an inherited property? Brotherly Love Real Estate provides a smooth and easy process. We pay cash for houses and close within 21 days. You don’t have to renovate or repair anything before selling. Our company will buy your home as-is. If you are thinking how can I sell my inherited house, this informative guide will help you uncover what decision makes the most sense for you and your family.
Steps to Sell an Inherited Property
Selling an inherited property can feel intimidating. When people inherit a home, it’s usually very unexpected. Not only do you have to deal with the potential loss of someone very close to you, but you also have to figure out what to do with their house. This could be a property that was sentimental to you and your family growing up.
We have worked with numerous families that needed to sell an inherited house that was completely filled with sentimental and nostalgic items. Our goal at Brotherly Love Real Estate is to make the process of selling inherited property easy. We offer a flexible closing date and can work around your schedule. You can leave items in the property that you plan to discard and don’t want to keep. We don’t require any repairs to be completed before the sale closes. Now, let’s review the steps that you can take to sell an inherited property.
1. Gather Family Members That Should be Involved
Step 1: Gather your family members. Which family members? You must identify all heirs of the deceased that should be involved in the process. This could be children, siblings, nieces, nephews, etc. It’s best to get everyone involved early on. Things move much smoother when everyone is on the same page that needs to be.
Next, you must find out who is the named representative or executor of the estate. They are legally authorized to make decisions on the behalf of the estate. If your family needs to sell an inherited property, the executor must be involved. If the will of the deceased didn’t appoint an executor, the heirs must nominate someone as a personal representative of the estate. Many families aren’t sure which direction to go from here. Typically, from our experience in real estate, families select a family member that has enough time and is emotionally prepared for handling the sale.
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At Brotherly Love Real Estate, we are happy to work with all family members that would like to be involved (including the representative of course). There is agent or realtor involved when selling to us. That means your family saves money on expensive realtor commissions (up to 6%). We can close within 3 weeks and will pay cash for your property. This speeds up the process dramatically from the traditional way of selling. If you have thought that I need to sell my inherited house, give us a call today!
My Family Members Are Not On Board With Selling
Buy Them Out: You can buy your family members out. When there are multiple heirs involved, this route is common.
Rent and Split the Landlord Responsibilities: If the heirs involved cannot agree on wanting to sell your inherited property, another option is to keep it. You can rent the property out, and share the responsibilities of being a landlord across the heirs involved.
Hire a Mediator: For families that have multiple heirs with very different opinions, you can hire a mediator to help you come to an agreement. This is cheaper than going to court to decide on what to do. From our years of experience buying inherited homes, we understand that not everything is black and white. A mediator may be necessary to come to an agreement.
Lawsuit of Partition: Hopefully you and your family don’t have to get to this point!! BUT, it does happen. You can go to court with your family to decide what to do. This is obviously the most expensive route and eats up the most time. Typically, the judge organizes a sale of the property through the court and has you split the cost. The rates that you can sell for through this process and very low. Normally, properties sell for much less than they are worth going this route. It is basically a lose-lose situation for everyone. If you need to sell an inherited house, try your best to work with your other family members to agree on a productive decision. Give us a call today to receive a cash offer for your inherited property.
2. Clear Out Personal Items
Trying to sell your inherited house is an emotional experience. It’s helpful to go through the property early in the process to determine what sentimental items you want to keep in your family. For certain properties, this takes 5 minutes. And for others, it can be a month-long journey.
Fortunately, there are several benefits that shine through at this moment when selling your house to us. We buy houses as-is. That means you can leave behind whatever personal items, belongings, furniture, or even trash that you don’t want to keep. Not bad, right? As a professional home buyer that works with countless families in your exact situation, we want to make the process easy. There is no additional charge for leaving large amounts of items in the property. We handle that part for you. You can sell an inherited property without any hassle.
Figuring out what to do with certain sentimental belongs can take time. We completely understand and are here to support you along that journey. If you need to sell an inherited home but need more time to clean out your items, we offer a flexible closing date. One of our specialties is that we offer a 21-day closing period. However, if you ever need more time than that, we are more than happy to accommodate. Timeline is something that we discuss before even signing an agreement. We want everyone to be on the same page. Our goal is to have every real estate transaction be a win-win.
