What To Do If You Want To Sell Your Out-of-State Property

Out Of State Property

The problem with out of state property homeownership

Owning a home in another state presents unique challenges to the owner. Whether

you’ve inherited a home in another state, purchased one as a vacation home, own it

as an investment/rental home, or simply haven’t sold your former home after

moving to another state, navigating the expenses and management of the home can

be exhausting.

Out-of-state taxes, housing regulations/ordinances, possible property management

expenses, vacancy issues (including increased likelihood of theft or squatters),

lawn maintenance, etc, can all cause stress. If something were to happen to that

out-of-state house, how easy would it be to get to it? How likely is it you’ll be

called to visit to handle things like a home inspection for insurance? How will you

verify that the landscaping company you hired actually performed as expected?

What happens if the home is vandalized or a squatter moves into the house and

refuses to leave? Can all of this be handled remotely with ease, or will you have to

make an emergency trip to the location (costing time and considerable effort) to

handle such needs?

If you’ve inherited the home, do you have the time and funds to go to the location

to move belongings to a storage facility, host an estate sale, clean, and prep the

home for sale?

Solutions

The solution depends on the problem.

If you own the out-of-state home as an investment property or vacation home, a

property management company may solve the majority of issues you’ll face when

not staying in the home. Make sure to discuss with the property management

company, or whomever you trust to oversee things at the house, how any needs are

to be handled (yardwork, appointments, cleaning, etc), a timeline for certain needs,

and a good contact phone number or email address. Marking things on an online

calendar that you and the company both have access to can alleviate any

communication issues regarding the house.

If you’ve recently moved to another state and have not sold your former home,

consult with your realtor/broker. They should be able to give you information on

ways to handle situations or who to contact for certain needs.

What if you’ve inherited the home? Things become a little more complicated.

You’ll most likely need to go to the city the home is located in to meet with an attorney to sign legal documents and retrieve a key to have access to the home.

Then you’ll either need to go to the home to sort through belongings, pack them

and store them or sell them, or hire a company to handle these things for you. Then

you (or a contractor) will need to clean the home. Next, assuming you want to sell

the home, you’ll need to have an inspection done, handle any needed repairs/

renovation, meet with realtors, fill out and sign the, paperwork, handle title work (with

possible probate issues), gather needed tax/insurance information, arrange for the

home to be photographed and/or staged, and arrive to sign closing papers and pay

associated fees (realtor/broker fees, legal fees, back taxes, hotel fees and other

expenses).

Another Option

If you’re not in the position to handle the needed work/expenses, consider giving

us a call, text, or email. We can purchase the property without having realtor fees

or closing fees attached (minus the remaining mortgage amount and back taxes);

we offer a fair price, and we can generally close in 2-3 weeks, assuming clear title.

We have experience in probate issues and can handle the cleanup, repair, and/or

renovations easily.

We’d love to hear from you and see if this is the right step for your situation or if

we can point you in the right direction. You can reach us at 940-255-7227 or by

email at michael@amlhomesllc.com.