April 18, 2009: A good Realtor may be the key to preserving your parents' legacy when they pass away
Here's a horrifying thought. It's late at night and you're at home in bed in Manhattan or Manhattan Beach when you get an emergency phone call from Thunderbird Hospital. Your widowed mother has passed away unexpectedly.
And now you must take on the burdens of the grieving. In addition to making the funeral arrangements, you have inherited your parents' estate. You'll need to talk to their estate planner, and possibly also to their accountant. But the financial professional who could have the greatest impact -- positive or negative -- on the legacy your parents have left is the one with whom they very probably forgot to forge a relationship.
That would be a Realtor, of course. For many retired people, the most valuable investment they have will be their home. Many will own the home free and clear, a six-figure asset. But how the heirs manage the sale of their parents' home can make a huge difference in how much the property sells for.
Here's one way of looking at things: Your folks have died, may they rest in peace, and everything they left behind is free money. Sell it cheap, sell it fast and move on.
But your parents worked hard all their lives, in part to leave you a significant legacy, and with just a little bit of planning and husbandry, you can realize thousands more on the sale of their property -- perhaps to pass along to their grandchildren.
You'll need to have an estate sale, first. Cluttered houses sell slowly and for less money. Then you'll probably have to arrange for repairs, painting and cleaning. You can sell the home as-is, but then you're competing with all the low-priced foreclosed homes out there.
What you'll need more than anything is a Realtor who is accustomed to handling estates in your absence. To sell for top-dollar, the home will need a thoroughgoing marketing effort -- staging and decorating, open houses, internet promotion.
Your parents are gone and nothing will bring them back. But a little bit of forethought will go a long way toward preserving their legacy.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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