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Luvmama Asked July 2023

How to sell mom’s house (very) quickly?

My mom’s house is in really, really bad shape in a sort of dangerous neighborhood. I have found her a rgood senior living place to live that she can afford, if she sells her house. How can I go about selling her house quickly without fixing it up first? Too much to fix. Rotten carpet, holes in ceiling. It’s going to have to be sold as is. Thinking this would be a good fixer upper for a rental property.

KNance72 Jul 2023
Interview Realtors and find One with a good reputation . I had to interview 13 - 14 Realtors till I got the Right guy and Now he has the # 1 team in Boston with Compass Realty . Compass will offer to fix things up for you . The guy Upstairs got a local Realtor and he tore out the wood Floors, Painted The Place and got asking Price so His Realtor Has a team working for him. Like One realtor said " Put In $ 1 get back $5 . " Its really Cosmetic but some Realtors are willing to fix the Place up for you . Go on YELP and read the reviews . I found Interviewing People was the best and I got a great referral from One Girl .

MJ1929 Jul 2023
Market value is relative to the condition of the house. Don't discount fixing it up a bit if it could significantly increase the price you get. Most Realtors affiliated with a large broker will have programs where they'll front the money to do repairs, then you pay them back from the sales proceeds.

My parents' house was 90 years old with a kitchen last remodeled in 1969. We did the "lipstick on a pig bit" by painting it, refinishing the wood floors, and staging it, out we didn't even redo the kitchen with the non-functioning oven and barely functioning stove. All we did in there was paint the cabinets and replace the old vinyl floor with tile.

We had an inspection done before putting it on the market, and we handed it to any potential buyers up front, so they knew what they were getting into. We sold it as-is, and got about twice back what we'd put into fixing it up. We had three offers, sold it three days after it went on the market, that sale fell through, and we sold it the next day to the next bidder who matched the first offer. We got $2.3 million for what I'd considered a tear-down house. (Yes, it's California, so adjust for your own area.)

All this was thanks to a very skilled Realtor who also arranged for all the contractors to do the work. I cannot emphasize that enough, so don't skimp if you think a Realtor isn't worth the commission. Trust me -- they are.

I realize you're under a time constraint, so you probably wouldn't want to do even as much as we did, but don't just throw in the towel right off the bat. Interview three Realtors, ideally ones that specialize in estates (as in old people's homes, not mansions). They'll make a marketing plan to present to you, and you decide who you want to go with. Be sure to ask about these renovation loan plans they offer.

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jkm999 Jul 2023
Get a realtor who knows the local market and have them price it right in as-is condition. If you use a realtor you should be covered for the Fair Market Value look back for Medicaid. A house near me was total wreck, but it was a good neighborhood, and it sold for $25,000 over ask with a bidding war! But it was priced to sell and took into account that it needed about $100,000 to just make it liveable. At this point squeezing an extra 1-2,000 isn't worth getting the quick sale. I learned from recently selling my home that you should find a realtor your trust and then TRUST THEM. Don't try to do this yourself to save a few bucks.

Sendhelp Jul 2023
Luvmama,
List the house for sale with a realtor, selling as is. I agree with Vegas Lady.
There is no need to show anyone how desperate or 'quick' you need to sell the home. (Not even the realtor).

It is a common occurrence to have a rundown property sell for the land only.
The land could be worth 900,000.00 and the home, hardly anything. Check Zillow online for homes sold in your area.

Or, like you said, fixer for a rental property. Buyer's choice.

Start packing, find a temporary place for Mom to stay.

Offer a quick escrow closing-you're almost moved out, right? There are no tricks necessary, no need to hook up with a predatory real-estate deal. imo.
Sign up for the shortest listing duration (30 days?) so you can cancel at the end and sign with a better RE Agent. There are also good reasons that you can cancel your listing for non-performance or errors sooner, if needed. But of course, you will be honest if a buyer is found by the agent, but offers a bid just after the listing expires, correct?

