Inheriting a house can be both a blessing and a curse. With an inherited home, you gain an asset, but you also gain many responsibilities and additional expenses. These extra hassles often make people decide to simply sell their property and move on. 

The options for how to sell inherited property are essentially the same as selling any other type of home. But when it comes to inherited property, there are additional and substantial challenges you’ll need to overcome. Let’s talk about those challenges first, and then the channels available to you for selling.

Challenges of Selling Inherited Property 

When you’ve decided that selling your inherited property is your best bet, you’ll want to be aware of the obstacles specific to inherited properties. These are:

• Multiple heirs. If there are several heirs, there may be disagreements about what should happen with the house. It can be hard to get all parties to come to a common decision about the property. 
• The executor is far away. The executor, the primary person helping administer the estate of a recently deceased person, may live far away. If they are in another state, it may be challenging to sell or manage an inherited property from a distance. 
• The house is full of junk. Many inherited properties are full of junk. This means that you will have to empty it first before selling it, which can be quite difficult. Sorting through all the things in the house could take months. Meanwhile, you will still have to pay taxes on the property and possibly even a mortgage. 
• The house is damaged. If the property is seriously damaged, it can be hard to sell it the traditional way. You will have to repair it first, which may cost a lot of money out of your pocket, and adds a huge project to your to-do list.

How to Sell the Inherited Property

Essentially, you have three options for how to sell a home. Although these are the same processes whether the property is inherited or not, there are some aspects specific to inherited properties you’ll want to note. 

Real Estate Agent

If you choose to sell with a real estate agent, you have all of the traditional steps and fees of the home sale process. You’ll clean the home, make needed repairs and stage the home. Then, you’ll wait for showings, interested buyers, and the mortgage process. Plus, when it’s all said and done, you’ll pay the realtor approximately 6% in commission. The process can last several months.

With regards to inherited properties, the prep work involved in going through possessions and making repairs can make tensions between heirs more intense. Also, it’s difficult to manage if you’re not available in person.

For Sale by Owner

You can attempt to sell the home yourself, aka For Sale by Owner. You’ll save the realtor’s commission, but otherwise, the steps are basically the same. 

Here, again, the prep work can increase tensions. Plus, without the knowledge of an agent, you may risk pricing the property incorrectly, and you’ll be on the hook to deal with every single showing and potential buyer, so someone has to be available in person. 

Cash Home Buyer

The fastest and easiest way to sell the home is with a cash home buyer. The biggest advantage of selling a home to a cash buyer is that you can do it quickly and without having to pay for expensive repairs, realtor’s fees, and other expenses. There is only one visit to the home, and you don’t even have to clean the house for the buyer to take a look. These real estate investors buy the home as-is, even if it has junk in it. 

Since it’s fast, there are fewer decisions for multiple heirs to make. The house is sold, everyone gets their share, and you can all move on. Cash home buyers handle the paperwork, so the sale can be completed remotely. If the executor lives out of state, that’s no problem. And finally, because they buy homes as-is, you don’t need to clean the house out. Even if it’s full of junk, a real estate investor will buy it.

Truly, the way you choose to sell an inherited property depends on your situation. But if you’re ready to deal with the property quickly and move on, a cash home buyer is your best bet.

Sell Your Home Fast to KM Home Buyers

KM Home Buyers is a family-owned real estate investment company that buys properties throughout the Tampa Bay area. We buy all types of properties, even inherited ones, and we never ask you to make any repairs. Our mission is to make the home sale process easy and straightforward for you. If you have any questions or a property that you need to sell fast, do not hesitate to visit our website or give us a call at 813-213-4884.