How to sell an inherited house from out of state

We get lots of people that contact us because they have inherited a house in Louisiana but live out of state. They generally want to sell the inherited house without having to clean it up, make repairs and advertise it. We are really good buyers in this instance as we understand what you are going through. Dealing with the loss is hard enough but sorting through all the administration is just an extra burden you don’t need. We are OK buying the houses and letting you take the belongings that matter and leaving the rest for us to deal with. We also have great title attorneys so if you haven’t gone through succession we can get the title attorney to do that for you as part of the sales process.

In this video our founder Aussie Steve is inspecting a property that was inherited from out of state owners and is talking through how the process works. Check out the video or read the transcript below.

Video Transcript

I’m here checking out a property on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish, we’re in Harvey now. This is a house we’re looking to purchase; we haven’t gotten a contract yet. We’re just doing an inspection. The current owners had inherited it, and they live out of state, so we’ve been chatting over the phone about it and we’ve just come to check it out to have a look. They’re not that aware of the current condition, and unfortunately, it’s pretty bad.

We’re okay buying inherited houses like this though. We do buy properties in as is condition, and this is definitely one of those as is conditions. There’s mold in the house and the reason is pretty obvious. The roof is leaking and there’s water coming into the house through this. Also, there’s a lot of belongings left behind which is always hard. Probably, the hardest thing when you inherit a property is moving the belongings as some of this stuff is going to be sentimental and you’re going to feel the need to keep such things. And you would also need to throw away many other things. So, the process of sifting through the things to be kept and those to be disposed of could be very stressful. This is even worse when you’re out of the country.

The house needs substantial rehab. It needs a new roof, all the molds have to be treated, most of these dry walls need to be changed as well because of the water penetration. It requires a big rehab and listing it with a realtor isn’t the best option. A lot of people just want an investor like us who can take the property in its current condition. Obviously, they can take whatever they want from it and just leave everything else behind, that’s our problem. We’ll donate what we can to charity then we’ll clear the rest out.

We are an easier option, we are cash house buyers, so there is a lot less red tape involved in the sale. If a bank was to lend money on this house, they will do an inspection and they will definitely find a lot of issues, and with that, it will be really hard to get a bank loan. So, someone like us who buys in cash and as is condition is the better option.

These are the kind of properties that we buy, and as I said, we’re just checking this one out so we haven’t got this contracted. Generally, our process for this is, we chat over the phone to discuss the property, get information on the condition, and based on that, we’ll do a bit of in-depth research of the area. Based on the information we hear; we’ll try to estimate a rehab cost and we’re generally pretty accurate based on information. We will then give you an idea of what we think our cash offer would be on your house. We’ll do that over the phone to save your time, so you don’t have to let us in nor would we bother tenants or anything like that. And if we’re in the same ballpark on price, then we’ll come out and see.

So, that’s where we’re at now. From what we discussed, this is a property we’re likely to purchase. We do run a lot of them, so I can’t recall the actual figure right now. Basically, I come out, take a look at the house, take some photos, grab a video and then go back to the office and just crunch numbers again based on what I’ve actually seen. So, if it’s pretty much what we were told on the phone, then the numbers should be the same, and we’ll make a firm written offer. If there’s anything different there might be a different offer, and at that point, once we make that offer, it’s a firm offer in writing. If you want to accept it, then we’re ready to close as soon as title clears. That can be as fast as eight days if everything is really clean. More often, it takes us like two weeks to close. If you need longer that’s fine.

So, if you really want to sell your house fast, we can close in one to two weeks. And if you need more time or things to work out, that’s totally fine. We obviously can work with that as well.

If you have a house you are looking to sell, something that you just don’t want to make the repairs yourself and you just want to sell it for cash, in as is condition, then reach out to us at homebuyerlouisiana.com. We would love to have a chat and just give you some advice and if our numbers sort of work towards your numbers, then great, we can do a deal. But if we can’t, we’re still going to help and give you whatever advice we can to help you figure out what you want to do with your property.

Thanks guys, speak soon.