Looking to Sell My Inherited House in San Diego, but I Live in a Different State. What are My Options for Selling with Less Hassle?

Inheriting a home can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a blessing and a wonderful gift. For others, it can be quite an inconvenience and often times stressful. Not only do you have to endure the grief from the loss of your loved one, but now have to think about financial investments and real estate. Inheriting a property can be a rough and emotional process.

We recently worked with a family who inherited their mother’s home in Escondido, CA, and needed to sell it because they lived out of state and couldn’t keep up with the expenses. Their situation was unique because their beloved mother had lived with a long-term caretaker who needed to relocate as well. They wanted to sell fast, but they also wanted to give the caretaker a flexible timeframe to find a new living situation. They consulted with us while considering their options in selling:

• List with an agent: Find a reputable agent in the area who could get top dollar for the home. The promised additional profit was a plus, but the family was not looking forward to having to get the home entirely cleaned out and in “show ready” condition for prospective buyers. The process was just too emotional.
• Sell directly to a buyer: They could avoid all Realtor fees and closing costs and didn’t have to clean anything out of the home (aside from the keepsakes they’d hold onto). This also meant easy closing (on their timeline), and no repairs or worrying about strangers walking through their mom’s home.

After giving them the numbers and providing referrals to agents in the area, the family decided that selling directly would be the simpler solution for them. And at the time, simpler was definitely better. But, not only was the process simpler, but they even netted more by selling directly to us than if they were to have listed it with an agent (after paying all of the fees associated with the sale). We handled all of the cleanings out of the home and donated what they didn’t want. They only had to come into town once to pick up family heirlooms etc. We were also able to structure the timeline around their mother’s caretaker who was looking to relocate. Upon closing, we received a nice note from the family stating: “We genuinely thank Sell Your House Direct for allowing this part of our family journey to be as effortless as it was.”

The reason we chose to share this case study is to explain how even during a very difficult time in your life, something like selling a property out of state (which sounds very challenging) CAN actually be made easy.

Why Selling an Inherited House Can be Stressful

• The emotional aspect: This is the biggest factor in making an inherited home sale stressful. Dealing with a real estate transaction is one of the last things you’ll want to find yourself doing while also planning a funeral and wanting to find peace after a loss.
  • Here are some additional resources for coping with bereavement:
    • Mental Health America
    • HelpGuide.org
    • Dying Matters
    • The COPE Foundation
• The time and financial requirements: Selling a home does require time, and oftentimes, money. In order to list a home on the market, there are many things that need to be done to get it ready for open houses. Things like cleaning, making repairs, and covering other parts of the transaction can cost a lot of money.
• Differing opinions in the family: If you have inherited a house with your siblings, then this could bring about additional stress- especially if you aren’t on the same page when it comes to how and when to sell. In many cases, at least one person in the family will disagree with your decision and make things a tad more difficult if you’re the executor or trustee and they are not.
• Capital gains tax: As in any real estate sale, you will have to consider the amount of capital gains tax you’ll need to pay from the profits of the sale. Here’s more info on how to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale.

The fact is, if you add being out of state and not near the inherited house, things become that much more complicated.

Selling Your Inherited House Remote – Direct to a Buyer

For many reasons, we’d recommend that seller’s in this exact situation opt for selling directly to a cash buyer. Not only will you save time and money, but the stressful elements of the sale really are completely eliminated. If you’re not sure what to do and could use some help, we’d recommend speaking to your probate attorney and gathering their feedback.

Give us a call today at 760-566-7716 if you’d like more information about your options in selling an inherited property- we have a ton of resources for you.