It’s never an easy task, preparing a loved one’s estate. And selling the home can be the hardest part. A home is filled with physical reminders and shared memories that aren’t easy to let go of, especially as you mourn. But if you were named executor to your loved one’s estate, you may be required to table your feelings and soberly, somberly complete the task.
In the short guide below, let’s explore a few critical steps you can take as you prepare an estate home for sale. These steps aim to tackle common emotional, logistical and financial roadblocks you may encounter.
Take a Deep Breath and Consider Your Emotional Well-being
First, understand that selling a meaningful home may elicit strong emotions. Just because you are the estate’s executor or trustee, doesn’t mean you have to be emotionally wooden. You’re allowed to grieve.
Through your grief, you can also be pragmatic, getting help where help is available – either through validating sessions with a grief counsellor, or strategic help from an estate cleanout service. There are ways to prioritize your emotional and mental well-being throughout the process.
Consider Estate Cleanout Services
Speaking of estate cleanout services, you may find them beneficial in several regards. A compassionate, professional estate cleanout service can help you organize belongings, categorizing what to keep, sell, donate and discard. They can provide professional advice on selling belongings, and connect you with third-party professionals as you settle the estate. And the best estate cleanout services even help executors establish administrative timelines.
If nothing else, these services allow you to take one (sizeable) concern off your plate. Moreover, they prepare you for the next stage in your journey: staging the home.
Add Modern Touches for Staging
Work with estate cleanout services to prepare the home for staging. They will help clear out the home of its sentimental belongings, allowing a professional staging company or full-service realtor to work their magic.
If you choose the right realtor – one with experience in estate property sales – this process should be relatively hands-off. However, you may be requested to weigh in on design options. The advice most realtors offer is to make the home seem as minimal and modern as possible, which helps prospective buyers imagine the home’s potential.
Most executors do not use estate funds to make significant renovations before selling, but that’s a conversation to have with your realtor and estate beneficiaries.
Collaborate with the Realtor and Beneficiaries
In some cases, the realtor may need to meet with beneficiaries to ensure that everyone agrees on the list price and professional valuation. There is precedence for “following the market” to sell the home at an ideal “hot” period, though most executors favour listing a home quickly upon completion of probate. Again, these are questions that will require input from your realtor and beneficiaries.
The key thing to remember throughout these steps is that you should take all the help you can get. Find a compassionate, esteemed estate cleanout service. Find a realtor with experience in estate property sales. And, where applicable, loop beneficiaries into the conversation. Together, you can ensure that the process runs smoothly.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
