Expert Advice Real Estate: How to Manage Inherited Property
By M. Kotch
Dealing with the death of a parent is one of the hardest things any of us will ever go through. What can make it even more distressing is dealing with inherited property that parents often leave to their children (adult or otherwise) in their last will. The sadness and grief that come up during the funeral are challenging enough without tackling the added responsibility of selling a house—something that’s difficult enough under normal circumstances.
While some choose to take over inherited property and make it their home, others move forward with the process of selling a house and distributing the wealth amongst beneficiaries. We’ve asked our real estate expert, Anita Zander, to offer some advice for those who find themselves in the latter situation.
Q: What documents does a person need before contacting the real estate agent? How soon should the benefactor(s) move forward?
A: After examining and going over a final will, a lawyer and/or executor will give the final word on a sale moving forward at all. You should start interviewing agents as soon as you are sure that the property is going to be yours to sell. It may take time to find an agent who you feel comfortable with and believe will represent you best. It’s also a good idea to find out what the Market Value of the property is—get the opinion of more than one agent. A Certified Appraiser will be hired to appraise the property for the estate, but often this is not a realistic figure for sale. The problem with appraisers is that they have not seen the comparable sales that make up the calculation of value. Also, appraisers do not give much—if any—value to amenities such as beautiful locations, gorgeous decorating (or lack thereof), and numerous other factors that can greatly affect the sale price one way or another.
Q: Would you recommend all parties (beneficiaries) be involved with the real estate agent to make sure everyone is on the same page? Or do you prefer dealing with one person to make things less complicated?
A: The ideal situation, whenever possible, is if only one party is the contact person for the realtor. I have been involved in situations where I have had to communicate everything three times because the clients were not speaking to each other! Needless to say, that created unnecessary difficulties. But one way to keep all parties on the same page would be through group email correspondence.
Q: Do you suggest selling the furniture along with the house? Or is an “empty” house easier to sell?
A: These days most people have seen home shows on television where the seller “stages” a home—either by his or herself or with the help of a professional. This is extremely important today, both because of the impact that it makes on buyers when they view the property, and also because Internet photographs can make or break a sale. If the photographs don’t make the house and property look appealing, buyers (and often brokers) will eliminate that house from the tour and not even give it a chance. Stage to sell! So if the home’s current furniture isn’t appealing, get rid of it.
Q: What are the top tips you would recommend to any seller for increasing the speed and value of a house’s sale?
A: The most important thing to increase both the speed and profit of a sale is to price it right. This means as close to market value as you and your trusted realtor can determine, based on comparable sales and the temperature of the market at that very moment. Just under the market price is the best strategy, because then it is very possible to get full price. The longer it takes to sell these days, the more of a discount the buyers expect. The best buyers are waiting for a great house at a great price, and will expect to pay market or just below to get what they want. If that pool of buyers says “no,” it will then take quite a while to attract a buyer who is ready to go to contract; that translates into price reductions and low offers.
Q: If it were not a great seller’s market (such as is the case right now), would you recommend waiting? Renting out the house and distributing the amount until the right buyer comes along?
A: That is certainly a consideration. The decision should depend on the financial concerns of the owners. However, most “experts,” myself included, do not believe that prices will rise considerably for quite a while. Market improvement will mean that there will be more buyers ready to take the plunge, but not quickly increasing prices. This economic situation has burned too many people to allow the rapid escalation of prices anytime in the foreseeable future, I believe.
Anita Zander is a Licensed Associate Broker for Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate (Katonah Office), the top agency in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. She is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI), a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Historic Property Specialist. Anita is celebrating her 31st year as a realtor. She lives in North Salem, NY. http://anitazander.houlihanlawrence.com
