Selling an inherited home in New Orleans is not as easy as people think. Read on to learn how to sell a house you inherited in New Orleans, LA…
Selling an inherited property can be a challenge for a number of reasons. There is always the emotional part of preparing a loved one’s house ready for sale – which most likely includes depersonalizing his or her rooms and also clearing out all the belongings.
Then there is the cost of getting the house ready to attract potential buyers. This can include cleaning, clearing out, repairs, upgrades, etc.
Usually heirs get to deal with the high costs of liens and other issues too. Oftentimes there are only one or two people paying the taxes and insurance, as well as maintaining the property. Consequently, disagreements may arise.
Therefore we at NOLA Buys Houses have compiled a few points that should help steer you in the right direction, if you ever find yourself in such a dilemma. Here are a few tips on how to sell a house you inherited in New Orleans, without having to deal with too many of these difficult situations, or at least having a better idea of what situations to expect.
Making the probate process go smoothly
Get some advice
The first step you should take is to get some professional advice. You must understand the status of the situation your house is in. Make sure that you verify your ownership. Seek advice from a real estate attorney and get info from other experts as well. Make sure to utilize our website too. We have extensive experience with probate properties and can answer any questions you may have about the legal process and the selling process. We have been buying houses for 23 years and have dealt with every situation there is regarding selling a house.
Next Step: Begin the probate process in New Orleans
Before you embark on the selling process, your house must go through probate. In Louisiana, probate is known as succession. Probate/Succession is the legal process that transfers ownership of a property from a deceased owner to the rightful heirs of the property. The process can be very long or very quick depending on the situation. Are all the heirs on the same page? Is everyone cooperating? Is everyone local? Is everyone available? The answers to these questions will determine the type of probate that needs to be done, but regardless of the answers you should be looking at anywhere from 3-4 weeks to 60 days, generally speaking. When talking to a succession attorney, make sure you get some clarification on their expectations of time to complete the process. If everyone is cooperating and available it should just be a 3-4 week process. The time frame is important because once people make the decision to commit and deal with the situation at hand, they typically want the probate part to be done and over with expeditiously. Problems typically arise when siblings who share the inheritance have different views – for instance others may want to sell the house while others may not be for the idea. If and when this happens to be the case, it is important to “disagree to agree”. It is also important to involve your estate lawyer in this stage. Once your house passes the probate process in New Orleans, you are then able to sell it.
Tax consideration
The tax basis of your property is the house value on the date that the person who willed you the property passed away. The difference between the amount you realize from the sale and the value is basically the gain on which you owe the taxes.
How to sell a house you inherited in New Orleans
Agreeing to sell
If you are ready to sell your house in New Orleans, you can inform the executor to petition the court in order to get the “go ahead” to sign and proceed with the sale from the there. You do not need to wait until the probate process is complete in order to enter into a purchase agreement. In fact it’s usually a good idea to line up a buyer before the process is complete, that way when it does wrap up you have a buyer ready to close on the house and immediately free you from the burden of continued maintenance, upkeep, taxes, insurance, etc.
Preparing to sell
A house that belonged to an elderly person may require repairs and a bit of updating before you can put it up for sale in the traditional manner by listing it on the MLS with an agent. At this point you are faced with two options. You can hire a contractor and try to get everyone involved to monetarily participate in the process of cleaning, repairing, upgrading and fixing the property to where you can ask and expect to get a retail market value for the house. Keep in mind you will need to also continue to maintain the property as far as grass cutting as well as taxes and insurance. Your other option is to sell the house as-is without doing anything. You will get a lower price but you may not end up with any less cash in your pocket than if you went through the process of repairing the property. What if you end up with a bad contractor? Are you taking into account all of the soft costs that go along with it like agent fees and commissions and the aforementioned taxes and insurance, etc? Professional home buyers have experience with renovating properties and can deal with these situations much more effectively. We at NOLA Buys Houses can make you a fair offer on your house and you don’t have to lift a finger. We buy AS-IS and that means no cleaning, no clearing out…nothing at all! Plus we pay all closing costs and there are no fees or commissions. We also know how to navigate through other issues that may tag along, like code enforcement liens or anything else that may need to be addressed.
Here at NOLA Buys Houses, we will always give you a fair deal and help you get as much value from your inherited house as possible. We buy local houses in New Orleans and surrounding areas, repair and fix them up and either rent them out or sell them to someone who is looking for a home of their own.
If you have a house you are looking to sell in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Gretna, Marrero, Harvey, etc…we can buy your house fast. If you have questions about selling your house, no matter the topic, give us a call at 504 264 1407 or visit our website at www.nolabuyshouses.com.