Uncategorized Archives | Estate Sales Salt Lake City

Frank Talk – Downsizing with Seniors

Downsizing With Seniors We all age, and the older we get the tougher life can get-especially when it comes to taking care of our home. So many U.S. Citizens are seniors! It’s estimated that by 2030 over 71 million Americans will be over the age of 65. One of the biggest issues for seniors is downsizing the home to something accessible and manageable and affordable. Brittle bones hate stairs. Eyes get weaker, hearing diminishes as we age and taking care of a large home can be just plain difficult. It’s very hard for many to give up the family manse, where so many memories linger around every corner, behind every door. There’s the rec room with the pool table no one has used in years, the huge China hutch full of grandma’s full set that last saw light a decade ago at the last family Thanksgiving. In some cases there’s the tiny graves in the backyard of family pets.

This is an emotional life change and I believe you need the best real estate practitioner you can get who understands not just the emotions that go along with moving from the family home but all the details and energy it takes to pack, purge and find a new home/location. I have helped hundreds of seniors in my career and was one of the first REALTORS to not just achieve the ‘Senior Real Estate Specialist’ designation but actually teach REALTORS how to work with senior housing issues and possibilities. Sometimes you’ll move in with family. Other times you just want a smaller home or condo, and even more specifically, a condo or home in a 55+ community or need assisted living. The vibe for some is ‘this is my last big decision before end of life’ and it can be very emotional for everyone in the family.

Often the senior is so entrenched in the home with a great deal of personal possessions it seems like an impossible task to downsize and move. I know as I had to hire an expert to help me move (I’m a senior) as my storage area was 2000 sq. ft of stuff from as far back as when I was in college! My friend Linda owns a terrific company similar to the Marie Kondo organizing method and she spent several days with me going through my junk to see if it needed to be packed and moved, stored again, donated to charities or sold through a consignment shop. Originally when I decided to move from a condo to a home all I could do was just look at the piles of stuff and sigh. I have ADHD and couldn’t really accomplish much, so Linda gently took each item and showed it to me and had me decide to keep, donate or try and sell…one by one. I recommend her to everyone!

Generally, I sell senior properties in ‘as-is’ condition as often they have not been updated recently. This doesn’t mean the senior should hide any major defects in the property, and per sales protocols in Utah we have you fill out a ‘seller’s property disclosure’ where you answer several pages of questions about the home. That is, if you are the owner and still alive! Otherwise, the heirs can’t usually fill this out because they haven’t lived in the property at all or not for many years. If for example the potential buyer that has an accepted contract by the estate has a home inspection that finds there has been a water leak in the roof that you didn’t know about, you can offer to repair the leak area or give the buyer a monetary concession/price reduction to fix it themselves.

Most common things found wrong on a home inspection: 1) roof leaks/aged roof, 2) sewer line is cracked/broken, 3) furnace has a cracked combustion chamber so the whole furnace must be replaced, 4) water heater is on its last legs, 5) electrical issues like wires in the attic not in proper junction boxes, double tapping in the main electric panel, 6) plumbing leaks. Sellers have the option to offer a one year Home Warranty to a buyer for mechanical issues that could arise in the property at closing for @$600 that might satisfy a buyer who’s found some issues in the home or condo. Home Warranties do not cover roofing or foundations.

Sadly, with all the new construction and high rises going up in the Salt Lake Valley (14,000 apartments are under construction), few if any are being built for senior-only living. There are literally just a handful of senior designated housing projects, and units only come on the market once someone has passed or must go to fully assisted living. Most seniors are not aware of housing options because they haven’t shopped for a home in decades. I’m more than happy to tour the senior and/or the family to see different types of options within their price range.

The senior(s) could also sell their property but find that they don’t have enough funds to purchase something else and might be faced with finding a rental to suit their needs. PLEASE let me help you investigate a Reverse Mortgage-you can BUY with a reverse mortgage and NEVER make another payment again! How does that work? These loans are insured by FHA: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/hecm/hecmhome. You don’t need a job or great credit to get this mortgage, but not all lenders are versed enough to counsel you about the RM options so let me refer you to a lender you can talk to about all the details if you think you might want to purchase something using a Reverse Mortgage.

Don’t be overwhelmed, just pick up the 2000lb phone and let’s talk as to how I can help you and/or your senior downsize today! Finally, here’s some other great local resources:

You can view our resources here:

How to sell an estate or property I’m responsible for

Uncategorized

Selling an estate or property in Utah can be simple or complicated, fast or slow—depending on how well the deceased was organized before his or her death. An ‘estate’ can be a $20,000 mobile home, a condo and two rental properties, a commercial warehouse, or a 24-plex with a multi-million dollar mansion down the street. It’s the mission of the heir(s) to abide by the deceased wishes according to law. Regardless of the type of property I can achieve your goal.

