6 Things You Wouldn’t Know About Selling Your Family Home
Nov/27/2020 803Selling a home after the passing of a parent is difficult. Learn how to navigate the challenges.
The loss of a parent is difficult for many reasons. In addition to dealing with the grief that comes with loss, you are suddenly responsible to make many important decisions in a short period of time. One of those decisions is what happens to the family home. If your parent had a will, they may have left you in charge of deciding what to do with their home. It’s a big decision to make and there are a lot of challenges that come with the responsibility. Here some things to keep in mind when a parent has left their home to you.
1. Tensions may be high.
Whether it’s your siblings, parent’s siblings or children, you may have family members that have opposing views to yours. Some family members may be consumed with grief or too busy to want to engage in the decision of what to do with the home, leaving the responsibility entirely to you. Others may feel strongly about what should be done, whether it’s to sell or to keep the home. An estate lawyer or mediator can help you negotiate and avoid costly mistakes. You may have family members who are upset they weren’t left the home and want to live there.
2. Secure the property.
It can be difficult to get rid of squatters. You will want to secure the property as soon as possible. That will include changing the locks and making sure all entry points are secure. If someone has a key to the home, who wasn’t left the home but believes they have claim to it, they can move in. It will be difficult and costly to get them out.
3. The home might be outdated.
If your elderly parents have lived in the home for many years, they may not have made updates or home improvements. That can make it difficult to sell the home or sell it quickly. While complete renovations don’t make sense, by making cosmetic changes you can increase the value of home and decrease the time to sell. Cosmetic home repairs can include painting, removing old wallpaper, replacing old carpet, refinish hardwood floors, reglaze bathtubs or showers, replace old sinks and clean up landscaping.
4. Account for a probate period.
You won’t be able to sell the family home right away. The estate will need to complete probate before you can sell any property that was left to you. If your parents had a larger estate, over a few hundred thousand dollars, you need to go through a regular probate process that includes legal counsel. If the estate was small, the probate process is typically sooner.
5. You will have to pay taxes.
There is an inheritance tax you will have to pay after the sale of the home. If you split the money from the home sale, the tax burden will also have to be split. The gain is the difference between what the home was worth at the time of death of the owner and what it actually sold for. You would need to claim the share of the proceeds on your taxes for the year the sale happens.
6. You will need to pay any outstanding liens.
If your parent had any liens, you will need to pay those before you can close on the home. If there are any financial obligations that are associated with the home, they will need to be taken care of before you can see the profits from the home sale. You will also need to pay any Medicaid claims.
Summary
The loss of a parent is one of life’s hardest experiences. You will need to make many difficult decisions while managing your grief. If you have inherited a home that needs work, HomeContractors101 can help connect you with contractors near you. The last thing you want to do after a parent passes is to have to shop around for a contractor. Using HomeContractors101.com is fast and simple. You simply submit your project, and we will match you with local contractors ready to get to work. Submit your home improvement project today.
