In the last part of this series on estate planning, we look at the other ways to sell off the house successfully.
Tidbit
The number of houses that were sold in 2019 is 12.4 percent more compared to the previous year. Meaning more and more people are opting to sell their homes.
Selling to an Investor
If, during estate planning, your dad mentioned that you sell the house, you need to do it right.
Instead of using a realtor to sell the house, another possibility is to use an investor. Here, you sell the house to a company that specializes in buying houses. The company purchases the house irrespective of the state the house is in. The good thing is that if you strike an agreement with the company, the process is short, and you end up with cash in hand.
Before you sell, however, it’s ideal that you do some research. This is because a startup company might not have the funds to give you the best value on the home. Work with an established company to enjoy the process.
The benefit of this method is that they take up any liabilities that you have – older and present. They will factor in any debts and repair costs on the house. This means you let go of the house “as is” – no modifications needed.
Repairs usually cost a lot of money. With an investor, you don’t spend a dime on repairs.
However, you have to understand that you won’t get a fair price. Since the investor is factoring in the liabilities that come attached to the house, they include the costs into the final offer they give you.For Sale by Owner
This is where you sell the home without involving an agent or a third party.
If you are fed up with paying a commission to a realtor, then you can go with this method. The main goal of this method is that you save some money on the process since you have eliminated the middleman.
However, studies show that while many people started selling off a house on their own, only 3 out of 10 of them had any success with the method.
Bypassing the third party also means that you have full control over the process. This way, you can devote more time as compared to using a real estate agent, who is handling many clients simultaneously.
To make headway in the process, you need to have some expertise in the market, which is not easy. You also need enough time to advertise the house, take potential buyers on visits, and prepare it for the market.The Process
When you decide to go at it alone, there are a few steps you can undertake to make it a success:
- First, you need to come up with an asking price using the current property values within the neighborhood for properties that have similar features such as the size, rooms, landscaping, etc.
- Let the buyers know that you have a property for sale. While an agent or realtor would have done this for you, it is up to you to do it. You can enlist the services of a marketing agency to do this for you.
- Come up with a schedule for showing the house to potential buyers.
- Once a prospective customer makes an offer, and you accept it, negotiate the price, reach an agreement, and then come up with conditions for sale to proceed.
The Downsides of this Method
When you choose this method, you experience a few hurdles. First, if you set the price too high, you might end up having the house inactive on the market for weeks, even months. If you set it too low, you end up with less than what it is worth.
In Closing
When it comes to selling a house that you have inherited from your parents, you must handle a set of issues that we have covered in this series. Selling off the home might be a good idea if you won’t stay in it, but it is paramount that you inform your siblings of the intention so that you avoid disputes.
It is prudent that you work with professionals as well. These include real estate agent, a financial planner, a home inspector, an estate planning lawyer, and many more to make sure the sale goes through. Stranded? Call us today for more information.