I recall a friend of mine who told me one day that her father had finally passed after a long, painful illness. She and her siblings had gone through the home over the weekend and gone through his possessions. She wanted to give me the news in person that he had died, as I had known him-and he had wanted me to sell the house. I asked, “Did your dad put the property in a trust before he died?” “No”, she answered. I looked up the address in the public records on my iPad and we could see that he and her deceased mom were the owners of record and that there was no trust. I then asked, “Have you spoken to your attorney about how long he thinks probate will take?” She replied, “Oh, we don’t need an attorney. My brothers and sisters are all in agreement to sell the home and split the proceeds equally between us after it closes escrow. What’s probate?”

In this case, the estate had to go to Probate Court because that was what the law requires. Probate is basically where a judge ensures that there is a legal and orderly transfer of the property of the estate of her dad. There are safeguards put forth in the law to make sure the debts and taxes are paid (if possible) and resolve what heirs are entitled to what assets, and how to disburse the property accordingly. It can be a quick or very long process, inexpensive or very expensive to the estate/heirs.

Luckily, most of the people I work with have planned much better and the process becomes more of a filling in of the legal pieces of verifying signatures and the rights to sign and transfer. Either way, I can recommend the best legal professionals to help you do the right thing, from estate attorneys, CPA’s and appraisers, to escrow officers. I don’t take kickbacks or fees under the table from anyone I recommend.

Typical Steps for selling a parents/relative’s home/property

Selling a deceased parent’s house is its own journey of emotions and tasks. If you’re not keeping the property after they pass, there are steps you can take to minimize your stress and the time it takes to sell the house.

1. Determine who has the authority to sell the property/sign documents

If the owner of a house dies with no heirs, Intestate (without a will) Law will be used to determine the next possible beneficiary. Probate Court will apply these laws to identify the closest living family member. In the case that there are no surviving relatives and no Will, the state will take possession of the property.

2. Order a title report

The buyer and buyer’s lender will require that the estate provides ‘clean title’ to the purchaser, passing the deed without any liens attached to it that don’t belong to the buyer. Dad might have told you he paid off the mortgage but the original lender might not have sent the appropriate proof it was paid off. Or a lien was attached for unpaid taxes that don’t belong to this property. Getting this ordered first with a plat map (and if a condo, the CCR’s) will help foresee any problems in transferring title that can be worked out in advance. Title insurance fees are price-fixed by the state of Utah. You can’t ‘shop’ title companies because they basically all charge the same fees. I will recommend a company that I feel does the best job for me and my clients when it comes to selling an estate, to make sure that all the documents are correct to eventually pass title. Also, the escrow officer at the title company will want to see any trust or court documents that show who has the right to sign prior to close of escrow.

3. Establish the value of your parent’s house

The first step in selling your parent’s house is to value the house, along with the other property in the estate. The value of the house will be affected by any mortgage that remains to be paid on the house, improvements to be made, and the market value of comparable houses in the area. In valuing the house, I use both a formal appraisal from a licensed appraiser and run my own market analysis to see if I agree or disagree with the appraiser. These documents are not public (unless we chose to share them with a potential buyer). Pricing correctly is extremely important and giving you the best data possible will help immensely!

4. Sorting through your parent’s personal property

It is likely that most of your parent’s personal property that they owned and collected over the years is still in the home. To sell the house, this property must be removed so the house may be prepared for sale, although some furniture can be left for staging the home if it is determined the staging would help potential buyers visualize if their bed will fit in the main bedroom, their oversized sofa will work in the rec room-those kinds of things.
Family members may wish to take possession of certain property left behind that holds particular sentimental value. However, if your parent left a will and bequeathed specific property to named beneficiaries, you must preserve this property for the beneficiaries. Even if a close family member wants a particular piece of property, you cannot dispose of it if your parent included it in their will. This is another reason the court will want to review the distribution of assets. Suggestions include setting up a bank account for the estate where any funds related to the estate can be deposited for later distribution, such as proceeds from a garage/tag/estate sale and the later proceeds from the sale of the home, rental property, vacation property, etc.

Once you account for all the property expressly listed in the will, you will need to start “decluttering” the house of the rest of the personal property. Family members may wish to claim certain items. Sometimes an estate sale may help to clear out some property and bring in some cash at the same time. Inevitably, there will be some property that no one wants that you can donate to charity or simply dispose of. The goal is to empty the house of all property so that it may be placed on the market for sale. Keep details on funds and distributions via a simple log or an Excel document as you may need to show it to the court as well as other heirs. BUT don’t just randomly start selling off assets or holding a garage/tag/estate sale unless you are authorized to do so.

