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My father passed away in 1999. My mother December of 2021. There are 10 siblings that want to sell the house as is with the exception of 2. We all have are names on the house that is paid for. We could use some help convincing them to move forward. It is not complicated, but frustrating.

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Well, a vote would come out 8-2 in favor if selling. If all of you are equally inheritors, then it should be split 10 ways.

I guess if one or both of the 2 'dissenters' wanted to pay FMV for the home and work it out between them, that could be done. The 8 remaining sibs should get their inheritance.

The 8 remaining sibs probably want the house sold and this all put to bed.

You don't NEED to have the 2 dissenters' 'yes' vote to sell, but in fairness to everyone, give them that option.

I would go through the house, removing all sentimental things and personal items. And then I would sell it as is--and be done with it.
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JimFamilyof10, I highly recommend selling the house "as is". In today's market, One will not get back all that is put into the house to make it like a brand new home.

My parent's house was built in 1980 and the only things updated was a new roof, new garage door, and new refrigerator, and that was years before I put the house on the market. This was four years ago when I listed the house, and it sold quickly to a flipper. Over and done.

With the popularity of do-it-yourself shows, there is a lot of buyers looks for fixer-upper houses. Even if your parent's home was remodeled, chances are the new owners would tear out and put in what they like.
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MJ1929 Aug 2022
Whether the new owners tear it out is irrelevant. Putting money into making the house look decent and staging it will reap a better price.
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Since you’re asking about an AS IS sale I assume the house needs lots of work. In my case my folks had gone into care, the house was old, filthy and falling down. It would have taken several thousand dollars to update the place to the most basic of standards.

I cleaned out all the belongings, pictures etc, cleaned out the fridge, (Some nice science fair projects in there) stripped the beds, ran the sweeper and let my kinfolk come by and take whatever furniture they wanted. I had a good realtor and we sold it to a small contractor who made it livable and rented it to one of his employees.

After several years of trying to keep them in that house, arguing about the slightest repairs with them (Dementia was involved) it was such a great relief to have that mess over and done with

But I didn’t have ten siblings. Sounds like you’ve got the vote to sell however.
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Have someone come out to tell u how much it would cost to fix it up. With the cost of building materials it may be really high. And you always do not profit from the money you out into it. Say Moms house is 100k "as is". You put 100k into it but now its only worth 150k. You lose money.

Sometimes its just cosmetic. Some paint, a little landscaping. Good cleaning. Maybe some new flooring but I wouldn't go high end. Of course get it cleaned out. Maybe leave just enough furniture to stage the house. Helps buyers be able to determine how their furniture will fit. I would not replace kitchen cabinets. Everyones taste are different. And as said, it is 8 to 2 so majority rules.
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Who is the executor and why is there an almost year delay? Someone should see a probate lawyer and sell as is. With 2 uncooperative owners, depending where you live, may need to get things started. You have a consensus. Delaying a sale too long may bring tax implications (but rare) Filing for executorship can move things faster and it gives the executor all rights to pay for associated professional services before divvying up. Did final taxes get paid in April?
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Countrymouse Aug 2022
1 year. December last year.
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Are we talking a clear-out of possessions, or a rebuild?
And who's the executor?
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We just sold our parents' house last month as-is -- but we did do some work to put lipstick on the pig, so to speak.

Our Realtor's company has a program where you can get a $75,000 advance to fix up the property, then it's repaid from the proceeds of the sale. It isn't a program unique to this broker, so check with Realtors to see if they have that available.

It's smart to get the house inspected in advance of selling so you can fix some things that might get you more money. We had the house inspected and fixed several minor items. The sewer was inspected, and they suggested we replace the sewer line for no reason other than the fact that it had lasted 30 years beyond its expected lifespan. At $45,000 and invisible to a buyer? No thanks.

We did paint the house inside and out, restained the floors, and turned my parents' bonus room back from a junk room into a bonus room. We left the kitchen alone except for painting the cabinets and replacing the flooring, because we knew that whoever bought it would redo the kitchen the way they wanted it. The bathrooms had all been remodeled four years ago, so they were already updated.

We spent $85,000 on those fixes and got about $190,000 over the Realtor's suggested asking price. I decided to bump that asking price up $100,000, because we hit the market right after the second bump in interest rates and I doubted we'd get the multiple offer bidding war that had been the norm just a couple of weeks before. We ended up with three offers, and sold for $90,000 over asking price.

