Selling Your Childhood Home

Buying a house always feels like a win, but selling one is bittersweet. In a perfect world, you could establish new homes and keep the old. The fact that you grew up in a house that your parents owned is part of what gave you financial stability that enabled you to pursue your studies, find a stable job, and eventually buy your own house and give your own children the same financial stability that you enjoyed as a child. Selling a house is, at best, bittersweet. The purchase of your new place may be contingent on the sale of your old one. No matter how long you have been planning to list your house on the market, you always scramble to pack up your belongings in preparation for the sale. One would think that the process would be easier if you moved out of the house you are selling decades before it went on the market, but sometimes that is not the case. Your childhood home still feels like home even after you are grown up, and selling it because of the death or old age of your parents can be an emotional rollercoaster. If you must sell the house where you grew up because of your parents’ estate plan or lack thereof, contact a Washington, D.C. real estate lawyer.

Why Would You Sell the House That Has Been Home for Your Whole Life?

If you are responsible for the sale of your parents’ house, it is usually because your parents decided to age in place, or else because they refused to think about their long-term plans and aged in place by default. These are some scenarios where sons and daughters might have to sell their parents’ house:

• The parents’ will said that their estate should sell the house and divide the proceeds among the children.
• The parents intended for their children to inherit the house, but the estate must sell it to pay debts, including but not limited to obligations to Medicaid for nursing home care.
• The parents are moving to an assisted living facility, and they are selling the house and using the proceeds to pay for their long-term care.
• The children inherited the house, but they have decided to sell it and share the proceeds.

Why Is Selling Your Childhood Home So Difficult?

Selling a house is always stressful, but the fact that it was your family home for decades compounds the stress. If you and your siblings are working on the project, there is room for disagreement about everything, from the asking price to the renovations. Worst of all, removing your parents’ personal property is much more time-consuming and emotionally charged than you expected it to be.

Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About Your Childhood Home in the Context of Your Parents’ Estate Plan

A Washington, D.C. real estate attorney can help you if you are responsible for selling your childhood home, because this is what your parents decided.  Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C.  in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.

Source:

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