If you’ve inherited a house in Huntington Beach or you’re responsible for selling a property held in a trust, you may be looking at a home that hasn’t been updated in years and wondering where to begin.
Should you clean it out and sell it as-is? Make some repairs? Remodel the kitchen and bathrooms? Would spending $25,000, $50,000 or more actually result in enough additional value to make it worthwhile?
Before spending money on an inherited property, one of the most valuable things you can do is have the home evaluated in its current condition.
We’re Craig and Manon Yeager with Team Yeager Real Estate! We are experienced Huntington Beach realtors who specialize in selling trust sale homes. We can evaluate the property, look at recent Huntington Beach sales and help you compare what the home could reasonably sell for as-is versus after repairs or improvements.
There is no obligation to renovate first, and there is no one answer that works for every property. The goal is to understand the numbers before making the decision.
Option 1: Selling an Inherited Huntington Beach Home As-Is
Selling as-is is often worth considering when a home has been owned by the same family for many years.
It may have an original kitchen, older bathrooms, dated flooring, deferred maintenance or simply need a significant amount of cosmetic updating.
For a trustee or beneficiaries, taking on a renovation can mean hiring contractors, making design decisions, overseeing work and continuing to carry the property for weeks or months.
If family members live outside Huntington Beach, managing that process can become even more difficult.
An as-is sale can eliminate much of that work.
And importantly, selling as-is does not necessarily mean giving the property away.
Huntington Beach has buyers who specifically look for homes they can renovate themselves. Depending on the neighborhood, lot, floor plan and location, an older home may still have significant value in its current condition.
This is why we recommend getting an evaluation before automatically assuming a property needs to be remodeled.
Option 2: Make Strategic Improvements Without Remodeling Everything
Sometimes the best answer is somewhere in the middle.
A home may not need a $100,000 renovation to make a better impression on buyers. A smaller amount spent in the right places may make the property cleaner, brighter and easier to market.
Depending on the home, worthwhile preparation could include:
- Removing excess belongings and furniture
- Professional cleaning
- Fresh interior paint
- Landscaping and exterior cleanup
- Replacing badly worn carpet
- Repairing leaking fixtures
- Replacing broken or noticeably dated light fixtures
- Addressing obvious deferred maintenance The important word here is strategic.
If you are preparing to sell an inherited house, you don’t necessarily want to repair everything that could possibly be repaired. You want to understand which improvements are likely to matter to buyers and which ones probably won’t change the eventual sale price enough to justify the expense.
A local Huntington Beach real estate agent should be able to help you identify that difference.
Option 3: Renovate Before Selling
A full renovation can sometimes produce a substantially higher sale price.
But a higher sale price doesn’t always mean more money for the trust or beneficiaries. Suppose an inherited home could sell for $1,200,000 in its current condition and potentially
$1,350,000 after renovation.
At first glance, renovating may appear to create an additional $150,000 in value. But what if the renovation costs $100,000?
What if it takes four months?
What about insurance, utilities, property taxes, maintenance and other carrying costs during that time?
And what happens if the finished property ultimately sells for less than expected? Those are the numbers that matter.
Before committing to a major renovation, we believe trustees and families should have a realistic estimate of the home’s current as-is value, potential improved value and approximate cost of getting from one to the other.
Some Improvements Add More Value Than Others
Another reason to evaluate the property first is that buyers don’t value every improvement equally.
A seller can spend a significant amount of money making changes that reflect their personal taste but don’t necessarily increase the home’s value by the same amount.
This can be especially important with inherited properties.
If you have never lived in the home yourself, you may feel pressure to make it look completely updated before putting it on the market. That isn’t always necessary.
Sometimes buyers would rather purchase the home at an appropriate price and select their own flooring, countertops, cabinets and finishes.
Other times, relatively simple improvements can dramatically change how buyers perceive a property.
Knowing which situation you’re dealing with can potentially save a significant amount of money.
