Losing a loved one is difficult enough without suddenly having to make decisions about a home, personal belongings, paperwork, repairs and eventually a possible sale.
For many families, the family home is also one of the largest assets held in a trust. If you have recently lost a parent, spouse or other loved one and are now responsible for a property in Huntington Beach, you may have more questions than answers.
Does the home need to be sold? Should you clean it out first? Is it worth making repairs? Who should you speak with before putting the property on the market? What happens if several family members are involved?
You do not need to have all of those answers before speaking with a Realtor.
As Huntington Beach CA Realtors, our role as a husband-and-wife real estate team is specifically on the real estate side of the process: helping families understand the property’s current market value, evaluating its condition, discussing whether improvements are likely to make financial sense, preparing the property for market when appropriate, and ultimately handling the sale.
Questions involving the trust itself, a trustee’s legal authority or duties, taxes, or the legal requirements of a particular estate should be handled by the family’s attorney, CPA or other appropriate professional.
A Trust Sale Is Not Necessarily the Same as Probate
One of the first things families often discover is that a trust sale and a probate sale are not necessarily the same thing.
When property has been properly placed into a living trust, a successor trustee can generally take over administration of the trust after the person who created the trust passes away.
Property held in a living trust can often be administered without the formal probate process. However, every trust and every family situation can be different.
If there is any question about whether a property is actually held in the trust, who has authority to act, what the trust requires, or whether probate is necessary, those questions should be answered by a qualified California trust or estate attorney.
From a real estate standpoint, Craig and I can work alongside the family’s attorney, escrow and title professionals once the appropriate person has the authority to move forward with the property.
You Don’t Have to Empty the House Before Calling a Realtor
This is something we wish more families knew.
You do not need to completely clean out a loved one’s home before asking a real estate professional to look at it.
A home that has been occupied for 30, 40 or even 50 years can contain an enormous amount of belongings. Going through everything can take weeks or months, and it can be one of the most emotional parts of the process.
Before hiring contractors, ordering dumpsters or spending thousands of dollars preparing the house, consider having an experienced Huntington Beach real estate agent evaluate the property in its current condition.
There is nothing embarrassing about showing us a house filled with belongings or one that hasn’t been updated in decades. We’ve seen homes in every condition.
More importantly, we understand that we’re not just walking into a property that needs to be sold. We’re walking into someone’s family home. There may be decades of memories attached to the house and everything inside it.
Craig and I believe families deserve patience during this process. We aren’t there to pressure someone into getting a home on the market as quickly as possible. Our job is to help you understand the real estate options in front of you, answer the questions that fall within our expertise, and give you the information you need to decide what makes sense for your family.
Seeing the property before work begins can also help us give you a clearer picture of which improvements might actually matter to buyers and which ones may not be worth the expense.
Should You Fix the House Before Selling It?
This is one of the biggest real estate decisions families face with an inherited property. The answer isn’t automatically yes.
Suppose a home hasn’t been remodeled in 30 years. It can be tempting to install a new kitchen, replace every bathroom, put in new flooring and try to transform the property before putting it on the market.
But the question shouldn’t simply be:
“Would this make the house look better?”
The better question is:
“Is the estate likely to get this money back when the home sells?”
Sometimes relatively modest improvements can make an enormous difference. Professional cleaning, removing excess belongings, improving landscaping, fresh paint or addressing obvious deferred maintenance may help buyers see the home’s potential without requiring a major renovation.
In other cases, particularly when substantial renovation is needed, selling the property in its current condition may make more financial sense.
Before a family commits significant money to improvements, we can provide a real estate analysis comparing the home’s likely value in its current condition with its potential value after specific improvements.
Understanding What the Huntington Beach Home Is Actually Worth
For many families, this is where the real estate portion of the process begins.
An inherited home may not have been sold for decades. The family may remember what neighboring homes sold for several years ago, see estimates online or hear very different opinions about what the property is worth.
Huntington Beach also isn’t one uniform real estate market.
Location, lot size, neighborhood, proximity to the beach, property condition, renovations, floor plan and current buyer demand can create substantial differences in value between homes.
When interviewing Huntington Beach real estate agents, families should look for more than the person willing to suggest the highest listing price.
A useful market evaluation should consider recent comparable sales, active competition, the condition of the property and the difference between renovated and original-condition homes.
We also believe families should understand why we are recommending a particular price or preparation strategy.
When multiple beneficiaries or family members are involved, having actual market data can make those conversations much easier.
What If Family Members Disagree About the House?
Real estate can become emotional under ordinary circumstances. After the loss of a loved one, those emotions can understandably be much stronger.
One family member may want to sell immediately. Another may believe the house should be renovated first.
Someone may want to keep the property because of its sentimental value.
Another family member may live outside California and have very little familiarity with the Huntington Beach market.
Questions about who has decision-making authority and what the trustee is legally required or permitted to do belong with the family’s attorney.
Our job as Realtors is different.
