So, I'm the executor...

In reply to docwyte :

I agree.  Having seen what one of my neighbors went through spending time trying to get everything ready for a sale when his brothers just wanted to get out from under it stressed him out a ton, and probably didn't net enough more to be worth it.  Timeliness could be even more important now with mortgage rates going up.  If your market is anything like around me, selling fast will not be a problem.  Another neighbor had an offer on their house for over asking in less than 24 hours after listing, and SW Ohio is not really the hottest market in the country, relatively speaking.

In reply to docwyte :

I agree as well, although it depends some on the location and market.  If much of the plumbing is related to areas that are in need of renovating anyway - don't bother - since there's a good chance your work will get ripped out anyway.  If the location indicates the property is more valuable than the actual house, then really don't bother - as there's a possibility it'll get knocked down and replaced with new construction.

My aunt's house was sold as-is and was purchased by a flipper who completely remodeled much of the house - which it desperately needed. Was back on the market, but sold pretty quickly. 

I know I have your number, but I'm just going to throw this out here in the thread.

If you need to take a break from that and unwind, or just get away for a day, I'm free from 10-3 most days during the week, come up and we can go get lunch or you can come up for dinner some weekend just to change your focus.

docwyte said:

The housing market there is still doing inspections?  All that is getting waived here.  I'm with your attorney, do nothing to the house, sell it as is, right now.  It's not worth fixing the plumbing only to miss out on the Spring/Summer house selling season.  Just disclose that the plumbing needs to be fixed and make a price allowance for it. 

There.  Done and it saves you a whole bunch of time.

I would agree, assuming the plumbing is actually functional. Even if the buyers don't care about doing an inspection, if they are financing it, the underwriters will care that it is functional and may not want to sign off on it, even if functional, if it looks really bad. Brother almost lost financing on his house due to underwriting questioning the furnace, which was 50yrs old but still working. I lost out on a house because underwriting didn't like that a 100yrold "basement" didn't have a sump pump and seller wouldn't let me pay to have one installed, even though we were in contract and were willing to pay the $5,000 to remedy the water situation. Underwriters suck.

If the market in that area is hot enough, you might be able to get a higher cash offer to not matter, but seems like only being able to sell to cash buyers would reduce the competition for your house and lead to a lower selling price.

Depending on what price range the house will sell at, you could sell it as is, for cash buyer.  The buyer will do an inspection, but mainly to figure out how much repairs will cost.  This would likely sell to a flipper. 

Houses here are going under contract in 1-2 days of going active for over the asking price.  Most are to cash buyers from up north.  Typically the seller will start the listing and ask for final and best offer by XX (usually within only a few days).   

Sorry for your loss.

Been through this process x3 over the last few years (my mom, and then an uncle and an aunt - brother and sister who never married and lived together for ~100 years, but that's another story).

My mom had a house to sell. She and my late father (who had passed several years earlier) were Depression-era kids who kept everything. We hired somebody to sort through things and make the trash/donate/consign decision once my brother and I went through the house to take anything meaningful to us. My parents also had a bunch of mid-century modern furniture (from my dad's "bachelor pad" days from '56 - '60). The clean-out folks knew the owner of a vintage furniture store who came in and bought most of the furniture in one go. That was the easy button. Similarly, a check showed up from a jewelry consignment place. The house was professionally cleaned and otherwise sold as-is, through an agent (and friend, who gave us a break on commission). We had 7 above-asking-price offers without a public listing (the neighborhood was a very specific demographic and without a single-family home coming on the market for several years, so there was a bunch of pent-up demand). Bottom line, once you and your siblings take what's valuable/sentimental to you, hire professionals to expedite the rest (paid for by the estate) - saves a lot of turmoil and helps the process move forward. Emotionally, I found it easier to have things settled sooner. 

With my Uncle and Aunt, the issue was finding all of the assets. They still assumed that banks could fail at any minute and spread stuff around across multiple institutions. That took a couple of years to sort out, and I still have a storage unit full of mostly paper to disposition...

Good luck. Remember to take a break from stuff periodically. It can be daunting, but there are folks out there to help with the process.

Update, long overdue.

Attorney has been paid for services, estate taxes have been paid to the state, joint bank account (Dad and me) has been closed and transferred to an estate account. 

