Deciding Whether to Keep or Sell a PA Home You Inherit
Deciding Whether to Keep or Sell a PA Home You Inherit – If you have inherited a PA home from a loved one who has no mortgage on the property you are in many regards in a lucky position that many people would think is a dream. Especially right now as home inventory is low. But it may not always be the ideal dream situation. How do you decide what you should do with the home?
Deciding Whether to Keep or Sell a PA Home You Inherit
Should You Live In, Sell, or Rent Out the Home?
If you have been gifted a home by a former loved one there are essentially three options you have, to retain ownership and occupy the property, to rent the property out and make investment income, or to sell the property.
Each of these options comes with a long list of considerations.
Keeping the Home to Live In
If you plan to move into the home it can be highly beneficial. But it can also come with some costs that many people do not think about when they are gifted a home without a mortgage on it.
Owning a home without a mortgage on it is not completely cost-free. There will still be a cost to taking ownership of the home and living in it. The largest and most important costs might be the responsibility to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance. There is also the upkeep and maintenance of the home. Hopefully, you are inheriting the home in good condition and it does not need major repairs.
It is a smart plan to sit down and look at these costs. To add up the property tax responsibility. To look into what the charges for insurance were. And to estimate what maintenance would cost. You may also consider what upgrades or renovations you might want to make to the property to make it your own.
It is suggested by financial planning experts that you do not take on living costs that total more than 30% of your income.
You also want to consider if moving to a new home is right for your current lifestyle. It may not be within your ability to move to the property because it would put you farther away from work and your current life. It might even be located in a new location that would require a completely new life change.
Renting the Home
You may want to retain ownership of the home because it holds sentimental value to you but you can’t realistically relocate, or you might want to try out making some passive income as a landlord. This would bring you to the consideration of renting the home.
This is a big undertaking. It is more than just finding someone who needs shelter and charging them a fee to use the home. Becoming a landlord is a huge responsibility. There are laws you are required to keep to provide a safe and fair place to live. This will take extra time and money.
You will need to consider if you will do all the work yourself or hire a property manager. Some landlords find that working with tenants is a lot of stress so they spend extra money to hire a property manager. You will still be responsible for any issues. And you are taking the risk of someone who does not value the home the way you do living in it.
Selling a Home You Inherit
Selling a home that was gifted to you can be difficult. You might feel like you are not honoring your loved one, or you may feel like you are giving away a good opportunity. Or you might look at it as an opportunity to make some money that could be more useful to your current life situation.
If you sell the home, it could take some time. And when you sell there may be taxes you are required to pay when you make a profit. It is a good idea to talk over your responsibilities in selling the home to make sure it is the ultimate best decision for you.
If you do need to sell the home because retaining it would bring more stress and responsibilities than you can currently take on, you may be looking to sell it as soon as possible. One option that people use is to sell their home for cash. This allows them to sell in a shorter timeframe with less stress and cost of selling. It is often a route taken by people inheriting a home with major issues like huge looming repairs.
If you are considering selling a home you inherit and would like to sell quickly we can help. We are not here to pressure you and will always make a fair offer. Contact us any time for more information about selling a PA home for cash.
