Have You Inherited A House?

You have inherited a house, now what? You may want to keep the house, or you may want to sell the house. And many times, there are things to resolve like probate, house repairs, house payments, upkeep and more. Is there a family member or tenant in the house? Are you thinking about hiring a handyman, a yard care person or an estate sale company? Do you want some advice on where to donate items or do you have questions about how to sell an inherited property?

Some people want to rent the house when they have inherited a house, some people will want to fix up the house themselves to sell, some people want to keep the house they have inherited so a family member can live in the house, and some people have decided, or are in the process of deciding, should they list the house or sell their inherited house to an investor for a fast sale.  All of these situations often times involve siblings or other heirs to the estate that need to work together to make the best decision about the inherited house.

Keeping an inherited house will have its own challenges to get through like how to pay for repairs and how to pay out the heirs that want to sell the house. Even though selling a house when the owner has passed on is a little complicated, you can still sell such a house without experiencing many problems.  The decision to keep the inherited house or to sell a house you inherited can be daunting.

The following information will help you with any questions you may have, and you can call or text Gary at (801) 382-9199 anytime with your questions.  You will see there is a lot to think about when you have inherited a house.

Keep or Sell the Inherited House

What are your options?

Thinking of Keeping the House?

• To rent it
• To fix and sell later
• To let a family member stay

Thinking of Selling the House?

• Do you need to go through probate?
• Does the house need repairs?
• How fast do you need to sell the house?

Should You Keep or Sell an Inherited House?

Keep the House

There are times when all the people that are entitled to the inherited house decide to keep it.  There can be many reasons such as one of the family members is going to buy the house or maybe everyone agrees that one of the heirs can live in the house or perhaps everyone will keep the house as a rental.  However, when you do this, you will need to think about a lot of factors.  To begin with, if the estate and the house in the estate belongs to everyone, someone may need to buy everyone’s share of the house from them.  The person that wants to buy the house will need to get a loan or maybe they have savings they can buy the house with.  So, if cash is not readily available, and you cannot get an instant loan, the person that wants to buy the house may not be able to.

Rent the House

If you and all of the heirs to the estate decide you want to rent out the inherited house, then you will need to share the income and expenses and responsibilities unless one sibling buys the others out.  By renting out the property, you not only earn money but also get more time to figure out what everyone wants to do with the house.  Maybe one of your brothers or sisters are trying to get a loan for the house that will take a few months.  Sometimes, however, it can be quite challenging to figure out the amount to charge as rent, what to put in a lease and deciding how long to rent the house.  Again, there is power in talking it through.  Decide together!

Sometimes the inherited property may be 20 or 30 miles away, thus managing it becomes hard.  The tenants can be very demanding and repairs are always popping up.  In such situations, it might be better to sell it rather than incur unnecessary costs such as traveling.  You could hire a person to manage your property; however, it will cost you 10% to 12% of the rent.  It is a big decision, so everyone should talk it through.

Sell the Inherited House

For most families with an estate to settle, the best thing to do with an inherited house is to sell it because multiple people have a claim to the estate. If the home is located in a desirable neighborhood, needs no repairs, and there is no hurry to sell, then selling a house with a Real Estate Agent would be a fairly easy and simple process. It will just take months to complete. A house buying company can speed things along.

Sometimes selling a property is not an easy thing to do. It is not something that you just decide and do!  Rather, it is a detailed process which involves a lot of advertisement and commitment. Consequently, without prior knowledge of how to do it, you may end up being disappointed.

No doubt that selling the property may be the ideal thing to do.  But, how can you get your house sold easily and fast?  Buy calling or texting Gary at (801) 382-9199 for an instant offer.  I can help relieve you of a burdensome home with a very easy process.

Sometimes your house may have zero or negative equity and thus selling the inherited house becomes an uphill task.  Save time and let Gary do it for you.  After all, what you need is the house sold and the money from the sale quickly.

Fix Up the House and Sell it.

Sometimes the members of the estate might decide to keep the house to fix it up for resell the house.  When you have inherited a house, fixing it up to resell can be profitable. Do the simple things first before dealing with the much harder repair items.  For example, repaint walls, get new carpet, maybe some granite in the kitchen, trim the shrubs and remove clutter before repairing the plumbing and electrical systems.  No matter what these improvements cost to do, in the eyes of potential house buyers, the value of the house will be much higher.  Therefore, even if it means hiring a competent handy man or contractor, do not hesitate to hire someone for the house repairs or house fix up you plan to do.

Before you embark on renovating the whole house, it is advisable that you figure out if it is worth it to fix up the entire house.  Do you have the money and time to complete the project?  Will finishing the basement, for example, increase the house’s net value?  Often times certain renovations only return 70% to 80% of the cost.  So, although you may sell at a lower price, many times you will end up with more money not doing some of the home repairs when all is said and done.

