If you’ve inherited a property and you’re planning to sell it, make sure you read this blog post for 3 tips about how to price your inherited house in the Bay Area for sale…
Did you inherit a property that you’re now thinking about selling? While an inherited property can be a wonderful gift from a loved one who has passed on, it can also be a costly burden. So selling it makes sense and allows you to use the gifted equity for some other purpose. But selling an inherited property may not come easy to you, especially if you haven’t sold a property in a while. So here’s how to price your inherited house for sale…
Tip #1: Price To Sell
Some people price their inherited property at an amount they think the market might pay for the house. However, there are many factors that go into this price and one of the biggest considerations is: how fast do you want to sell? Selling through an agent “on the market” can take months, and you’ll have to pay for the house and maintain the property the entire time. That can be costly and can eat into the higher price.
Many property owners quickly learn that they’re almost better off to price slightly lower for a faster sale… they might get less for the house but they also pay less on repairs, carrying costs, effort, and time, so it’s ultimately a trade-off that might turn out to be a total wash. Bay Area agents (the good ones) know that the best strategy is to price low and try to create a bidding war. If any agents says otherwise, please run!
Tip #2: Avoid Pricing Based On Fond Memories Or Emotion
One of the biggest challenges that property owners of inherited property face when trying to price their property for sale is separating the happy memories from the true value of the house. The house might be worth a certain amount on the market but you may have such fond memories of growing up in the house or of happy times in the house that you accidentally use that emotion to increase the price. (This is VERY common.)
A better approach would be to work with a real estate company and find out what they can offer you, and recognize that the price might be lower than you were expecting… not because the house isn’t worth as much but because your wonderful memories have accidentally inflated the price!
Tip #3: Build In Discounts For Repairs
If you inherited the property from a loved one who had lived in the property for many years then you might find out that the property needs some repairs. You could choose to do this work yourself and then ask for a higher price but why do that when you could save yourself the time and effort (and what you’d have to pay for equipment, supplies, or a contractor) and instead just ask for less and give a “repair discount”. That way you avoid the hassle of the work, and you still come out the same financially.
Be honest with yourself about what condition the house is in. Compare it to other houses on the market that are close by, and similar in condition, size, bed/bath count and square footage. It doesn’t have to be exact, just note how other properties are discounted.
Summary
Follows those tips and you should be able to sell the house without issue. If you choose to skip the headache, we can help. Why not bypass all the work and cost of selling through an agent and instead get in touch with us today about selling your inherited property to us here at Skye Homes? Just call us at or click here and enter your information in the form.