I recommend handing anyone who offers the inspection reports, so they know what they're getting in addition to knowing it's sold as-is. Our sale went through with no significant hiccups, and I'm sure the new owners will now tear out everything we did and redo it, but the improvements got them in the door in the first place.
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JimFamilyof10, get an appraisal from a Certified Appraiser to get an idea how much the house as-is is worth. The Appraiser was right in the ballpark on my parent's house worth as to what the house did sell for.

Some people use Realtors to get a price, That's ok, but too many times a Realtor will say a house is worth much more than what the buyer's mortgage lender appraiser will quote, and that becomes a major problem for the Seller.

The real estate market goes through cycles. The cycles tend to be every ten years or so from normal selling to very high prices where buyers have to pay out of pocket the difference between a normal increase price house and the high asking price. The current cycle is slowing down and going back to normal increase prices.

I hope the house is empty. If not, right there would be a major slow down. It took me 3 months to empty everything out of the house, as I was doing it all myself. The buyer for Dad's house was a flipper and he said anything left in the house was ok with him.
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The red-hot housing market is now tepid as best, moving rapidly towards a buyer's market. The time to have sold the home as-is has passed due to the rising interest rates. The activity in my state came to pretty much a screeching halt already. Therefore, now the argument to primp & stage the house has more wisdom to it so that you can get a better sale price. Get it on the market before there is a glut of inventory... everyone and their uncle who was thinking of buying a house already did in the past 2 years.

I agree with getting it appraised and working from that number, or searching Zillow.com to see what similar homes are selling for in its surrounding area.
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JoAnn29 Aug 2022
Not where I live. I live in an older development. Before COVID I was lucky to get 150k if I sold. In the last two years houses have risen to over $250k. I live 1/2 hr from Philly and across the bridge from Wilmington/Newark DE. We have people moving here from Philly area and paying more than the asking price. Price Wars.
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I would not only get an appraiser as freqflyer suggested but also get an inspection done as well so you know what NEEDS to be done and so you will be prepared when buyers start nit picking every little thing.
If something can be fixed without much cost either in time or money do so as a repair will pay for itself.
I would not do any "renovations" or "improvements" as a buyer may come in and rip out what you just put in.
I would suggest if there are hard wood floors under carpet and they are in good condition lift up a corner of the carpet so that people can see what is under the carpet. (If it is not in good condition leave carpet tacked down.)

Ask for an estimate "as is" and one if items are repaired.
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MJ1929 Aug 2022
Usually you get the inspection report, fix what you want to fix, then the inspector issues a new report.

Appraisals are expensive -- I paid $700 for one after my dad died. Better to interview three agents, get their take on the value and what they'd recommend fixing and what difference they think repairs might make to the price. I'd be mighty wary of getting too deep into repairs in this market, though.
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I think the issue is what to do about the dissenting siblings. If they can't be persuaded to sell, contact a local lawyer experienced in real estate to discuss how to get around them. There are legal ways to get past a reluctant partial owner.
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MJ1929 Aug 2022
It's called a partition lawsuit. The court will order the house sold, and the siblings will have wasted thousands of dollars paying for attorneys in a case they'll lose anyway.
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So the house is already in everyone’s names so the executor can’t just sell it and split the proceeds?

Please tell me none of the ten have moved in and aren’t paying rent.

This could get ugly. No one can force you to continue to co own property. You can get a lawyer to file a partition action and force a sale. You can sell your rights cheap to someone else who will do it. You can sell or gift your share to another sibling.

Get the Nolo Press book on saving the family cottage from the library if you want figure out how to come up with the structure to deal with the liability issues and family disfunction of co-owned property. Maybe looking at a sample contract of responsibilities and expenses will help the two see what they are asking for.

https://store.nolo.com/products/saving-the-family-cottage-cott.html

I thought I saw a thread on the bogleheads forum on a similar situation recently, but I can’t find it now,
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As the executor of my dad’s will I was in charge of selling my dad’s home. It didn’t really matter what my siblings wanted, not in any legal sense anyway. The executor should stope letting this drag and make a firm decision. Is no one in charge? I can’t fathom 10 siblings ever coming to complete agreement
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MJ1929 Aug 2022
Unless the executor is instructed in the will to sell the property, then distribute the proceeds, they can't arbitrarily sell it.
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