Us sibs finally had our family meeting in mid-April, we decided on possessions and furniture. They rented a U-Haul a couple weeks ago and hauled theirs out.

I finished the supply line plumbing several weeks ago. I made my decision to replace on my observations in plain sight. If anybody has any doubts on my call take a look here.

I pulled the batt insulation on an outside wall out of the way and found this. The water was off only several weeks while I tore out the old and replaced with some new copper, Pex pipe and SharkBite fittings and valves. This would have been a disaster. Also, the next tee joint down line fell apart after I cut the hanger. 

The house could not have been habitable for others without water for toilets, shower, sinks etc., so much for selling 'as is'. No regrets on my decision to replace.

My sister has been up half a dozen times for 2-3 days/ visit to her credit, cleaning and sorting smalls. Tidying up at the cemetary, visiting friends and relatives too. But c'mon, this house is priority now. She had one job since our April meeting,  to handle furniture donations. Seven months later and no contact to the Amish-type community that accepts them. 

I asked the new neighbors across the street if they wanted free LR couch, recliner and chair. Sure they would. Told my sister and she didn't feel comfortable with them in the house. She thinks they are creepy and she wouldn't be comfortable staying there alone. If she doesn't act real soon it's going to the neighbors.

My brother was here in April for the meeting, first time since the funeral. Was here to haul their picks back couple weeks ago. He was supposed to bring his teenage boys up this summer to help but that didn't happen. Boys are back in school now. No timeline on when he will be back.

He did get Dad's car. No idea if he will maintain it properly. I busted my nuts cleaning that car (six weeks working part time), it was the worst car I've cleaned in over 25 years. I would have wanted it for $7K as it was, that bad. Dad treated it like a truck btw.

Y'all know where this is going, I figured it myself earlier but now I know.

I'm taking over furniture now, was supposed to be their job but they don't want to be here to sell it. Advertised weekend sale, yard sale etc, nope.

Geezus, I need help here.

I'm gonna do what I gotta do now to GTFO of here before long. Initial deadline was to have it listed by the Fourth of July, that came and went. It's Labor Day now, not even close. Maybe Halloween. 

I was just going to take a minimal executor fee at the start, the more I have to do the jack goes up. 

I'm pretty pissed right now. 

In reply to fasted58 :

You are handling this way, way, way better than many of us would. The plumbing fix was 100% necessary. No one should take issue with that. Ever.

Watching for tips on getting rid of furniture. I have a china hutch that I threw in FB marketplace and kept dropping price. I took it down when someone wanted to play 100 questions when it was listed for $25. 

I'd say take fees for your time. Seriously.

I don't have much to add but I got in to a sibling issue recently.  I decided to berk it I'll do what I need to do and not judge them on them being them. 

In reply to Apexcarver :

Furniture wasn't my job but after inaction of my sibs I've decided all remaining stuff will be free. I'll be notifying Dad's neighbors first (who have helped him over the years) and my friends. My sister previously notified local family about stuff but it ain't gone yet, not my fault. 

This stuff gotta go, sooner rather than later.

I did research CL and FB MP, not worth the time to try to sell. There's an overabundance of parents/ grandparents furniture out there that there is no demand. And I ain't gettin' jerked off by CL shiny happy people.

Stampie said:

I don't have much to add but I got in to a sibling issue recently.  I decided to berk it I'll do what I need to do and not judge them on them being them. 

Exactly. My sister was to arrange with Dad's neighbor for flea market items. Not done after six months. I got her number and left a message. She can have it all. I don't want money, just to see stuff go to somebody that could use or appreciate it. 

I keep my sibs informed of everything I do. Tonights text was 'do we really want to put free firewood and scrap metal dryer out on the curb'? That could attract a bad element. 

Holy motherberkeley. 

I'm doing what I need to do with or without you. 

edit: I decided on a dumpster from day one, we're gonna need it. I won't hesitate to start chuckin' E36 M3.

It sounds like you have given everyone plenty of time to collect keep sakes and what not. I would send out a letter stating last call by X date. Then, I'd call an auction company and let them do their thing, local charities, a cleaning company, and then a real estate agent... 

Next question: When should I call on a real estate agent? I'd like this property listed before the end of the year. 

