Selling our own house can be a big enough challenge, with dealing with viewers, estate agents, solicitors and the costs. However, selling a parents’ house can be a massive undertaking – the emotional stress alongside all the other hassles. This article aims to step you through some of the options open to you when selling your mum or dad’s house.
Options to Sell you Parents’ House
There are different options to sell your mom and dad’s house. However, people don’t always realise the options available or the detail of each option. Here we try to lay this out clearly so you can make a choice about what is the best option for you.
Selling a Parents’ House Using Traditional Methods
The traditional method of selling a house is through an estate agent. Anyone that has bought or sold a house knows how this works and the services they offer. For those that have never sold through an estate agent, there are some basic things to keep in mind.
Your approach and the items that you will need to deal with will depend on your situation. If you are about to sell parents house after death, you may have more legal responsibilities to deal with through probate. If your Parents are still alive there are other legal issues and challenges that you may face, including understanding and obtaining a Power of Attorney. In either case you may chose to work with an real estate agent. If you do, here are some things that you will need to do:
- Pick an estate agency that has a good track record for selling homes in your area. It will be important because most likely you will want to try for a quick sale. But, at the same time you want the home to sell for what it is worth. This can be a challenge and you may want to consider which is the most important to you.
- You will need to make sure that you have time set aside – potentially months and years if you get the price wrong for the market. There will be viewings and its likely you will want to be in the home during this. If your parents are elderly it can be upsetting for them to have strangers come through their family home.
- If the house sells then you have all the legal aspects of the sale to attend to. The amount you will need to deal with often depends on the age and stability of your parents. There are also the range of legal requirements and responsibilities that you will need to attend to, often with these commencing before the sale.
How to Sell your Parents’ House yourself (For Sale by Owner)
When you decide to sell your mum and dads house it can be confusing with the range of options available to you (and for them). You may decide to sell your Parents’ house yourself. And learn the tactics and tricks that an estate agent has spent a career building. This is often the route taken by people who are selling on behalf of their parents or by using a Power of Attorney, as it means one less person to deal with and can be more comforting for your mom and dad. This can be the first method adopted by people wanting to sell parents house after death, before they realise what is involved. This creates even greater responsibility for you and is a significant emotional and financial investment; one that can take months or years to complete.
The first step will be to undertake market research to determine what the houses in the area are selling for. This research can take a long time to complete. It can be a daunting and worrying task because you won’t have the resources that the estate agent will have. It will mean looking for similar properties that are on the market, or have sold. Ensuring that the features of your Parent’s house are comparable with those that have sold to ensure the price is accurate. The wrong choice here can significantly impact the sale as too high and it can put off buyers.
You will need to take some photos and stage your Parents’ house. This can be really difficult if your Parents still live in the property. Photos are really important and you may need to spend money to buy a new camera, or hire a professional to take these for you.
You may decide to use an online site to sell your property. This can lead to lots of interest, but very few viewings and can be extremely frustrating. You will need to use as many resources and marketing channels to advertise the house as possible – especially if you are looking for a quick sale. Relying on just one resource can slow the process and limit the chance for the property to sell. You may decide to list in a local newspapers which can be expensive, or put out a private For Sale sign.
Preparing the house for viewings and undertaking these viewings will be the next stage. You will need to carefully schedule appointments, which will use up your free time on evenings and weekends. You do not want interested buyers coming to the door, especially if this is disturbing and distressing for your parents.
Finally if the house does sell you are going to be responsible for all the legalities. You will need to arrange solicitors or take the chance of drafting sales contracts and dealing with the transfer of the property through the Land Registry. This can be costly and time consuming.
Getting the House Ready for Sale
One of the largest tasks, regardless of the way in which the property is sold, is getting the property ready for sale. This means inspecting the home and listing all of the repairs that are required. Its important that you do this, as any buyer will have the property surveyed, and the surveyor will spot all of the issues. You will then need to resolve any issues that are highlighted, making any repairs listed. Otherwise most likely a proposed sale will not go through
A Third Option to Sell your Parents’ House
While the first two options are available there is a third option. For those that have the sell parents house this option often proves to be the most viable. It is to sell to a cash buyer. There are a range of advantages and benefits of choosing this route, including:
- There are no estate agents to deal with;
- There are no inconveniences of multiple property viewings;
- There are no piles of paperwork and contracts to deal with;
- There is no waiting for weeks or months hoping the house will sell;
- There is no need to do repairs which could end up being extremely expensive and disruptive to your Parents;
- The legal work is minimal and you will be guideded through this;
- no estate agents commissions; and,
- There are no disappointments of the sale falling through.
For those whose parents are still living, a fast cash sale can help them get settled into a new place quickly and without the months of disruption that a traditional sale can cause. For those that have to sell their parents’ house after death you can quickly release the money locked in the home, which can help deal with the expenses of probate, funeral costs and any outstanding debts. Out of all the options to sell a parents home, this one is by far the quickest, easiest and hassle free method.
Sell Your Parents’ House for Cash Today
You don’t need to stress about how to sell your parents’ house. If you need to sell it today, don’t face the burden of selling yourself or via a traditional estate agent. We understand that you need to sell your parents house as soon as possible, and that the house selling process is stressful and expensive. At K&G Lettings Limited, we specialise in buying houses quickly and without hassle. This removes the emotional and financial hassles that come with selling your parents’ home, ensuring you and your siblings can move on to the other more important things in life.
Do you have a question about the house selling process? Do you want to get your no obligation cash offer for your parents’ house? If YES, fill out the form below.
Even if you don’t decide to sell, we’d love to answer any questions you might have. Give us a call today on 01482 961961.
The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.
