Inheriting a property can be a blessing or a curse and will ultimately come with a big decision of what to do with it. There is the option to live in it or rent is out as a source of extra revenue. However, you may want to sell the property and benefit from immediate influx to your cash flow. Selling an inherited property, although similar to the process of selling a regular property, can come with its own specific complications. If you are selling an inherited property, take the following tips into account:
Check the will carefully
Before taking any action with the property, you will need to read the will carefully to be one hundred percent certain who the beneficiary, or beneficiaries, are. For example, if there is more than one beneficiary, it can be more complicated as all parties need to be happy with the decisions being taken regarding the property.
Apply for probate
Probate is the name of the legal process which involves the administering and realising of a will. You will need to first apply for probate and then, during this stage, you will have the authority to control the estate and, if you want to, sell the property. The probate stage can take a while – sometimes up to a few months – and can often be a complex process. Until the probate has been done, you cannot sell the property and cannot make a probate property sale until the legalities are all sorted and confirmed that it may go ahead.
Clear the property
Before selling the property, you will need to prepare the home. This can often be a highly emotional process given the circumstances and, depending on the amount of things in the home, can also take a great deal of time. There are probably items you will want to keep so make sure you take your time to think about which items hold sentimental value or special memories that you might want to keep or store. There may also be items in good condition that you might want to sell.
By the time you come to show the home, the property should be cleared of all personal items. Not only will this have the effect of making it look less cluttered, it will also help the prospective buyers imagine themselves living there with their items.
Get the home valued
You will need someone objective to assess the inherited house and its condition. There may be major issues to do with structure or maintenance that you might not know about so it is important to find out about these before putting the house on the market.
Then, you will need to have a proper home valuation in order to price it correctly when putting it up for sale. Setting the price too high is one of the main reasons that a property won’t sell; yet, you also want to make a profit and ensure that you are getting the price that the property deserves.
Prepare the house for sale
Before inviting anyone to view your home, you will want to prepare the property so that it is ready for sale and will attract interest from buyers. There are lots of steps that you can take to make your house more prepared to sell. For example, make any small fixes such as a fresh coat of paint, fixing any loose tiles or smoothing any scuffs. You can make your home more presentable and welcoming by maximising natural light, placing mirrors and adding lamps in dark corners of the room. Think about how your furniture is positioned and create the illusion of more space by moving things around. The exterior of your home is the first thing that potential buyers will see so make sure to think about your curb appeal including your front door, driveway and garden.
