Selling a beloved family home after the death of a parent may be one of the most emotional real estate transactions you will go through. On top of the obvious difficulty in dealing with the death of a parent, the family home is often in some disrepair and dated.
When working with estates, I counsel the family to take an honest look at the home. If the home has generally been maintained, and has been updated throughout the years with new mechanicals (heater, roof, etc) as needed, then it may make sense to do a light rehab. What's a light rehab? Paint and carpet. Perhaps a kitchen. Now you have an updated, well maintained home that should be a very sellable product (as long as you price it right).
If however, the home has been neglected, and many of the major components need repair or replacement, then it doesn't make sense to rehab the home. You would have to do a full-scale rehab at that point. It rarely makes sense for an estate to invest that significant amount of time, energy, and money. At that point, I suggest that it's better to sell the house "as-is" and let someone else invest the money, time, and energy to bring the home up to speed. It doesn't make sense to paint and carpet a home that is only going to undergo a major rehab, and you'll be throwing good money away.
How about if the home is marginal? Paint and carpet, neaten up the kitchen if possible, maybe with new flooring and countertop, and price it to sell.
Although difficult to do, you need to take an emotional step back from the home in order to see its true condition, then move forward from there in a way that makes sense: financially and emotionally.
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Hi Heather, this is very good advice. I don't paint and carpet can ever go amiss if it's neutral enough. The other thing they can do is if the home has hardwood floors, remove the carpeting and expose the wood. In most estates, the carpeting has covered the flooring since the beginning of time and provided there were no pets, the floors are usually beautiful under the old green shag!
It always seems to me that the families over price and allow the homes to linger on the market. After all, there's usually no mortgage and they aren't in a hurry - right? But this is such a terrible strategy. Your advice is right on target.
Excellent post and points. I shudder when I hear the words, "well, we've spent the last few months updating it" until I have a chance to see the updates because sometimes they do all the wrong things. Pet peeve? Slapping a slab of granite on cabinets that should have been replaced looooong ago, as if the existence of granite - no matter how horrid the cabinets - is going to sell it. When in doubt, I wish most folks would call a professional to come in and at least counsel them on what upgrades make the most sense!
Heather - what perfect timing for you to write this blog. I have a potential estate sale coming up. Unfortunately it's in an area that doesn't attract too many buyers, but after reading your post, I think the to do list I gave the seller was still worth sending him. To spruce up the house, put in new linoleum in the kitchen and paint some of the rooms. Oh and curb appeal a must! So it was good to see your perspective on how when to advise an estate sale executor or administrator to put in some $$ to get the place sold.