How To Sell an Inherited Bay Area House With No Mortgage
Inheriting a house comes with its pros and cons. Although the additional real estate property in your name sounds like a good thing, this isn’t always the case.
Firstly, inheriting a house means you lost someone dear to you. Second, not everyone has the means to maintain another home, especially in areas with a higher cost of living like the Bay Area. Regardless of whether the house mortgage is already fully paid, still, the responsibilities can be too much to handle amid your grief.
In such cases, it may be better to simply sell an inherited Bay Area house with no mortgage.
The real estate market goes up and down, but there are always buyers looking for homes in the Bay Area. The question now is how long it would take before you find the right buyer.
If you inherited a house, you are also most likely busy with managing the deceased’s estate. Fortunately, there are ways to quickly sell your inherited home without fully diving into the local real estate scene.
Here are some tips to maximize your new property’s value and ensure a quick sale:
Avoid Extended Vacancy
Your first major concern when trying to sell an inherited Bay Area house with no mortgage is to do it quickly. Doing so ensures the property is not left vacant for an extended period of time.
Lived-in homes, especially ones that have had residents for years, come with a lot of “baggage.” This refers to the appliances, furniture, pets, stock of food, and more. You will also need to deal with the cost of property tax, utility bills, and potential house issues.
If your inherited home has existing problems, like water or gas leaks, leaving it vacant for too long exposes it to more maintenance problems. You also risk squatters or vandals getting inside and damaging the property.
All of these would inevitably lower the value of the property. Moreover, the house can potentially drain your funds due to the utilities and taxes.
Store Personal Belongings Away
Once you inherit the house and start handling the estate, make sure to promptly take care of the existing belongings and furniture. While some of the items may be left to others in your family, many of the belongings will still need to be sorted through.
A quick way to deal with the deceased’s personal effects is to move them to a personal storage facility. This allows you to postpone dealing with them until you have the time and energy to sort everything efficiently.
The less things you leave inside a vacant house, the less you will attract burglars and squatters. Moreover, emptying the house of all the furniture, appliances, and personal belongings helps you discover potential issues that may interfere with selling the property.
Skip Concierge Brokerage and Agents
Sellers traditionally work with a brokerage firm or a real estate agent to find individual buyers. However, the problem with hiring a brokerage is that it can take a while before they find a seller.
Additionally, most brokerage firms would require sellers to fix up their homes. After all, move-in ready houses sell faster and for a higher price. This means having to arrange for house repairs, maintenance, and staging.
Not only would you need to invest a large amount of money, but you would also need to entertain and approve various expenses, hold viewings, entertain negotiations, and more. Unfortunately, all of this will take up too much of your time and that’s even if its not a distressed house.
Since you are looking to sell an inherited Bay Area house with no mortgage quickly and efficiently, it would be in your best interest to seek other options.
Sell the House As-Is
One option that may help you is to sell your inherited house as-is. This means no repairs, no touch ups, no renovations, and no staging. You simply put up the house on the market as it currently is.
Selling an inherited property as-is is an honest and practical option for anyone who does not want to dip into their personal funds. Just remember to be upfront about any potential problems with the house.
Putting up a house as-is helps you find buyers who are not looking for a move-in ready property. This allows you to focus your marketing towards nontraditional buyers, such as home flippers and investment buyers.
More often than not, these types of cash home buyers are also looking to close a house sale quickly since they plan to renovate and resell it.
Look for Buyers Willing To Pay Cash
When you work with a brokerage firm, you will also need to deal with closing costs, agent fees, brokerage fees, lawyers’ fees and more. After everything and everyone is paid fairly, you might find yourself with significantly less than you expected or need.
Since you are trying to sell an inherited Bay Area house with no mortgage quickly, your best bet is to find a buyer willing to pay in full and in cash. Not only will the sale go over faster, you will also keep most, if not all, of the proceeds.
Take note that when you sell a Bay Area house as-is, you are already likely to find buyers who are willing to pay cash. Aside from some individual buyers, this means selling to large-scale investment buyers.
Find a Trustworthy Investment Buyer
Selling an inherited Bay Area home with no mortgage quickly is possible if you sell it as-is, for cash, and to an investment buyer.
Large-scale investment buyers make the whole transaction as fast and as easy as possible. This is because investment buyers already have a tried and true buying process.
Unlike brokers and agents, investment buyers will not help you sell your home — they are buying it for themselves. But since they are not buying the property to live in it, you won’t have to worry about ensuring it is move-in ready.
Although the buying process may be different than what you would expect, it shouldn’t be a problem with a trustworthy investment buyer like Brothers Buy Homes.
The process is much simpler compared to hiring an agent or broker. All you need to do is contact a reliable investment buyer, schedule an appointment, and let them appraise the house.
Almost all investment buyers offer free, non-obligatory quotes, so you will know right away how much you stand to earn from the sale. Best of all, investment buyers make their offer in cash.
Conclusion
Inheriting a mortgage-free home can be a large help to your finances. Contact Brothers Buy Homes today and see how we can help you sell my house fast and sell an inherited Sacramento or Bay Area house with no mortgage quickly.