Selling a house has its stressors and rewards, no matter where you live or what kind of house you have. But if you’re selling an inherited house, that can bring additional worries and concerns with it. Inherited houses may have will or title issues, and they also might need repair or renovation. Trying to sort through all of that may feel like it’s just too much.

In this post we’ll share five tips to consider that will make selling an inherited house a little less painful.

Beyond these tips, you can make things a lot easier with our Property Concierge Program and take a lot of the work, stress, and worry right off your shoulders, so you can get back to living your life. But more on that later. First:

5 Tips for Selling an Inherited House

1. Make Sure the Will is Clear

If you’ve inherited a house from a relative who’s passed away, be sure that everything has gone through the proper legal channels. You don’t want to put time and effort into getting a house ready to sell, just to find out that it was actually willed to someone else, or that there are other claims against it. Sorting out the legal issues is the first step, and it’s an important one. After you’ve verified that the house really is yours, you can plan for the next steps for selling an inherited house.

2. Address Any Liens or Title Considerations

Sometimes, there are past title issues that were attached to a house, like small liens or other claims. If you’re not sure about any of those, you can check into whether they’re a problem for the house you inherited. Selling an inherited house is much easier with a clear title and no claims against it. Liens can be paid off at closing, of course, but you want to make sure you know they’re there. Otherwise, the amount required to pay off the liens will come from what you thought you would receive as the seller.

3. Determine the Current Value of the House

Knowing what the house is worth keeps you from getting a bad deal. You may have a lot of people wanting to buy the house, depending on the current real estate market. You might even have relatives who want the house, and of course, they’ll be trying to get it at a discount. But you can get an appraisal, or you can ask a realtor for their professional opinion. If you work with a service like our Property Concierge program, that handles the updates and the sale, we will give you an estimated value before and after any targeted renovations.

4. Take Stock of Needed Repairs

Depending on who owned the house you inherited and how they treated it, it may need some repairs. That’s common with most houses, especially if they’re older. But taking on those repairs and renovations can feel like a lot of work, especially if you already have a busy life. Look through the house with an objective eye, and even consider getting a pre-sale home inspection to identify any hidden issues that might affect your sale price. Focus on the updates that will deliver the highest return when you sell. If you do need to do renovations before selling, but you don’t want to be out of pocket for those costs, we can help with that. We’ll do the work, and carry the costs of any renovations until closing, so you aren’t dealing with multiple companies or overpaying for overlapping contractors to update the house.

Another option if the house needs renovations that you don’t want to pay for is it find a cash house buyer. A cash buyer will buy the inherited house as-is, with no need to renovate or even remove any of the existing items in the house. It can be the fastest and easiest way to go when selling an inherited house. Full disclosure, we do that, too.

5. Choose a Trusted Professional to Help You

When you’re selling an inherited house you need good advice. Advice on the value, what should be done before selling to get the best price, when to list the property, the list goes on. Don’t try to figure it all out yourself. Speak to a realtor, an appraiser, maybe a contractor, and even knowledgeable friends.

We’d be happy to be that source for you. With our decades of experience buying, selling, and renovating houses, we’ve seen pretty much everything and we can equip you with the information you need to make an informed decision.

A final word about our Property Concierge program. This is a great program for someone selling an inherited house. Through it, we assess the house’s value now, identify targeted renovations that will increase the value well beyond the cost and provide an estimate of the resale value post-renovation. Then we perform the renovations using our own money and you pay nothing until we sell your house. That way, you’re never out of pocket and you only ever have to deal with one company to help you through this process.

If you’d like to discuss it, just book a free no-obligation consultation.