Selling a Family Home in North Carolina
At some point in most people’s lives, there will be a time when a loved one passes away and they may be responsible for selling their property if they did not want to keep it for themselves. There could be cases where there are multiple people named in the ‘will’ and sometimes when there is only one person named. Regardless, it could be a tough introduction to the world of law and how things are supposed to be done in a legal manner.
My name is Stu Barnes and I have sold real estate in Wake County North Carolina for over 20 years. During this time I have also had experience in helping individuals that have inherited property sell their family home. Below you will find a few things to keep in mind. *This is not legal or financial advice; you should always contact a licensed attorney and tax professional regarding your specific situation.
The Basics
The first thing I would recommend if you are put in the position of handling an estate, let’s say your parents estate to make it simple; is to contact a licensed attorney on how things work in North Carolina. Just like real estate, you can try to figure out the system and hunt down documents needed to be filed, however, it is a much smoother process by having a professional that deals with this for a living by your side. Yes, you will pay for it, but the outcome will likely be much more advantageous for all parties.
A Will
A will is a legal instrument designed to dispose of a decedent’s property according to their instructions. If a person dies “without” a will they die ‘intestate’ and property is distributed to the heirs by ‘descent’. The person appointed by a court to distribute the property is called an ‘administrator’ or ‘administratrix’. When a person dies “with” a will they have died ‘testate’ and the provisions in the will are carried out by the ‘executor’ or ‘executrix’. You will need an attorney to fully explain the process, but in general the process is much smoother and quicker if the deceased died “with” a will.
When There is a House to Sell
When the state opens up the estate for the deceased, if one of the assets of the estate is real property; in this case I will use a residential home, there are precautions. You will want to verify with the attorney that it is ready to be put on the market. This means you will verify you have the legal right to sign documents for the estate. Sometimes this can get tricky when there are several siblings or heirs that all need to agree. They need to agree on the agent to use, how much to list for, and how much to sell for (accepted offer). The good thing is the will establishes who gets what, but if there are multiple people involved, the decision making gets a bit more complicated for the logistics of listing the home
Conclusion
To make it a bit easier to navigate through the basics of estate procedures, I have included a link below which is a pdf from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts explaining the process in more detail. Here is the pdf link.
Please contact me if you need assistance,
