Selling Your Deceased Parents' Home
If you have recently acquired your parents' estate after your last living parent has passed away, and you are planning on selling the property, you are most likely feeling a bit overwhelmed about the entire process and how it works. There are several points to consider when becoming the executor to an estate, some of which can cost you additional fees if you do not work quickly in resolving matters. Here is some information to help guide you through the selling process when you have acquired an estate of your own.
Designate Belongings
After the will has gone through probate and you have been named the official executor to the estate, you will need to follow your parents' desires regarding who gets which belongings. If there was no will present, and you have siblings, the estate property will need to be divided among each of you. This can be tricky if your family lives in different areas of the world.
Make sure to contact each of them and keep in constant contact about the selling process so there are no ill feelings about the pricing and designation of belongings.
Remove Items
After the valuables have been designated, you need to go through everything in the home so you can start preparing if for selling. Time is usually important when selling, as taxes and mortgage payments still need to be made until a new buyer takes over the property. Remove all important paperwork and keep it at your home to look through at your leisure. Belongings that were not taken by family members can be donated or put up for auction.
Enlist Help
Make an appointment with a real estate service that deals with estate sales. You will also need a real estate attorney to help you with legal paperwork when making the sale.
If your parent had accumulated debt or if their home had a mortgage, this money will need to be paid back from the money you make from the sale of the home. Because of this, many people sell an estate for lower than its value because of accumulating finance charges and interest. A real estate lawyer like Heil J Steven will be able to help you determine a fair value for the home that will handle the debt your parents may have incurred.
If the home had a lot of damage, it may be beneficial to have repairs made before putting the home up for sale so you are able to get a higher profit. If the repair work will take a long time to do and if it is costly, you may want to sell the home as is so you do not incur too much in finance charges and interest while waiting for the home to be fixed.