3. Go Through Probate
Taking an inherited property through probate depends on the state that the property is in. Each state has different real estate laws regarding inheritance and probate. You can start looking into this process as soon as you’re ready. Many families do this alongside step #2 (clearing out personal items).
How do you know when a property should go to probate? Typically, if your loved one has a Will, the estate may need to go through probate before selling it. Depending on where you are, the probate process can take several weeks to complete. Once you conclude the process and have all of the necessary documentation, you can sell your inherited property. For anyone that has questions on this process, feel free to call us today to learn more about the probate process.
4. Determine If There is a Mortgage
Although this is step #4, you should try to do this soon after inheriting the property. The reason being is that you/your family may be responsible for paying the mortgage moving forward. This information is fairly easy to find. If the deceased has any lender or mortgage documentation, you can call that bank and find out more information about the property.
Selling an inherited property with a mortgage
There are a few things that you should look for when getting ready to sell an inherited property with a mortgage. All mortgages can vary regarding terms, rules, and regulations. Mortgages come in various amounts. Sometimes, families will inherit a property with a sizable mortgage on it. Other times, there won’t be any! Either way, it’s important to stay on top of this financial information regarding your inherited home. This will help you and your family stay as organized as possible throughout the process.
Due on Sale Clause
If the existing mortgage has a due-on-sale clause, the entire loan is considered ‘due’ if the borrower transfers the property to someone else. Fortunately, when someone inherits a home, they can normally assume the mortgage payments (aka pay for the mortgage payments themselves). This is MUCH less stressful than having to pay the entire loan off at once. Again, talk to the bank to determine how they work.
The property I inherited is underwater
Unfortunately, sometimes people inherit properties that are underwater. This means that the total loans on the property are worth more than the property itself. If this is the case, talk to the mortgage lender to determine the proper strategy going forward. Oftentimes, they’ll let you do a short sale. This means you can still sell your inherited house by accepting less for the property than the outstanding loan debt. This usually isn’t considered a ‘win’ from the family’s perspective. If you need to sell an inherited property that is underwater, give our team a call today. We will make you a competitive cash offer that ideally puts you in the green!
Inheriting a house that is paid off
This is the best-case scenario. Some families inherit a home that is entirely paid off. That means the ball is in your court. There are no outstanding debt holders that you need to answer to before making your next move. If you have wondered how can I sell my inherited house fast, having no debt on it helps. For families that want to calculate their bottom line of how much they would make when trying to sell their inherited home, fill out our form today.
Are there other outstanding debts?
Another good step to take when preparing to sell an inherited property is to calculate other outstanding debts besides the mortgage. Other outstanding debts on a property can include:
- Property taxes
- Hospital lien
- Divorce lien
- Federal tax lien
When we buy inherited houses, the Title Company we work with will run a comprehensive title report. This will pull all associated debts tied to the inherited property. SO, don’t feel pressured to account for every penny owed on the home. The title report will also pull that information. This is the first step that we take when buying houses once we sign an agreement. When the title report comes back, we review it with the families to answer questions and clarify what is what!
5. Verify the Condition of the Inherited House
Condition is arguably the top factor that influences the price of a home. That is, besides location, location, location. Typically, one of the first questions that we ask homeowners is about the condition. You don’t need to know every fine detail. However, the more information the better. We give offers over the phone when we buy houses. However, depending on the condition, we will sometimes request photos to verify certain things within the house. Our plan when buying is usually to renovate the property. That is why we don’t require you to make any repairs or renovations before selling!
Can I Sell My Inherited House As-is?
The short answer is a resounding YES. We buy houses as-is. That means you don’t need to fix or repair anything in the house before closing. If you have wondered how can I sell my inherited house without doing repairs, Brotherly Love Real Estate is your solution. You’ll be amazing at how much easier real estate is when you remove the hassle of renovations. They take tons of time and money. You can sell an inherited property as-is within 21 days. Our team specializes in making the process simple for you and your family.
