Did you inherit property as a part of an estate plan? If you are an heir with a new home, then you will need to determine whether you want to keep the property or sell it. Many individuals who already have a home of their own choose to sell a decedent's home. This can be emotional, as it may mean depersonalizing the house and removing your loved one's belongings in order to get the property ready for sale.
In some situations, you may find it necessary to make repairs in the home in order to ready it for sale. If you chose to sell a house that you inherited, then first make sure to learn about the house's status in the market. Also, verify your ownership of the property before you put the house up for sale, as this could result in extreme complications in the future.
You may need to obtain a license to sell real estate from the Probate Court, and you may need to deal with a creditor claims period which will pass before assets can even be distributed. If you launch into selling a home without making sure that the probate process is completely, you may ding yourself frustrated and stalled as you clear up legal discrepancies. In some cases, there may liens on the property or your loved one may have left debt behind and creditors may have the ability to seize the property if those debts are not paid in full.
If you investigate the status of the house and discover that the mortgage is underwater, you may want to deny acceptance to the home at all. This will allow the home to go into foreclosure. This is called a disclaim. You will want to talk with an attorney if you intend to disclaim a home, as there may be a lot of paperwork involved in this process. In most situations, the courts will be involved in this case and will have to confirm that your intention to disclaim the property is a worthy one.
Also, before you decide to sell your loved one's home, you may want to assess the housing market. Figure out what other houses on the street are selling for, and get an idea of what the house is worth before improvements are made. A real estate agent may be able to come assess the property and let you know what repairs and changes are worth your time and what changes won't increase the value of the home.
It is often best to do the minimum amount of repairs required to secure a buyer and to allow them to get financing, but you will want to talk with a real estate agent about this in order to maximize your sale. If a home is in very poor shape, you may need to market it to an investor who is looking for a home to pour money into and then flip to sell for more. Sometimes cash buyers will purchase homes as they are and will then do the repairs and resell the house at a higher value.
As long as probate has approved a license to sell real estate, you should have an easy time putting the house on the market. If you want more information about this don't hesitate to contact a lawyer at the firm today. With the right attorney there to help you, you can be sure that you are getting the assistance that you need in your case. If you run into issues on the probate side, don't hesitate to hire a probate attorney to help you with your situation!