I inherited a house. How do I sell it?

We just sold our home to our nephew, a little below market value--but not much.

He bought it 'as is' after inspecting it himself and signing off that he was fine with any and all 'issues'. He spent a great deal of time in his life in this house and was already very emotionally attached to it.

We used the same realtor, my SIL who represented both of us.

We encouraged our buyer to get a new homeowner's insurance policy, as we didn't want to be hearing about problems 6 months from now. I don't know if he did or didn't do that. We have closed on both homes and will be moving as soon as our new home is fully remodeled. Nephew is anxious to move in, but I need to keep reminding him that we NEVER set a move-out, move in date and he needed to be flexible and patient.

There have been some issues--dealing with family is always hard. He was making some noise about us paying him rent--but our loan was not written with that clause. We want out as badly as he wants in. I had my SIL talk to nephew and point out to him he was getting a bonus of a brand new w/d combo worth 2K and we don't have to leave those, but they are too big for the small laundry room. We could have added them into the sale, but instead, gifted them. Along with a lot of yard tools and such....All told, about 5K worth of tools, furniture and appliances.

Buyer is just a kid (well, 30 isn't a kid anymore, is it?) and he is super anxious.

DH has been sketchy since we got the offer from nephew--but to me? It's WORTH the small amount of $$ we 'lost' as we do not have to deal with strangers and I am happy to have someone I love in this home where I raised 5 babies!

OF COURSE we will have some 'moments'. Real estate is a very emotional business, I'm finding. We didn't feel we were 'feathering our nest' nor did we feel we were ripping our nephew off. I just want good feelings, in the end, and I think we will have them.

Hmmm...I don't know a lot about the ins and outs of real estate...
When it was time to sell my parents house for their care a family member approached me and asked if I would consider selling the house to one of her children well below market value. The house was perfect for them and the neighborhood was where they wanted to live. I said "No, I am here to get the best price for the house. My parents will need very dollar." Next week it was like a stranger appeared the house that was perfect was suddenly not worth mentioning and not worthy of her child. I got to see a different side of family members. I haven't forgotten. I would not sell to second cousin below FMV.
NO WAY. Your Dad left YOU that house for your benefit. Feather your own nest.
Second cousin is a bit of an opportunist. Beware!

You have 2 different but interrelated issues going on…. 1. Having what’s needed to legally transfer ownership on real property & 2. Dealing with someone who wants to buy at less than FMV.

On #2, You have gotten an appraisal done, correct?
if so that’s a legal document & an accurate valuation on the specific home. It is totally considered FMV / Fair Market Value. As such, it can be legitimately sold at that price.

appraisal takes into account items of concern on the property. Like age of the roof; if not renovated; what type of water & sewer services, etc and all this factors into what they determine is the appraised value on the property as it currently is. Appraisal is an “as is” valuation. That appraiser is registered with the state & licensed. You don’t need to second guess as to what the value is yourself, that’s why an appraiser was used. The appraised value was more than likely entered into probate to establish a dollar amount for an asset (house) of the estate. Actually entire appraisal document could have been entered by executor. End result is that a probate judge signed off accepting this as a legitimate value as to assets of the estate and allowed it to be distributed as per the terms of the will.

You DO NOT have to sell it for less

That cousin of yours wants to buy it for less, he’s being shrewd and it is not necessarily to your benefit. Again You as the owner DO NOT have to sell it for less that appraised value.

On #1, so you have not gotten the ownership transferred into your name? So what exactly is happening for probate? Is this traditional full probate, so there is an executor appointed and they have gone thru the asset / debt determinations and there was an actual distribution done & orders signed off on by the estate? If so, you should be able to take those orders and go to the county courthouse to get a transfer of Deed of Trust done. If you have orders, a good Real Estate atty can draw up what’s legit for your state and get it all ready for you for a very reasonable rate. You can also go the title company route as they have atty in house to get both a lien search done and get the paperwork done and they will take care of the transfer of ownership to you.

Or was probate done via small estate affidavit or done via Muniment of title? county courthouse website should have details as to just how to file and what’s needed to file to get a transfer done.

Whatever the case, you can & should get get the transfer done so that the property is in your name now. This way you can sell it whether to cousin next week or put it on the market with a Realtor listing.

Regarding that cousin, if he want to 100% spend his own $ to hire an inspector and hire an appraiser and get estimates from licensed and registered plumbers / electricians / roofers etc to get a new figures, that’s your decision to allow. But he has to realize that you DO NOT have to sell it to him based on those figures AND he has to pay for all costs to get this done. Again you have an appraisal & you can go an get a Realtor to list the property to sell it. If the comparables in the area are way over appraised value of house, it’s gonna sell even if it’s needing work done. In current market in most parts of the US, a property would have to be on a city / county demolition by neglect blight list not to sell at a premium nowadays. Realtor commission is just 3% and a good Realtor will know how to move an “as is” property. You just have to make it clear that owner will not be doing any repairs or renovations EVER to sell. If your real estate market doesn’t have much inventory, a good Realtor can get it so that all closing costs shift to the buyer. Really paying just a 3% commission to an experienced Realtor is beyond well worth it.

He should have the house inspected if he likes for his own peace of mind.
However, you can tell him you are selling the house “as is”. That is an acceptable real estate transaction and means you have no intention of making repairs or updates as your price reflects the “as is” condition.

Once you have agreed upon the price, you can set up escrow with a title company. They can provide the necessary documents, title insurance, etc.
Ask the title company which of their expenses are typically yours as the seller and which are your cousins as the buyer. This also can be negotiated between you and cousin. Remember that as much as you want to sell, this is a sellers market. If cousin doesn’t appreciate your terms, there will be others who will.

Cousin is doing his part in trying to get the best deal he can. You must do your part and hold fast to what you want to sell for and under what terms. Keep it simple and clear and friendly. My sister said once “cousins are a comfort”.

What he wants to do is get the house inspected because it does have a few issues and take the repair cost off the sale of the house as i do not want to spend the money to fix it.

Plus it is dated not sure if that should be taken off the sale price since that is a matter of opinion. I have already had it appraised.

The appraiser told me he counts what is wrong with the house when he comes up with a price so i'm unsure what to do if a inspector says it will cost $50k to fix.

I have been paying tax, utility bills, insurance on a empty house plus my own so it is money down the drain.

Thanks for the help.

Inherited a house from my dad that deed was in his name. His brother wanted to purchase. Lawyer transferred to uncle's name. Check was made payable to dad's estate and the funds were distributed thru probate to me. Very easy and low cost.
I emptied the house completely. Followed local regulations for termite inspection. Also got a home inspection done to assure there were no mechanical problems.

Just buy some time from a real estate attorney to draw up the contracts and advise you on the deed specifics.

Make sure your cousin's giving you a fair price, too.

Ask Cousin if he/she can dispose of the big stuff, or pay someone to haul it away.