Upon the death of parents, siblings, relatives or even close friends, their houses may be left under your ownership. Death is an emotional and sensitive subject but it is a part of life, and we have to deal with it from time to time. Therefore, it is good to know what one can do if they find themselves in inherited houses situation. You have many options available to you. You may decide to move into the house with your family if it is in a good condition and at the time of inheritance they were living in rented houses, you may choose to sell, rent it out to others or even hold the house for your children.
Selling the house should only be taken up as an option if you need the money right away. It can also be the prudent thing to do if maintaining the house proves to be costly because inherited houses are usually old and they need a lot of repairs to update them and make them appealing to modern buyers. Selling the house to an investor will be a viable option especially if you neither have the funds nor time to rehab it. If this is the option you decide to take, you will need to make sure the home owner’s insurance is paid up, and the trust name is the same as that of the person insured. If you are bent on avoiding all the hustles of looking for a buyer, employing a real estate agent will be the best solution for you. Suppose you manage to sell the house, paying up the remaining mortgage balance together with any real estate commission, closing costs and property taxes responsibilities will still lie squarely on you.
The second option is that of renting the house and becoming a property manager. This is only recommended if the house is located in areas with a hot rental market. You will need to convert the insurance policy to a landlord policy that covers the structure and personal property as well as the medical and legal liability. Despite the fact that it will generate extra income for you, chasing tenants around for rent money every single month will just cause you more stress in addition to the one of losing a loved one. You also have to be personally responsible for each repair that needs to be done in the house causing unnecessary financial pressure on you. For these reasons one should note that it takes a lot to be a landlord.
Holding the house for your children until they get old enough to move out of the nest and move into the house is the third option, and it may not be cheap either. This is because you have to pay yearly taxes on the property and lawn maintenance. You also need to maintain security to avoid being broken into by buglers through employing security guards. All this being aided by money will just be extra expenses you will have to incur. You will need to transfer all the benefits left to you to them through a legal process to avoid future complications.
What one decides to do with an inherited house varies from one individual to another. One may decide to sell the house with an intention of buying another or hold the house for sentimental reasons like childhood memories.
The professional advice that we can give you if you find yourself in this situation is that selling the house to home buyers will be the best way to go. We have vast experience buying inherited houses as is and we will be happy to do the same with yours.