I think I am getting pretty close to calling an agent, but maybe not quite yet. Plumbing is 98% done, other necessary fixes have been done or close to it. Roofer is gonna look at roof repair in a few days, fingers crossed. Some junk has been carried out but not enough yet. I'm ready for a dumpster but have no help. I can fill a 10 yarder right now no sweat. Get another dumpster at the very end.

Furniture removal should have been handled already but is not. Not ready for rug or house cleaning yet. A lot of smalls to go but that's on my sister who insists on donating, recycling and everything has it's place. My answer is dumpster. We had it out tonight, hot and heavy. That's another rant. 

Should I call on an agent now or later?

In reply to fasted58 :

Call an get an agent out, get it listed before rates get any higher or the market cools off. 

I'll be honest, after having been there, I really don't know how it will go. My original thought was someone would tear down and rebuild, but after seeing the neighborhood, and the house, I don't see that happening. It'll be a good starter home for someone that's for sure, as long as it isn't actively leaking, which it sounds like you fixed. 

I have an agent (friend of the family) I like that did good getting us our house and selling my moms, but I don't know if she operates out that way since she's based in Greensburg, I can get you her number though if you want it. 

An agent might even tell you to just get the personal stuff out and leave the furniture, it all looks in pretty decent shape. 

I apologize if this sounds insensitive, but auction the belongings, list the house ASAP. Like tomorrow if possible. Any monetary gain you might see from continuing to fix the house can be almost instantly erased by rising interest rates.

Rising interest rates are neutering what buyers can afford to pay, and they're going to raise Fed rates another 1.25-1.50% before the end of the year.

For illustration, this is what a monthly Principle/Interest payment of $1000 would've gotten you early this year:

And this is what it gets you with current mortgage rates:

And this is where we'd be if 30 year rates hit 9%:

I don't think 30 year mortgage rates of 8-10% are out of the question as they continue aggressively raising the Fed rate. The steepest increases may be over with already, but the more rates go up the worse it is for you. At this point, you'd probably be lucky to get what you might've gotten out of an as-is sale 6 or 8 months ago.

I'm sorry for your troubles, sounds like a nightmare.  You need to throw everything away and list the house NOW.  Waiting any longer or fixing anything else just isn't worth it.

In reply to fasted58 :

A close friend has been the executor of his father in-law's estate for almost the past year. Just like yours, his house needs work - sinking floors, questionable plumbing & electric, etc. 

They finally got it emptied & listed it with a realtor this week. They had 2 showings scheduled the first night. It's priced fairly for the location & condition, but definitely not at fire-sale pricing. 

call agent now, explain situation. agent will probably come out and give their opinion of "do this, don't do that" to get it on the market and sold quickly.

one thing to remember:  agents don't give a berkeley about you or the money you make.  they only care about the money *they* make, and here in MI for example the listing agency gets 3% and the selling agent gets 3%.  so they will always say "take the offer *now* that's 10k less than you want," because $10k to you is only $300 to the agency and probably only $100 to the actual agent.  they want to spend as little time and effort as possible getting to that payday, because getting you an extra $10k only gets them an extra $100-300.

Fasted58

There are groups that help veterans and they always need furniture and household items.  Some of these people have little to nothing.   We have given them a breakfast room table and multiple TVs.  

In reply to spitfirebill :

Do you have any organization names? I will take a look.

We had an Amish type group take a look. He's interested in some and he also deals with a youth group home in the area that cleans or refinishes furniture for resale. The kids learn a skill and earn self esteem. Been over a month and no call back yet.

I will call an agent asap to get this started. With or without furniture. Need to think about cleaning then, I will likely hire somebody. I'm ready for a dumpster.

Bought fuel oil 8 days ago at $4.32/ gal. Today it was $5.30/ gal. Geezoi.

This doesn't have to be difficult, but it has been.

I may have posted earlier about the four dumpsters and ten trips to good will from my FIL's house.  This was from a tidy home, just 40 years worth of stuff tucked here and there.  Once any emotionally attachments are out, just start pitching.

My SIL was the executor, we did the work she handled the other stuff.  She kept track of her time that came up to around $4500.  Now she wants to rent a house on a lake or something for a family get together as she doesn't feel right keeping it.

All situations are different, ours went well.  You do what is needed for your situation, time to bail.