Case 17- I think I can sell my house in Warner Robins for more.
Even through the covid-19 pandemic, there are people that have real estate problems that have to be dealt with. One issue that will not wait for the Coronavirus to stop is Death of a loved one. Probating a house from another state is hard enough, but completing a probate during Covid-19 is a nightmare. Yet, even thru all that headache, some people are willing to make it harder on themselves than it needs to be by holding out for more.
Selling a Warner Robins house in Probate
Just as the coronavirus was starting to take hold in Warner Robins Georgia, we had the chance to meet with a brother of a retired military man that had passed away. He was just starting the probate process and needed to sell his brother’s house here in Warner Robins Georgia.
Right after meeting the brother, covid-19 forced all of Warner Robins into a “lock down”. Courts, schools and other government offices were closed to the general public and we were forced to wait on processing his brother’s estate.
Once the courts opened back up three months later to limited access and online business over webinars, the brother was able to get sworn in as Administrator. He could finally deal with the estate and start processing his brother’s assets, including the house.
Time to sell this inherited house
Now, we are ready to buy his house in probate and perform our inspection. We ran the numbers and sent him an offer to get this house in probate sold and out of the estate. We contacted the brother and went over the offer and sent it to him over an online signing program to review and sign.
With certain contingencies, we were able to offer almost full ARV (After Repaired Value) price for the house minus the cost of repairs. The house required complete replacement of flooring, fence repairs, some lighting fixture replacements, full repaint and there was evidence of termite damage. We were also taking the house as-is and paying the closing costs. All the seller had to do was sign.
The problem with selling an inherited house
A couple days later, he contacted us about the offer to buy the house in probate. After talking to the rest of the family that were inheriting from the estate (more specifically, the mom), they decided they could get more for the house. They wanted to put the house on the market to see what they could get.
Our offer included a layout of where the money was going to go. Part of the money we were offering was going to them, but most of the money was going to pay off the loan on the house. When I mentioned how much they were actually getting in their pocket, the whole atmosphere changed. They did not like how little they were getting for the sale of the brother’s house.
It seemed as if they didn’t understand that even though the borrower is deceased, the loan balance on the house still has to be paid off. I’m glad this is not the old days, when the bringer of bad news could be beheaded.
Know the numbers of your inherited house
Here is a basic reminder of the costs of selling any house.
Example Sales price- $140,000
Mortgage payoff Balance- $105,000
Cost of repairs- $15,000
Realtors commission (6%)- $8400
Total in your pocket- $11,600
This does not include the closing costs because that can be negotiable. Repairs are going to get paid by someone. Few people are going to pay full price for a house and then pay for repairs on top of that.
We were buying the house directly from them, so there were no agent costs. This allowed us to offer a little more for the Warner robins house. If they decide to go with an agent, this will be subtracted from their “take home” as well.
When you sell a house in probate, make sure you run the numbers and know the value of what your selling. This way, you won’t waist time turning down a good offer.