Americans spend around $2 billion per year dealing with probate.
If a deceased loved one leaves you their home, it’s not always a good thing and it’s even worse when there’s no clear will involved. Dealing with a home in probate can take up a lot of time and cost a lot of money. You may be wondering what your options are before things get too messy.
Everyone has responsibilities when a loved one passes away, but you can’t let something like this hurt you financially. Fortunately, selling a house in probate is both possible and can be simple. In today’s post, we’ll take a step-by-step look at the process of selling a house in probate.
Keep reading and we’ll lay out your options for handling this tricky situation.
What Are the Phases of Probate Inheritance?
Probate is the term for the process of going through a deceased person’s assets and determining inheritors. If there’s a will, the named executor looks at its authenticity and validity.
If there isn’t one, an executor is chosen to pay the deceased’s liabilities and distribute the remaining assets to beneficiaries. This is called a probate. There are essentially three phases of probate inheritance involving numerous parties.
The main people involved are the probate attorney, the probate realtor, and the executor. In the first phase, you gather all the necessary documents to prepare for probate while the attorney deals with the court.
The second phase involves all of the administration. This involves dissolving the decedent’s estate, settling their debts, and distributing the remaining property, finances, and real estate. The final stage involves doing the final accounting and closing the estate.
If it sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. It helps to have quality professionals around to help you navigate the process, but the more you can take off your plate, the better.
Who Owns a House During Probate?
The actual ownership of your loved one’s house might seem a bit cloudy during probate, but it’s very cut and dry. Without a will, ownership of the property is transferred to the executor to care for throughout the process.
If there’s a clear will, ownership can be transferred to the heir. Getting the property may require the heir to pay fees for taxes and liens, which can delay the process. It’s not uncommon for an heir to sell the home in order to avoid having to pay these fees.
If you end up inheriting a home you don’t want, you can avoid the probate process by selling it as soon as possible. This too may seem like a complicated task, but it doesn’t have to be when you sell to a cash home buyer.
Selling a House in Probate Fast
One way to nip probate in the bud is to sell the home quickly to a cash buyer. Once you’ve got cash for the unwanted home, you can simply divide it up among the beneficiaries, if there are any.
You may be wondering why you’d want to do this while you’re navigating the complicated legal process of probate. The main benefit of selling the home is that it will save you a lot of money.
Selling the home relieves you of any maintenance duties. Cash buyers look for homes in any condition, so if your loved one’s home is in disrepair, you’ll still get a fair offer for it.
It’s also important to remember you have to pay everyone involved with the probate process. Legal fees are always expensive and your probate realtor will get somewhere between 4-7% of the real estate price. Selling to a cash buyer negates all of these costs.
The Cash Buyer Process, Explained
At ibuyhomes.com, we understand how daunting probate is. We’ve worked with countless clients to unburden them of these lengthy legal proceedings.
We’re not lawyers, but we can make a quick purchase of the home so you can avoid the fees discussed above. In certain cases, we can even complete the transaction before the house clears probate.
All you need to do is fill out our secure online form. Once we have a bit more information, we’ll take a look at the home and the local market to determine a fair cash offer. Our cash offers are always no-obligation, so if you’d rather proceed with probate, that’s totally fine.
Should you accept the offer, we can close on the house in a matter of days. With probate, it can sometimes take a bit longer due to the legal implications. That said, we’ll work with the probate court to make sure the sale goes through as quickly as possible.
Finding the Right Cash Buyer
The idea of cash home buyers scares a lot of people away. Our industry has been somewhat tarnished by unprofessional companies and scammers trying to take advantage of homeowners. Finding the right cash buyer is a matter of reputation, which is why we’re a top cash buyer in the country.
For over two decades, we’ve been successfully helping homeowners in difficult financial situations sell their real estate. Check our our reviews to see what others are saying!
Where we take the most pride, however, is in our clients’ happiness. Our goal is to get you the most possible money for your real estate, no matter where it is, what condition it’s in, or the reason for selling. Our many testimonials attest to the fact that we do business professionally and proactively.
ibuyhomes.com Can Help You Through Probate
Selling a house in probate isn’t just possible, it may very well be the best course of action. Dealing with a loved one’s estate after they’re gone is a complicated and unenviable task. You can simplify it by getting rid of the real estate and dividing up the cash rather than these real estate assets.
To make the process simple, contact us at ibuyhomes.com. As the nation’s top cash home buyer, we can confidently say we can help you through the probate process in a simple and effective way. We look forward to helping you with the process of selling your home!