What's the best way to get Mom or Dad's House sold?

A lot of my clients ask me questions about how to get their parent's house sold while they are transitioning into a retirement or nursing home. As stressful as selling Mom and Dad's house is for you, just think how challenging it is for them since they have been living there for many, many years. Downsizing to one or two rooms from a a full size home can be challenging for anyone. Poring over 40 or 50 years of memories is daunting for anyone, but is almost impossible for a senior. Your folks really need a lot of help. For you the challenge is how do you help them when you have little time and probably less patience. What about if they have saved every rubberband and twist tie since 1964?

Here's my advice. If financially possible move Mom and/or Dad first before you mess with all the things in the house or getting a Realtor. Game it out and have a plan. Pick the place they want to go, decide what furniture they want to take, move it and their favorite clothes and all other essentials over where they are going to live. Help them set up just like you would a kid going off to college. It's a lot less stressful for them and/or you to sort through things and make decisions once they are out of the house. If they are capable they can come by the house two or three times a week and start sorting through the remains. Some things may end up over at their retirement place, but after a few trips back in forth they probably won't miss their rubber bands and twist ties that much. They can spend a couple hours there everyday, but at least at night they can go back to their new place eat dinner, socialize and sleep in a unchaotic environment. It also gives them time to process their emotions around all this change.

Next decide what things go to family members and arrange for those to be picked up or sent. Sort out the big pieces of furniture and other objects left. Group them by classes - kitchen stuff, garage stuff, linens, etc. If you think there is more than $10,000 worth of stuff  left call an estate sale person and have them come by and establish whether it's worth having a sale. If there are any good antiques send them to an auction house or try to sell to a dealer.

Sorting through all the papers and small stuff is probably the most time consuming exercise. I heard of many a son or daughter starting this process thinking they could toss most everything out and then they found $1000 in a coat pocket and the process bogged down. At that point you feel like you have to do everything yourself or possibly hire someone to work through it with you. In the meantime, once the piles are manageable start talking to a Realtor.

Unless  your Realtor's assessment is that the  house has been updated for today's buyer, you should set your expectations lower than the current market value of other similar houses in the neighborhood.  There are some items the Realtor will absolutely require that you fix unless you plan on selling the house AS-IS.  These might include taking down drapes, refinishing floors, replacing or cleaning carpets, repainting, taking down wall paper, checking out all the appliances and replacing any that are out of date or  nonfunctional, checking the roof, and cleaning up the yard. Set a budget for these items. If it is greater than 5% of the value of the house then consider not doing them and selling the house AS-IS. Basically the fixing up the house should be enough to give the potential buyer a clean slate to work from when they are viewing the home. It will probably bring more than an AS-IS sale, and it will open you home to a greater buyer pool.

An AS-IS  home is good for only a certain kind or buyer. It appeals to an investor, a flipper, and  a do- it- yourselfer. These buyer's will discount their offers by the amount they plan on  investing  in the house to make it habitable for a tenant or their family. Many AS-IS homes these days sell for less than the assessed value of the home. If you are happy with that return and/or do not have the funds to make the fix-ups the Realtor suggests then that's the way to go. Just make sure your AS-IS house is cleaned out, clean, and the yard mowed and the shrubs cut back. No one is interested in seeing Mom's old floral sofa, console TV, sculptured carpet or faded drapes. That way at least the buyer doesn't have to imagine what they are buying. Cleaning it out will get you extra value for the home. Believe it or not I have been through houses that were part of an estate where I was stepping over trash, looking into refrigerators with rotten food, and very unclean bathrooms. Each of those things makes a buyer more reluctant to buy, but if inclined to purchase offer even less.

As challenging as this whole process sounds, it is one of the great gifts you can give your parents.