There are a number of things that you can do with your inherited house.  But let’s be honest, you will most likely want to prioritize things that generate needed cash.  The simplest option would have been to rent it out, but then managing it may prove to be a a very big pain.  Maybe keeping the house is not the best option.  Maybe the best option is to sell your house.  Selling to a professional house buying company, such as Gary Buys Houses, can solve your inherited house problems and be very easy.

The Probate Process

When you inherit a house, sometimes the estate, including any houses owned by the estate, have to go through the probate process so someone can sell or transfer title to properties. Even if one of the heirs keeps the house, it is best to transfer title to the person that will end up with the house. Sometimes probate in Utah can be fast tracked which means the process does not have to go before a judge. However, all of the heirs to the estate will need to agree on how the estate is handled and which person will be the personal representative. It is important to note that a personal representative has to distribute the estate assets as per a valid will, per state law or according to what all the heirs agree to. A good probate attorney can make sure everything goes smoothly and that all the heirs are protected.

After the estate, including the house(s) in the estate, go through the probate process, the court will authorize a personal representative to act in any way you wish. This probate process can take 1 day or several weeks from when you submit the paperwork to the probate court.  If you are the will executor and some of your relatives share in the inheritance of the home, you need to get their permission and permission from the court to sell it.

Once all the individuals involved in the inheritance agree that the home should be sold, the personal representative (PR) can sell the property on behalf of the estate. It is important to keep in mind that the PR can sell assets, but they are bound by law or a will to distribute the funds properly. It is suggested that the estate have a separate checking account only for estate business.  The inherited home that you need to sell may require repairs or remodeling before you list the house on the Utah Multiple Listing Service with an agent.

After taking out the belongings of your loved ones, you can hire an inspector to find out if there are any areas that need repairs. If you reside far away from the house, you can contact a real estate agent who lives close to where the home is located and ask him or her to assess it on your behalf and provide you with suggestions about any changes that can make it easier to sell. Such changes can include adding landscaping or remodeling a kitchen or bathroom among other things. You may also chose to sell the property as is even if it means that you will sell it at a lower price than you would have if you made some improvements.

If you choose to sell an inherited home in Utah, more than likely there will not be any tax due. Consult a tax professional to make sure. Most likely the value of the estate is lower than the amount that taxes are due on.

The House is in a Trust

If you inherited a house you need to sell is held in a trust, you need to work with the trustee in order to sell it. If the trustee(s) are deceased, the trust should have named a successor trustee. The successor trustee can sell the property. The trustee or successor trustee of the trust can sell such a home it two ways. One of them is letting the trustee conduct the sale so that the proceeds will be owned by the trust. The other option is asking the trustee, or successor trustee, to transfer the title of the home to your name so that you can sell the house yourself. Since trusts are governed by complex legal documents, you should consult a lawyer to review your trust before you begin the process of selling the property.

Selling a House in a Trust

1. Read through the trust documents carefully and verify if the trustee or successor trustee is authorized to sell the home. The provision that grants a trustee the power to sell is usually included in the trust document. If power is not explicitly granted to the trustee, a court may conclude that the power is implied. The trustee and or the successor trustee will be listed on the 1st or 2nd page of the trust documents in most cases.
2. If the trust is valid, the trustee or successor trustee, if the trustee is deceased, can easily sell the property that is part of a trust. The title company will need to see the original trust documents to complete the transaction.
3. If the trustee and all successor trustees listed in the trust are deceased, the estate may need to go through probate. Contact an attorney at this point to help you.
4. Apart from hiring a real estate agent to help you sell a house in a trust, you can sell it directly to an investor. This is probably the best option since they will take care of all the details, make sure you get your money fast and professional house buyers will not care haw many repairs need to be made to the house. I will purchase the houses fast, for cash and for a fair price, so you can move on with things right away.

Please call or text Gary at (801) 382-9199 to get all of your questions answered, so you can make the best decision possible. Or, use the form below to email me. I promise to answer your questions with no pressure and no obligation.

Sometimes when you have inherited a house, the house is in good condition and could be sold in the traditional way by listing the house with a real estate agent. However, sometimes the estate or family need the money from the sale of the house fast. The family that sold us this house wanted several weeks to go through the house before we closed. But once they were ready, they wanted to close in a matter of days. 

People have options when working with me. In a situation like this family, I can close, get the estate their money and give the family a month or two to go through things. Or, we can go under contract and get all the title work done and then close when you are ready. I can even advance the estate cash if this is how you want to proceed on when the transaction closes.

Sometimes when you have inherited a house that needs so much work that doing all those house repairs would be daunting from a money and time perspective. Sometimes the repairs a house needs are too overwhelming for the people that inherited the house to want to deal with.  An investor to buy your house no mater what the repairs are like.

Avoid all the buyers walking through your house, real estate agents, appraisers and home inspectors looking at your house when it is not in the best of condition by contacting me today.

Have You Inherited a House in Utah?

We can help with probate, city issues, house clean out or just tell you what we will pay for the house no matter the condition. I look forward to talking with you about the house you have inherited. Call or Text Gary today (801) 382-9199