Are you preparing to sell a parent’s home?
How should one approach an elderly parent who is reluctant to sell their home? What are the common mistakes people make when trying to sell a parent’s home, and how can they avoid them? Here’s what experts and sellers recommended:
Clear out the junk — but keep emotional attachments in mind: Sellers said that clearing out a home that had been lived in for decades was a lengthy process that people should start sooner rather than later.
Two-thirds of Americans over the age of 55 who are selling their home said they are emotionally attached to it, according to Opendoor, a real-estate company. About 56% of sellers over 55 have lived in their homes for 15 years or more.
“For those selling their parent’s home, keep these emotions in mind,” Bryson Taggart, an expert on real-estate trends.
Be clear about what the parent wants: It’s important to have clarity on what the parent’s goals are and how to achieve them. “It needs to be an ongoing discussion. The earlier you can have it, the better,” Venegas said. “The last thing you want is a parent breaking a hip, or [needing] to go into assisted living, and then everything just becomes emotionally heightened because everything feels rushed.”
It’s also ideal if both parents and adult children are aligned on matters such as whether to sell and how much to sell the home for before starting the process. Jeanne Frederick, a Las Vegas–based global luxury property specialist at Coldwell Banker, told MarketWatch that agents worry about older people being manipulated. “We have to do a lot more listening and ask really good questions,” she said, because “the elderly can be taken advantage of so quickly.” Frederick is also trained as a “Seniors Real Estate Specialist,” a designation created by the NAR.
“Sometimes it’s their own family, [and] sometimes it’s friends — so it is important for me to be a layer of protection,” she added.
Fix any problems you’ve identified: Elderly parents may have neglected to fix a leaky roof or a faulty pipe, and those factors could severely impact the value of the home, so take care of such repairs before listing the house for sale, Venegas said.
Ryan Sparks is trying to sell his parents’ home in Jupiter, Fla. He said that, even though his dad had been a general contractor when he was alive, the house still needed little fixes before it was ready to hit the market — “things I didn’t even realize were potential issues” until seeing the inspection report, he said.
Change the air filters, make sure the lightbulbs are working, and ensure the property and landscaping are well-maintained. “It’s more about putting together a fresh, clean home,” Frederick said.
But also “avoid any major renovations, other than maybe a refresh of the paint,” Venegas added. “You can’t anticipate something a buyer is going to want. The most important thing is making the house [the] best as it can [be] in its current state.”
Have realistic expectations about the sale price: Pricing an aging parent’s home fairly is also very important, according to experts.
“The misconception that a lot of older clients have is that they’ll price high and leave room for negotiation,” Venegas said. But that actually works against clients, because buyers will think the seller is not realistic, so the house sits on the market for longer than intended, she said.
What’s more, Opendoor’s Taggart added, “if you don’t price a home correctly when it first lists, price cuts will often become steeper as the home remains on the market.”
Jim’s tips:
If a parent still lives there, know where they are going to move. If possible, have them go ahead and move on a comfortable timeline prior to selling. Tell them to not worry about their heirlooms and artifacts – you will bring them later.
Clearing out the ‘stuff’. Start early and expect that it will take 2x or 3x longer than expected because whoever goes through the stuff will have several moments of reflection along the way.
Get a Professional Home Inspection report. Review and consider fixing things in advance. What are the most important things to improve? Buyers really dislike shag carpet (makes the whole house look older), original HVAC, original windows, leased solar, and a leaky roof.
Pick a Path for Improvements. A minor tune-up will still cost $25,000 to $50,000, and the full package will be $100,000+ for new windows, doors, paint, flooring, kitchen & baths, HVAC, and roof tune-up. Either path should recoup all the money invested, and the biggest reason for at least doing something is to help minimize the buyer demands later.
Staging is a must. It’s rare that the improvement package will be enough to hide the age and functional obsolescence of the family homestead. Staging will help to bring the home into this era.
Sell what you got. Typically, the older homes are in good locations and have decent schools.
These are tough sales. Today’s buyers prefer newer turnkey homes, and you can’t blame them – they are all exceedingly expensive. Be realistic of the challenge ahead, and hire the best realtor you can find.
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