We can give the family objective information about the property. What are comparable homes actually selling for?
What is the home likely worth today? What might certain improvements cost?
How much additional value could those improvements realistically create? How long could preparing the property take?
What type of buyer is most likely to purchase it?
Providing that information gives the family something concrete to consider rather than making a major financial decision based entirely on emotion.
Trust Sales and California Real Estate Disclosures
Families are sometimes told that a trust sale means there are “no disclosures.”
We would be very careful with that statement.
California law provides exemptions from certain statutory disclosure requirements for some transfers by fiduciaries in the administration of a trust. However, exceptions exist, and a transaction that is exempt from one disclosure requirement may still be subject to other disclosure obligations.
Because the requirements depend upon the specific circumstances of the trust and transaction, we do not believe families should make assumptions about which disclosures apply.
As Realtors, we help coordinate the real estate transaction with escrow, title and the appropriate professionals and use the forms applicable to the transaction. Questions requiring interpretation of a trustee’s legal obligations should be directed to the family’s attorney.
There May Be Important Tax Questions Too
The sale of inherited real estate can also create tax questions.
For example, the tax basis of inherited property is generally determined differently from property the owner purchased themselves. Individual circumstances and exceptions can affect how that basis is ultimately calculated and what tax consequences may result from a sale.
There may also be questions involving capital gains, withholding, the trust itself and how proceeds are ultimately handled.
These are not questions we answer as Realtors.
We encourage families to speak with their CPA, tax professional or attorney about the tax consequences of their particular situation. From the real estate side, however, establishing the property’s market value and maintaining good records relating to the transaction can be important pieces of the overall process
A Good First Step: Understand the Property Before Making Big Decisions
If you have recently become responsible for a Huntington Beach property after losing a loved one, you don’t necessarily need to start by renovating or emptying the entire house.
From a real estate perspective, a sensible early step is simply gathering information. Have the property evaluated.
Understand what comparable homes are selling for.
Find out what buyers in today’s market are likely to value.
Get an idea of what the property could potentially sell for as-is versus after certain improvements.
Then you can discuss that information with your family and, where appropriate, your attorney and tax professional before deciding how to proceed.
Choosing a Realtor for a Trust Sale in Huntington Beach
If you’re searching online for a realtor Huntington Beach families can turn to after the loss of a loved one, we believe experience with the circumstances surrounding the property matters.
This isn’t simply another listing.
The home may contain decades of belongings. Family members may live in different states. The property may need repairs or extensive cleaning. Several people may be involved in the process, and the person responsible for the property may already have an overwhelming amount on their plate.
A Realtor assisting with this type of sale should be prepared to help coordinate the real estate portion of that process.
That can include evaluating the property, developing a preparation strategy, helping obtain estimates from appropriate vendors when needed, coordinating access to the home, communicating with escrow and title, marketing the property, negotiating offers and managing the transaction through closing.
Among the many realtors Huntington Beach CA families can choose from, we believe it’s important to find someone who understands that the goal isn’t simply to put a sign in the yard.
It’s to make the real estate portion of an already difficult situation as organized and manageable as possible.
You Don’t Need to Be Ready to Sell Before Talking to Us
If you’ve inherited a home or are responsible for a property held in trust, you are welcome to contact Craig and me before you’ve decided what to do with it.
The house doesn’t need to be cleaned. The belongings don’t need to be removed.
You don’t need to know whether you should renovate it.
And you don’t need to be ready to put it on the market.
We can simply walk through the property with you and provide our perspective as local Huntington Beach Realtors.
We know that inviting Realtors into a loved one’s home can feel like a very big step, particularly when the loss is recent. We don’t take that lightly. Craig and I want families to feel that they have someone on the real estate side who will listen, be patient and give them straightforward information without adding more pressure to an already difficult situation.
We’ll help you understand the property’s current condition, what we believe it could be worth in today’s market and which improvements, if any, we believe are worth considering from a resale perspective.
Then you and your family can make your decisions with better information and consult your attorney, CPA or other professionals regarding the legal and financial aspects that fall outside our role.
During a difficult time, sometimes knowing what doesn’t need to be done immediately can be just as valuable as knowing what does.
Important Disclaimer
Team Yeager Real Estate is a husband-and-wife real estate team of licensed real estate professionals. We are not attorneys, tax advisors or financial advisors. The information provided in this article is for general informational and real estate educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, tax or financial advice.
Trusts, estates and inherited properties can involve complex legal and tax issues, and every family’s circumstances are different. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as advice regarding the administration or interpretation of a trust, the legal duties or authority of a trustee, probate requirements, tax consequences or any other legal matter.
We encourage trustees, beneficiaries and families to consult with a qualified California trust or estate attorney, CPA and/or other appropriate professional regarding their specific circumstances. Our role as Realtors is limited to providing real estate services and guidance related to the potential preparation, marketing and sale of real property.
Team Yeager Real Estate (714) 724-2872