What do you do with your parents’ home when their time comes for assisted living? Put it on the market? Rent it? Sell it for cash?
In this post, we’ll review options for you to consider before you reach a decision. As specialists in the real estate field, we are experienced in each of the following options. We’ve bought and sold properties, rented them, renovated them and we buy houses for cash. Here’s a review of your options.
Sell
If you decide to sell the property, there are a lot of areas to consider, including the market conditions, costs to get the house ready for market, the back and forth of purchase offers, paperwork and real estate commissions.
Home re-sales are slowing, so odds are the property will take some time to sell and will have to compete with new home sales and with newly renovated homes. Chances are, the property will require some renovation and updating to meet the demands of today’s homebuyers. Buyers are pickier than ever before. They want modern. They want move-in conditions. Renovations can mean a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that can be difficult to recoup in a slowing real estate market.
Finally, time is a consideration. Whether you live nearby or are from out of town, you will have to invest your time to sell the house. Even with a realtor, you still have to be available for some of the typical transactions involved in selling the home.
Rent
First question, “Do you really want to be a landlord?” A lot goes into being a landlord; each step of the process requires time and money. The first step is getting the property ready for rent. Even a house in pretty good shape is going to require some tweaking before it will appeal to renters. Just basics like paint color, appliances in good repair, working fixtures, etc. need attention before a house is ready for the rental market. Once ready, you have to market it and screen applicants. Ongoing responsibilities include collecting the rent, repairs and maintenance. If you’re lucky, you won’t wind up with deadbeat tenants that require eviction proceedings. When the renters leave, you get to start the process all over again.
Sell for Cash
Another option is sell the house fast for cash. We’ve seen a lot of people choose this option for a number of reasons. First, in the case of parents who are moving to a long-term care facility, a lot of sons and daughters are from out of town and find it difficult to invest the time needed to pursue other options. Secondly, homes of the elderly, even when kept up well, often require large infusions of cash to make them competitive on the market. Others are in worse condition, requiring major work. The advantage of selling a house for cash is that it can be done fast, the house can sell “as is” and the transaction can be completed without the time, red tape and commissions involved in traditional listings.
Review your options before you decide to sell or rent the house. We think that in this situation, sell the house for cash makes the most sense in most cases.
What would you do? Rent the house? Put the house on the real estate market? Or sell the house for cash?
Do you have a piece of property (house, lot, or land) you’d like to sell fast? Fill out our Sell Fast Form and get a cash offer within one hour of us viewing the property.
