Preparing to inherit properties in really bad shape. Advice?

[Craig Starger]

While I hope my parents live for many more years, my brother and I are well aware of the fact that someday we are going to inherit both our parents' house and another property that they own in a neighboring town. Both houses are unlivable (However our parents do live in one of the houses while the other is just full of junk.) and would need either complete renovations (inside and out) or tear-down-and-rebuild before anyone new could live in them. But my brother and I can't afford to invest in rennovations, plus it would be risky since we don't know enough about it, plus I live on the other side of the country. So are we doomed to inherit condemned houses and be forced to sell them at really low prices? Or is there a way to partner with a developer to co-invest in rennovating them and either rent or resell? I have no idea where to even begin, but any advice would be very welcome. Just want to be prepared for the inevitable.

[Mike McCarthy]

Unless you have a specific interest in renovating them, it’s probably better to just plan on selling as-is.

While it’s possible you’ll make more money renovating or rebuilding and selling, it’s also going to cost you time and effort, and unless it’s a career/investment direction you want to go, I doubt it will end up being cost-effective for you to partner with someone to do it. Or even if you had extra money lying around, basically you’re planning a flip, which is rarely worthwhile for the first house (or few) anyone does.