Inheriting A Property With Your Siblings? Here Are Some Options
Posted on: 15 December 2016
When your last surviving parent passes away, you and your siblings will often inherit the parent's home if he or she continued to live independently until the time of death. You may be anxious to simply sell the property as quickly as possible and split the proceeds, which is certainly doable. However, there are a number of other options that may be suitable in this situation and are worth discussing with your siblings — and perhaps worth hiring a real estate agent to oversee. Here are some ideas that you might wish to pursue with the house.
Rent It Out
You're in an interesting situation when you and your siblings inherit a home. As owners of the property, you can turn it into an investment by renting it out. In many cases, if your parent has passed away at an elderly age, the residence's mortgage will be paid in full. This means that the rent the property earns each month can be split between you and your siblings to bolster your incomes. For example, if you rent the house for $1,500 per month and you have two siblings, the three of you will collect $500 each in rent per month. While you'll need to occasionally reinvest some of the proceeds back into the home, this strategy can leave you with a nice secondary income.
Renovate It Before Selling
Instead of rushing to sell the home, meet with a real estate agent to discuss what the home might be worth right now and what it could be worth after a number of renovation projects. If you're not in a rush to sell, holding onto the property for several months and hiring contractors to give the house a facelift may be highly profitable. In some cases, elderly people's' homes may be decorated in an older fashion that is less suitable for the average family, and the home might also be in a slight degree of disrepair. If a renovation can address these issues, you can expect a significant earnings from the sale.
Move In
If you or one of your siblings has always coveted the home, moving in can be an option. You'll need to discuss the financial implications of doing so. Typically, the person who moves into the home in this scenario will give a lump sum of money to each of his or her siblings that can be gathered after selling his or her own home prior to moving. If this is a scenario that works for everyone, it can be nice to keep the home in the family.
Share