Hope you do well, and just relax about it. Moving, selling, buying is a major deal, it does not need to be. Let a good realtor handle it for you. imo.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert and not a realtor.
I personally have had success selling my own homes with offers way above what the listing price was on several homes.

97yroldmom Jul 2023
Igloo Question.

If the owner is going into Medicaid financed care, doesn’t she have to be careful of selling too low? Even if home is sold as is, doesn’t she still need to show it is sold at “FMV”? I know this move is to where she can afford, if she sells her house. However, life happens and if she winds up needing more care than she can afford, wouldn’t she want to have comps to show the sell was at FMV?
Isthisrealyreal Jul 2023
You are completely correct that this could become a future problem.

A situation like this, would absolutely require a home inspection to prove that the lower value was Fair Market Value. That would be the ONLY way to prevent medicaid from saying there is a penalty because the house sold under FMV. Documentation is salvation in these situations.
vegaslady Jul 2023
Get a realtor and have it listed for sale "as is". It should sell quickly.

AlvaDeer Jul 2023
I DEFINTELY would use a realtor. That and a title company is your protection. Otherwise, selling with only a POA can leave you open to suit afterward for "non-disclosure" and a whole ton of other stuff. You will be paying approx. 6%, and my brother paid 10% for quick sale but the realtor got him 30,000 over estimate on a TRAILER! 1960s trailer! Lovely California historic site, but still...............

This is a good question for a realtor and I do not know of any currently on Forum. I am hoping one shows up. Meanwhile, as I think you may guess, realtors will speak with you free of time and will advise you. Basically with a home in VERY bad shape you are selling the burden of a tear-down. Dependent on city this will work well or less well. In SF where I live the land alone is worth a mint.

I advise you to speak with a good realtor in your area. You can also watch the neighborhood itself for realtor signs as often they concentrate/specialize on certain neighborhoods.

I am assuming you have a POA in place that allows you to deal with your Mom's real estate? That, of course is step one and crucial unless she herself is competent and can sign papers with a dedicated Realtor.

Good luck. Hope you will update us.

Geaton777 Jul 2023
My son recently purchased a home sold by a PoA. The sale condition was no inspection and he paid all the closing costs. The real estate market is in your favor right now, even if her home is a wreck and in a bad neighborhood.

You received good advice from others. You probably don't even need to work through a realtor, but can list it on Nextdoor.com or other sites and use a real estate attorney to close (this would also benefit the buyer).

Daughterof1930 Jul 2023
Where I live there are several companies that specialize in this kind of situation. One is the chain WeBuyUglyHouses,another is OpenDoor, and there are also realtors who have this kind of business. I wish you well in getting this done
igloo572 Jul 2023
Omg, do NOT, please pls NOT go with UGLY, there is a whole series of reporting last month & in May on them from ProPublica. They are extremely predatory. And in a way that is very hard to get around. There’s congressional hearings scheduled on it.

what they use seem to be using is a document that allows them total control to represent your home for sale AND allows them to place a lien on it as well. It’s not a Realtor listing document, they are not Realtors. The safeguards that exist for seller/ Realtor won’t exist. But what it does do, is allows them to place a lein onto the property. A lien for thousands of $$$ for “costs” that are very suspect. But it’s hard for you to fight this, or to get an actual Realtor and do a MLS type of listing on the place as the Ugly lien will be there to affect the deal.

The ProPublica articles are frightening. Its 5-6 stories of elders over 65, all take advantage of by UGLY & all getting a fraction of the value of the home. Little they could do either as that document totally allowed HomeVestors aka We buy Ugly total control.
TeethGrinder65 Jul 2023
Just be honest with the listing and use the right buzz words: fixer upper, as is, investment opportunity, handyperson. Go with a realtor, too. It'll save time.

southernwave Jul 2023
As is, no inspection; fire sale price and cash buyer 1 week close

MeDolly Jul 2023
Sell "As Is" list it as such, buyer also pays all closing costs. You can list on a internet auction site, they do a good job with run down properties, most are sold sight unseen, I have purchased several myself at auction for rental.

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