Inherit a House - How Do You Sell It?

A family member or close friend has passed away and you inherit their house, as the new owner, you will likely be responsible for the taxes on the value of the house at the date of death. An appraisal or a comparative market analysis (CMA) will usually determine the value of the house. Once that value has been set, the amount of the inheritance tax can be calculated. If the tax is more than you and/or the estate can afford to pay selling may be your only option. Consider the following.

·         If the sale price is less than the value at the time of death, you may have to pay taxes on the value at death, a higher tax than the true house value indicates.

·         If you are able to sell the house for more than the value determined at the time of death, you and/or the estate may be responsible for additional taxes.

·         It is paramount to get a good, conservative professional opinion of value. You do not want to get stuck paying more tax than necessary.

If you have inherited , you may not have the right to sell it immediately. You will need to check with the Trustee of the estate.

Although there may be no one contesting that fact that you are the rightful heir, you may not have any rights for certain period of time. If the house is part of a living trust and you are the beneficiary, you have the ability to sell immediately. If the house is included as part of a regular will in which you are named as the beneficiary, you may have to deal with probate before having the right to sell the property. Probate is a legal procedure that administers the estate of a deceased person. If there is no will in place the probate procedure can be complicated and time consuming. If there is a mortgage on the house you will have to continue to make the payments, if not, it may end up being one of the many .

Staging an Inherited House

When you put an inherited house on the market, it is important that it have great curb appeal. Putting an inherited house on the market for sale is no different than selling a "regular" house. It is more likely than not, that the house you inherit was lived in for many years by the relatives or friend who left it to you. They may have been sick for an extended period of time and they may have passed away in the home. If this is the case, it is possible that there are a lot of deferred maintenance issues with the house, windows may have remained closed, and odors may need to be eliminated. Even though it may be emotionally difficult the house must be transformed. Buyers will become turn away if they enter a home and sense staleness or illness. Do the following to cheer up a gloomy atmosphere.  If not, you may have to sell the house to one of those companies.

If there is a sick bed in the house, remove it and all other medical devices and supplies. Remove all the accessories for the bed as well, such as rolling bedside trays and bars hanging from the ceiling that allow the bedridden to pull themselves into a sitting position.  If you need to leave furniture, that is acceptable. If there is too much furniture, remove what you can. There should be wide areas for walking, and no doorways should be blocked by furniture.  You will appeal to the largest pool of buyers by making the house as generic looking as possible.