Closing out home of loved one after move to assisted living, advice?

My husband and I spent a number of months cleaning up my dads house and moving things to mini storage that needed to be gone through later. He never threw away a piece of paper and as his legal conservator, I'm still sorting through all of this to be sure I keep 7 years of tax returns, etc. Once we had everything out and moved to nini storage that myself or siblings could possibly want, we hired an estate sale company to do the rest. Dad had a couple workshops out back that the rats had moved into and they even cleaned those out for me because there was no way we were going to do that. They got top dollar for a lot of things and also sold both of my dads cars at far more than I would have asked.. They took everything out when the sale was done. Yes, they took a large amount of the proceeds from the sale but so worth it. They got far more than I would have. Wonderful people, too. I follow their sales here in town and have been to several. Dads house has been for sale for several months. We've dropped the price once but might do again soon. I had not planned on having it for sale this long. People have commented it needs updating - yes - but all doable while living there. An estate sale company was definitely the way to go for us.

The house will sell better if all of the personal items are cleared out. You can leave a few pieces of furniture in good condition for staging purposes. Also hire a cleaning service to give it a thorough cleaning.

I agree with the Realtor. I am a referral agent also. I will also add if you can find a SRES, this agent specializes in working with seniors homes and seniors. They typically have estate firms, legal service experts, and they have empathy in these matters .

I am a Realtor. Please find a reputable estate company by asking your friends, etc. Yelp is not usually the best place to find that company as owners often post their own reviews. Same with a reputable, experienced, local real estate agent - ask around, do your own local research, etc. to find a good fit for you.

Selling a property "As Is" does NOT mean you leave everything in the house for someone else to deal with. "As Is" simply means that any inspections are for informational purposes only and the Seller(s) will not be making any repairs, etc.

You will also need proof that you're legally able to sell the house.

I'm a licensed Realtor in MD.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Good luck!

I sold my dad’s house first and then hired a local estate sale company recommended by the realtor. They come in take pictures and do the sales online and then everyone comes in on one day to take what they bought. Don’t expect to make any money. It’s mainly away to get rid of the stuff without it going to a landfill. Also, they won’t take everything. So expect to spend some time cleaning out the rest of the stuff and either donating it or throwing it away. Or you could hire one of the “junk” hauler companies to take it away. My dad didn’t have a lot of stuff so I left what he had in there while it was up for sale. It sold quickly. Once I had everything out I had the carpet professionally cleaned and cleaned the entire house myself. There were a few larger furniture items that the buyer wanted so that became part of the sale.

Contact someone from an estate sale company and have them do a sale. They'll go through everything, price it, and conduct the sale for a cut of the proceeds. (Check yelp.com for estate sales in your area.) Donate anything left over, and often the estate sale company will take care of getting that stuff out, too.

There may be a Realtor in the area who specializes in selling estates. (Check Yelp again for that.) This whole process can be much easier than you think.

You don’t leave a bunch of items and clutter for the new homeowner to get rid of! Are you serious? It’s the responsibility of the homeowner or POA to get the stuff out. My suggestion is after items wanted by his children are claimed, then hire a company to hold an estate sale. What doesn’t sell will be donated. Many estate companies have a relationship with a charity and they will haul it out and clean up. Then hire a realtor and get a contract. Get the home professionally cleaned. You can sell the house as is at this point but that must be spelled out in the contract.

Selling a home 'as is' when it's filled with personal belongings and 'stuff' is never a good idea and will intimidate and turn off a lot of buyers. It's never a recommendation to sell a house in that fashion as you'll likely realize a lot less that way.

EBTH only accepts items to auction off online if you live in Ohio, otherwise, they'll take 'smalls' when you box them up and ship them to their Ohio offices. If you live in Ohio, they'll send a truck to the house and load it up; but they're only looking for certain types of items in very good condition, etc. Check out their website at EBTH.com.

Your best bet is probably to hire a local estate sale company to come into the home and conduct a sale on the premises. Go to Estatesales.net and search out a local company who has good reviews on Yelp or Google, and they can conduct a 3 day sale and get rid of everything; whatever is left over they can hire a clean out company to cart it all away. They normally charge a 40% fee; they take 40% of what comes in, you get 60%. But they will organize, set up and price everything, you will do nothing. You'll also be advised to be out of the house while the sales take place. You will take out what you want to keep before the estate sale people come in, and they'll do the rest. Easy peasy.

Good luck!

It depends on your market and who you're trying to appeal to. It would probably be easier to sell empty, or with minimal furniture, unless you're looking to sell to a flipper.

The only reason I'd sell a property "as is" is if it's a falling down hoarder's mess that's sitting on a more valuable lot (we did this with an uncle's property).