A popular question we hear a lot is “Should I sell my inherited house in Vancouver, Washington?”. In most cases, home ownership is the result of years of careful financial planning for people living in Vancouver or the Tri-Cities, Washington. In other cases, it comes unexpectedly through inheritance. This can put homeowners in a somewhat unique predicament: what do you do with a home you don’t live in but own? There are basically two options: rent it to provide supplemental income or sell it to make a profit. Which of these two is right for you will depend in large part upon your current situation, the condition of the house, how much time and money you are willing to invest, and your local real estate market.
Inheriting a home also comes with some unique emotional issues: most of the time you aren’t in a place where you really want to spend a lot of time thinking about the house you inherited or going through it to renovate it in order to attract a new buyer. On the other hand, you could live in another part of Washington or the country and not have the time or inclination to come to the Tri-Cities/Vancouver to look after it.
Suffice to say, you have a lot to think about before you’ll know if renting or selling your inherited house is the right option for you. To help, let’s look at some basic things you should be doing if you have inherited a house in Vancouver or the Tri-Cities area in order to help you make the right decision about selling or renting.
What To Do When You Inherit a House in the State of Washington
The primary thing you need to do before you do anything else is educate yourself about all of your possible options. The worst thing you can do is make the wrong decision only to learn that another option would have been better after it’s already too late. So here are some basic things to get you started on the path to making a sound decision:
If you decide to keep the property, you’re going to have to spend money on it
In most cases, an inherited property is decently maintained, but not up-to-date enough to attract top-dollar renters. What’s more, even well-kept homes can have hidden issues that can cost quite a bit to deal with. So, know that even if the house looks good on the surface, there may be big issues hiding that will make continued ownership not only costly but also a time-consuming headache.
If you’ve never been a landlord before, you are best off going with an experienced and trustworthy property manager
Most people who inherit a home have little experience with or interest in dealing with tenants. If you are in this situation, you want to make sure your property provides you an income and isn’t just a nuisance. Hiring someone experienced to handle the property management is the smartest option. Given the house may have an emotional impact on you, handing this off to an objective third party can really help to make sure you don’t get in your own way here.
If you want to sell your home, there are different options – some of which are also going to cost you money
Just like renting, trying to sell a home will mean making it attractive. Anything that’s possibly wrong, outdated, or simply unappealing about the property will have to be dealt with in order to try to attract top-dollar offers. There will be professionals who inspect and evaluate your home; upgrades, repairs, and other costs; and a real estate agent who you will have to pay.
Before you actually do anything, check on the mortgage
Does the home have a mortgage? How much is owed it? Are payments up to date? Is foreclosure a risk? These are all important questions that will have a dramatic impact on if you should rent or sell as well as how much potential profit you stand to make. Contact the bank who owns the mortgage to see what options you have as a first step.
Learn all you can about your local market
This one can be difficult without spending some time, but there is no better way to get a good idea for how much your house is actually worth then to go out and learn what other houses in the neighborhood have closed for. Remember, what a house is listed at may be very different than the closing amount. You’ll be looking for trends: is your market growing? If you have any questions or need help with this, we’d be glad to talk about your property. Just give one of our offices a call or fill out the form on this site.
Avoiding the hassle of renting or selling for top dollar by selling to Summit Development
Of course, given the emotional component of an inherited property, selling quickly for cash to a reputable real estate company like Summit Development remains a strong option for homeowners in the state of Washington. We pay cash as quickly as 7 days from making an offer for your house in Vancouver or the Tri-Cities without you having to spend any time or money to get it ready. You can simply sell your unwanted inherited home and go on with your life.
In Conclusion
If you inherited a property in Vancouver or the Tri-Cities and you want to turn it into some fast cash, there is no simpler or more hassle-free way than selling to Summit Development. Remember, there is never any obligation to receive an offer on your home, so there’s no reason to not at least find out what we’d offer – even if you think you may end up renting instead of selling. All you have to do is fill out the form on this site or call our offices at 360-667-5424 (Vancouver) or 509-591-9196 (Tri-Cities) to get started today.