The Huntington Beach Neighborhood Matters
There isn’t one renovation formula that applies to every Huntington Beach property. Buyer expectations can vary depending on where the home is located.
A property near Downtown Huntington Beach or the beach may be evaluated differently than a home in another Huntington Beach neighborhood. Lot size, floor plan, proximity to the coast, school boundaries, street location and surrounding homes can all influence what buyers are willing to pay.
This is where working with Huntington Beach real estate agents who know the local market becomes particularly valuable.
Rather than looking only at a broad online estimate, we can look at what comparable homes have actually sold for and, importantly, how their condition compares with yours. This can help you make your own, educated decision.
What If the Home Is Held in a Trust?
When someone passes away and their property is held in a trust, a successor trustee may become responsible for handling the home according to the trust and applicable law.
From a practical standpoint, that can mean dealing with much more than a traditional home sale.
There may be decades of belongings to sort through. Family members may live in different states. Multiple beneficiaries may be involved. The property may require ongoing maintenance while decisions are being made.
For some families, simplifying the real estate portion of the process becomes a priority.
If you’re preparing for a trust sale in Huntington Beach, you don’t need to have the property cleaned out, repaired or remodeled before contacting us.
We would actually prefer to see the home before you begin spending money.
That gives us an opportunity to evaluate its current condition and help you understand which preparation may be worthwhile.
What About an Inherited Property Going Through Probate?
Not every inherited home is held in a trust.
Some properties may be part of a probate estate, and the process for selling them can be different depending on the circumstances.
If you’re handling a probate home sale in Huntington Beach, it is important to work with the appropriate attorney and other professionals to understand the estate’s requirements and your authority to sell the property.
We are real estate professionals, not attorneys, so we do not provide legal or probate advice.
What we can do is help with the real estate side of the decision: evaluating the property, reviewing comparable sales, discussing its condition and helping you understand how buyers may respond to the home as it currently sits.
Before You Spend Money, Find Out What the Home Is Worth
If you’re unsure whether to sell an inherited home as-is or improve it first, start by answering three questions:
What could the property reasonably sell for today?
What improvements, if any, would likely make a meaningful difference?
After paying for those improvements, would the potential increase in sale price actually be worth it?
This is where a property evaluation can be particularly helpful.
Online home estimates can’t walk through an older kitchen, see the condition of a roof, understand how a floor plan feels or recognize that a particular Huntington Beach street or lot may command a premium.
A property needs to be considered as a whole.
Request an Evaluation of Your Inherited Huntington Beach Property
If you’ve inherited a house in Huntington Beach, are serving as a trustee, or are helping your family determine what to do with a property after a death, contact Team Yeager at (714) 724-2872 before making expensive repairs or renovations.
We can evaluate the property in its current condition and provide a realistic perspective on:
- Its potential as-is market value
- How it compares with recent Huntington Beach sales
- Which repairs or improvements may be worthwhile
- Which improvements may not be worth the expense
- How different preparation strategies could affect the property’s marketability There is no need to clean up the house before we see it.
There is no need to remodel it first.
And if the property hasn’t been updated in 30 years, that’s okay. We want to see it exactly as it is.
Our job is to help you understand your options so you can make an informed decision about what makes the most sense for the property and the people involved.
If you’re searching for Huntington Beach CA Realtors, a realtor Huntington Beach families can turn to for an inherited property, or experienced realtors Huntington Beach CA, Team Yeager Real Estate is available to help you start with an evaluation and a clear understanding of the property’s current market position.
Team Yeager Real Estate Huntington Beach, California TeamYeagerRealEstate.com
This article is provided for general informational purposes only. Team Yeager Real Estate and its agents are not attorneys, tax professionals or estate-planning professionals. Nothing in this article should be considered legal, tax, probate or estate-planning advice. Trustees, beneficiaries, executors and property owners should consult the appropriate qualified professionals regarding their individual circumstances.
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