How do I go about selling my Dads home myself?

My sister and I will have to sell my dads house because he has passed away and my mom is in a nursing home now. We don't have much time because we will have to use the money from the house to pay her nursing home bill. Any suggestions or web sites to help us to sell this ourselves? Or is it better to get a real estate agency in on this. The house is free of liens and paid off years ago. Any suggestions will help as I don't know where to begin. Thanks.

You may want to consult an attorney if the house is now in Mom's name since your Dad passed away. You may need "power of attorney" to be in charge of disposing of your Mom's property, since she is still alive.. If the house is not in her name but one of siblings, or all, then you or they have the right to sell the home.. You can try going it alone. Real Estate Agencies will charge a fee (commission) if and when they sell the house. The commission can be negotiated by the seller most times. So just don't assume that it's 6 or 7% and leave it at that.. That would be the percentage of the entire amount the house sells for. No charge or fee to list, only when and if it sells. You would be signing a contract with the Agency so that they only, can have rights to try to sell for at least 3 months. Then it usually goes into Multiable Listings and other agencies can try to sell it as well. When sold, and if not by the listing agent, then they split the commission 60/40. Most goes to realty person who sold and the lesser amount goes to the listing agent. By going with a Realty Agency, you get more advertising, they push your house (to make that commission) and they say they screen potential buyers so that they only show your house to those who can afford it.. That's not really completely true, but they do show the house and make appointments directly with persons. You will be on call to let them in at whatever time of day or reasonable hour of nite. You can have an Agency intall a "Lock Box", which they have a key to. Then they come and go with prospects when you're not home. If home is unoccupied, this would be the best way to do it then.. It's hard to try to sell "by owner". You have to advertise, show the house yourself, and be prepared for just "sight seeers" who will waste your time looking. You also would be bombarded with questions regarding the house, since potential buyers love to ask the home's owner why they're selling and what's wrong with the house.. Also, you would want to be available at all times so as not to lose a potential buyer. You would not have to fork out a commission tho when and if the house sells.. It is really sad that a house must be sold to pay a nursing home bill..This is the way it goes tho since Medicare only pays up to a point.. If it's long term then any assets the person has, such as a home, will have to be sold in order to pay the bill. When the person has no assets left, then it will be paid by medicare. But usually older people collect Social Security, and that must go for the bills as well. That doesn't leave anything for the kids or relatives to inherit. Sad.. Sorry for you all and best wishes.. Hope this helped a bit.. :-) Sources: I once sold my home through a realtor, and my uncle was a Realtor for years.

I'm not sure why you would want to sell it yourselves except to TRY to make more money.
This isn't a sales pitch but fact, you will most likely net more if you hire a real estate professional to sell it rather than doing it yourself.
I know several reasons why you shouldn't but to keep it short I'll give you one obvious one now. For sale by owner shoppers are looking to save money. They know you aren't paying commission and probably don't know how to structure a deal so they will offer less than market price and ask for more concessions.
Another thing, do you have the time to do it? A good real estate agent makes it look easy but there is a lot to it. Probably more than you realize, unless you are in a related field.
Good luck.

Yes you can sell it yourself. List it on MLS and you will have to pay a buyers agent 2 1/2 to 3%. Its much better than the 6-7% agents ask for. There are many websites who list on mls for a flat fee.

It's easier and better to hire an agent.

Assuming you are legal owner of the real estate there are 3 options available:
1. Sell the house yourself. Start with the internet for comps in your neighborhood.
2. Contact a realtor.
3. Rent the house to help pay for the nursing home bills.

If the house is sold, there MAY be capital gains tax issues to consider. Consult with a real estate tax attorney.

If you don't want to pay a realtor, you'd better use a lawyer to avoid BIG mistakes. Selling it yourselves may be hard in the current market. Good luck.

When you're looking for BIG, BIG, HUGE trouble, go ahead - sell the home yourself!

To begin with, you don't know how to qualify a buyer, do you?

Have you ever heard of "specific performance"?

Selling the property yourself is the first step to HUMONGOUS, GIGANTIC time-consuming AND money-eating problems - YOUR problems!

For the amount you would "save" on commissions, you're taking a big chance to tie-up the property for months or even years! Meanwhile, taxes and mortgage payments continue to demand to be paid OR you could get yourself into a deeper hole.

You have other alternatives:
1] List the property with the busiest
Realtor/real estate agent in the area where the property is located.
2] Look into selling the property through one of those companies which charges a flat fee for helping folks sell their properties/homes.
3] Retain the services of a real estate lawyer.
Not just any lawyer, but an attorney who knows real estate law in your state and the municipality where the property is.

Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it!

VTY,
Ron Berue
Yes, that is my real last name!

Don't Do It ... without a Lawyer.

Family should try and discuss over as a family

First of all, you need to speak with a probate attorney.

If you intent on selling the house, the next person to talk to would be a Title Insurance representative.

It wasn't really made clear in your question but one thing you'll need to get an answer to is this-who owns the house? Just because the house is paid off doesn't mean you have the authority to sell it.

Assuming someone gets a loan to buy it, if you live in a Title Insurance state, the Lender will require Title Insurance. The Title Insurance company will not give title insurance unless there is a clear chain of title.

I hate to group all people together but many times attorneys will charge really high fees to fix problems that can be easily fixed other ways. Ironically, many times, the chain of title can be resolved through the sale and Title Insurance companies are experts at this.

I hope this helps.

Wow! To my knowledge most states cannot take your home or car. Maybe they (the nursing home) mislead you. Seriously, check it out. Talk to several attorneys for a free consultation and/or just return his bills as "deceased." They'll get the message: you can squeeze water out of a rock.

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