ARE YOU PREPARING TO SELL YOUR PARENT’S HOME?[1]? © 2013 by SELL YOUR PARENT’S HOME?[1]? © 2013 by

Selling Your Parent’s Home and What needs to be in play[2]
	At home /Invalid	Assisted Living Facility	Parents Deceased
Attorney	X	X	X
Realtor®	X	X	X
The Will	-----	-------	X
Homeowner’s Insurance	X	X	X
Flood Insurance	X	X	X
Liens/Judgments	X	X	X
Repairs	X	X	X
Siblings	X	X	X
SS#’s	X	X	X

The above table indicates the areas of importance as it relates to the marketing of your parent’s home.   Just know that this is an anticipated direction as it relates to your parent’s home should you and your family members find yourself in this position.  It may not be you specifically that will obtain this valuable information, but know that if it isn’t you, that a sibling or trusted family member is taking the time to minimize the challenges of selling the family home.  Why this information at this time?                    

Oh no, not Hurricane Katrina again?

It has been almost 8 years since Hurricane Katrina and there are still life lessons that have yet to come to the top that many homeowners will need to benefit from, or teach.  As a Real Estate professional, my colleagues and I have seen a very unfortunate set of events after Hurricane Katrina when it came to family members trying to sell the homes of their parents, grandparents and the like.  The problem that many family members faced had to do with not being able to sell the homes or get funding to repair the homes because their family members had passed and there had been no will, or no succession. 

As agents, when we tried to assist family members in the sale of those homes, critical information was not available not only in the ability to list for us, but for title companies as well in terms of conducting successions on family members who had perhaps passed as recently as the storm in 2005, or as far back as we knew, 1965 (Hurricane Betsy is my point of reference).  The number of family members who had lived in a given house, even though it had been destroyed was untraceable, or undetectable because in several cases, we were dealing with 3^rd or 4^th generations of family members who had lived in the family home and who had moved on without so much as an indication of who were the survivors that could help in tracing back the ownership.

This posting may help in the uneventful replication of such an event, but more so, even under ordinary circumstances in which, God forbid, that we loose our parents.  The truth of the matter is, is that we take the necessary precautions to obtain and store the necessary documentation to allow for other family members to properly handled the family estate.  If not, what happens?

See An Attorney

Before my attorney colleagues file a brief, a lawsuit or whatever it is they do when they are bored and believes someone is treading in their area of expertise, let me emphasize the need to consult with a legal representative.  What doesn’t happen in the State of Louisiana when there is no Will, is that no one is going to sell the family estate.  When an issue involving the home occurs, you most likely will want to speak to a (real estate) or title attorney.  He/She is able to give you a great overview of what is vital to securing your family’s home in terms of a succession, or ensuring that there is a will for your parents if they are still of sound mind.  As a matter of fact, you may want to consider doing one for yourself while you have the attorney’s attention.

Summary

If your parent(s) are unable to assist

1.             Important papers- Will(s); homeowner’s insurance; flood insurance; life insurance; mortgage papers, and/or other important papers for filing;

2.             Contact a title attorney to obtain legal counseling if your parents have passed and you are in need of having a succession filed;

3.             If there is no will, the title attorney will advise of your options (LA only);

4.             Determine if the family home has any outstanding liens (succession may reveal this, but check with real estate attorney or title attorney to be sure;

5.             Any repairs that may appear to be needed on the home should be evaluated against the value of the home.  Here we suggest getting an Appraisal or having a Realtor ® conducting a Comparative Market Analysis to determine the potential value of the home. (For example, if a house is only valued at $40,000 and the potential repairs total $29,000, then it is up to the family/you to decide if a repair will be worth the investment;

6.             Unless you are an only child, siblings aren’t always willing to cooperate with one another and may cause a tremendous delay in settling the estate of the family.  This may happen if one sibling who had perceived that attention was never directed their way and, out of spite, tries not to participate in helping to file a succession.  It may help if the attorney speaks directly to that sibling in order to keep the process moving along;

7.             Social Security numbers are often asked for by the attorney in order to help locate an unaccounted for sibling or to see if there are any other offspring who may need to be aware of the status of the family home.

Conclusion

It will never be easy to process the loss of family members.  My condolences to anyone whose parents are incapacitated or has lost their parent(s) and are now, having to face selling the family home.  It is a very difficult task.  From selling and donating their parents’ belongings, finding old family pictures, going through old papers, are just doing that final sweep of the home, it is never easy.  This is why, as an offspring, you embrace, or ensure that you have as many independent partners as possible in your decisions to sell the family home.  The less attached they are to your choices, the more objective their advice.  But, you still want someone who is compassionate and empathetic to your challenges and/or loss.  From an attorney, to an appraiser, to a real estate professional, and others, bringing together professionals who respect what you are going through and what you are trying to do is extremely important.  You don’t want to have to worry about someone trying to take advantage of your situation.  So, you may also want to seek the advice of other family members and friends in terms of referrals as to who could be a big help to you during these very emotional times.  Good luck and best wishes.

Disclaimer:  No information provided here should be considered as legal advice, please consult with your respective attorneys or related professionals for advice concerning your finances, etc.  All information provided here is deemed to be from reliable sources, but not guaranteed. This blog is not attempt to solicit the business of any brokerage or agent.

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[1] Short Sale- http://homebuying.about.com/od/4closureshortsales/a/shortsalebasics.htm

[2] This table nor any information included in this posting should be considered legal advice.  Information provided while deemed to be from reliable sources is not guaranteed.  Please consult your attorney for legal advice.