Calculating Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Property
When you inherit a house, that doesn’t automatically trigger a tax that you need to pay. PHEW! However, what you decide to do with it does. If you need to sell an inherited house, you are responsible to pay capital gains tax. Anyone that sells real estate is required to pay capital gains tax unless:
- They have lived in the property for the past 2 out of 5 years
Uncle Sam always finds a way to get paid. BUT WAIT… there is hope! Thanks for the Step-up Tax.
Step-up in Basis Tax (stepped-up)
If you inherit a property and sell it at its market value, you will only be taxed (via capital gains) on the price difference between the value of the property at the time that you inherit it and when you sell it. Come again?!
For example, if you inherit a house from your father that he originally bought in 1975 for $60,000. The house is now worth $360,000. Instead of getting taxed on a $300,000 profit, you’ll only be taxed on gains during the short period of time from when you inherited the property at $360,000 and whatever price you sell it at. Say you sell it for $380,000. Then you are only taxed on $20,000 versus much more! NOTE: President Biden is working on a tax bill that may change this rule in the coming months. Please do your research and stay up to date on changes within real estate tax law regarding inherited property. Picture Credit of the infographic.
I Inherited a Property. What Can I do?
Sell My Inherited House to a Professional Home Buyer
We buy houses in any condition and any situation. If you need to sell your inherited house with piles of items in it, our team can help. When working with Brotherly Love Real Estate, you can sell inherited property as-is. Avoid the hassle of selling a property on the market. We will buy your home directly from you and your family.
That means you can avoid coordinating open houses. You don’t have to clean the house before showings. Additionally, you can save thousands of dollars in agent fees (typically 6% of the sales price) by selling your inherited house without a realtor. We work with you and your family every step of the family to ensure an easy and simple process. Our company will provide you with a fair cash offer in minutes of connecting with us. We pride ourselves on making the real estate process simple and easy, even when dealing with an inherited home. Give our team a call today to receive a cash offer for your inherited house.
Renovate the Property and Rent it Out
Another option besides selling your inherited house is to fix it up and rent it. If you live really close to the property, that makes this option easier. You can self-manage the property once a tenant is living there, or hire a property management company to manage the home for you. Being a landlord is not all that it’s chopped up to be (we can attest to this). However, it is a path that some homeowners do enjoy.
Move In Yourself
The final option when deciding what to do with your inherited property is to move in yourself. For people that grew up in the inherited home, it can be nostalgic to return and live there again. Of course, you will have to assume the costs and expenses that come with owning and living in a house. Consult with the other heirs or people involved in the situation to determine the best course of action here.
How long do you have to sell an inherited property?
There is no set time limit (typically) in an inheritance situation. The real decisions lie with what you and your family want to do. Some family members may want to sell the inherited house. Others may want to keep it. The best step to take is to meet up with your family members involved and hear everyone out. Listen to each person’s opinion and take into account their thoughts on the property. No inheritance situation is the same. Each comes with different complexities and variables that make them unique.
That’s why it’s incredibly important to get everyone together that should be involved right away. The more time that goes by, the more complicated things can become. Give everyone an opportunity to say how they feel. Inheritance situations are naturally emotional, which is why you need to support each other as best you can before making a decision. If you have thought that I need to sell my inherited house, give Brotherly Love Real Estate a call today to receive an offer. We can work around your schedule and make the process smooth.
As a professional home buyer, we have helped families work through a variety of complicated real estate situations. When things feel bleak, know that there is always another option. Our company makes things as easy as we can from our end to help you sell your inherited home. You will receive a cash offer within minutes of speaking with us. We will choose a closing date that gives you and your family enough time to clear out your family’s personal belongings and get everyone on board with the sale. For those that have wondered how can I sell my inherited house, Brotherly Love Real Estate can help you through each step of the process.
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“Jon and Alex made this process of selling our home very comfortable and very easy. They answered every question we had and always made us feel at ease. We would highly recommend going with brotherly love real estate with your house needs.” – Shannon Jones