If you are trying to sell an inherited property, you need to know if there is a Will. Let’s say in your case (like with most cases), it’s your deceased parents that left you the property. You need to make sure they left a Will. Once you have located this Will, you need to get it probated. Probating a Will is the legal process if executing what the will says. In this case, making sure the Will says the home has been passed on to you. Probate usually takes about 30 days, give or take.
If there is no Will, that’s not a problem. You need to find out your family history and do heirships for them.
Before you can take action in selling the inherited house, you need to make sure all of your family (siblings) is accounted for. Build an accurate family tree. Find all dates and records. Perhaps there was divorce and multiple marriages in your family so you need to make sure all offspring are accounted for. You don’t want to sell the home, get the money and then years down the line, find out there is a long-lost sibling demanding to get their cut! You will also need a copy of the deceased person’s death certificate.
One of the biggest unpleasant surprises that many people trying to sell an inherited property face is taxes. Most people “homestead” their home. People do this because they can get a discount on their taxes. This is something you need to find out because once the person passes away, the discount is taken out so if it takes you, say, 3 years to sell the house, those taxes will add up and you will have to end up paying the discounted amount back.
Selling an inherited house can be a smooth process if you take care of the issues that have been mentioned in this post. If you have an inherited house you are looking to sell, contact us and we will take care of you!