5. Prepare the house for sale

Once the property is decluttered, you should determine how you want to present the house for sale. My protocol is to have the property cleaned from top to bottom and I have a team that can usually complete the task within a week. I also have all the windows washed-inside and out. I have a window washer on call at all times as a home or condo shows much better with clear windows. Generally, I recommend the property be sold in ‘as-is’ condition, but sometimes there’s an immediate repair that has to be done. Having sold thousands of homes over the years I have a great list of vendors for repairs whom I trust and won’t charge an arm and a leg. Keep in mind that if you are aware of major issues with the house, like structural damage or conditions of safety or habitability, you must disclose these issues. Buyers will hire a professional inspection of the house that will reveal these kinds of issues.

6. List the house for sale

Once the house is emptied, cleaned, and perhaps repaired, deciding the price of the house that you are willing to accept, and will list the house for sale on the Multiple Listing Service If it’s a home in Washington County, we will list in the Salt Lake City and Washington County MLS services. If it’s in Park City, we’ll list in their MLS and the SLC MLS-double the exposure that most companies can’t offer because I’m a member of three MLS in the state. The second it goes live on the MLS it will appear on 20+ million websites around the world. The market will then dictate the list price of the house by having buyers present offers immediately or not at all. The real estate market is adjusting due to inflation/high interest rates and correct pricing is crucial to you getting the most money for the estate.

Although you may feel attached to the house and may have strong emotions about how much the house is worth to you, try to be realistic about what value you can get for the house. Overpricing can only hurt the property from getting the most offers, the highest sales price. Selling a parent’s house after they die is emotional, and your emotions can easily affect your success in selling the house. If you can separate your emotions from the task at hand, take a few simple steps to prepare the house for sale, and list the house at a reasonable price within the market, you’ll find that selling your parent’s house after death can be easier and quicker than you expected.

Can I run my own estate sale to liquidate property?

Uncategorized

The short answer is “Of course”. However, there’s a lot to running a successful estate sale and chances are, once you learn all that goes into it, you’ll want to explore hiring a company to run the sale for you. People raised during the Great Depression often became hoarders. This can be an overwhelming task to liquidate but I have professionals who can literally go through every box, bag, trunk to help find important papers like insurance policies, birth certificates and legacy items such as family photos, yearbooks, etc. They understand what is junk/trash, potential valuable antiques, common goods to sell and/or items to donate to charity. They charge by the hour and are extremely efficient and trustworthy.

Know that local estate liquidators are generally booked out two months and will usually only work a sale if the contents are worth more than $10,000. Otherwise, we hire reputable people to sort through and set up a yard/garage/tag sale. Either way, professionals will take anywhere from 30-50% of the proceeds from any sale.

Are there capital gains taxes on inherited real estate?

Uncategorized

Estate taxes are fees charged by the federal government (and some state governments) against the estate of a deceased party who passes property to their heirs. The tax is based on the total value of all the property in the estate that is passed on after death. This may include the house/property they own in their name. However, only estates that are valued over a certain amount ($11.7 million in 2021) are subject to the federal estate tax. The threshold level for exemption changes every year based on the changing tax laws. If you inherit your parents’ home and it’s worth $520,000, selling it right away could help you avoid capital gains tax if it’s still only worth $520,000 at the time of the sale. According to the Utah State Tax Commission: “Utah’s estate tax system is commonly referred to as a “pick up” tax. This is because Utah picks up all, or a portion of, the credit for state death taxes allowed on the federal estate tax return (Federal form 706 or 706NA). Federal changes phased out the national inheritance tax and, therefore, eliminated Utah’s inheritance tax after December 31, 2004. Since there is no longer a federal credit for state death taxes on the federal estate tax return, there is no longer a basis for the Utah inheritance tax. Utah inheritance tax returns do not need to be filed. Utah does not require an Inheritance Tax Waiver. I HIGHLY encourage that you check with a CPA regarding taxes.

Are there inheritance taxes?

Inheritance taxes are state taxes charged against the beneficiary who receives property from a deceased person after the estate pays estate taxes (if any) and distributes property. Beneficiaries pay inheritance taxes only on the value of the property they receive. Inheritance taxes vary by state and range from 1 to 18 percent. However, just as there is an exemption threshold for estate taxes, each state has its own exemption threshold for inheritance taxes. If the value of the property you receive is less than your state’s exemption amount, you do not have to pay inheritance taxes. Again, CHECK with a CPA familiar with inheritance taxes.