Sell Your Inherited House Fast in Georgia

In theory, inheriting a property can be a great opportunity: you are left with an asset that could potentially make you some money. But in reality, inheriting a house can present a lot of difficulties on the way to selling. There might be delays in the probate process, needed repairs on the property, or general hassles in the selling process that you can’t or don’t want to deal with. Regardless of the struggles you might be facing with your inheritance, this article will help you learn more about what it takes to sell your inherited house in whatever way works the best for you and your situation.

How To Sell An Inherited House in Georgia

Once you have inherited a house, you have some time to figure out what to do next. Inherited properties in Georgia often have to go through probate court to determine the new legal ownership of the property, a process which generally takes several months. Until the property is determined to be yours, you cannot list or sell your inherited house. However, there are some steps you can take early on to make the selling process as quick and painless as possible.

Stay involved in the probate process

Handling probate should be your first priority, not only to make the process as quick and painless as possible, but also so you can get to know the state of the property. If you are inheriting a house from a deceased loved one, the executor of the will should be able to determine if you were left with any debt, back taxes, or mortgage payments along with the property. These debts will usually need to be handled before the probate process can be completed. As the court handles any debts using the assets of your estate, remain aware of how the process is being completed. An inheritance can quickly turn into a money pit under the wrong circumstances, and you don’t want to be caught off guard by what probate leaves you with, especially if you are hoping to sell your inherited house as soon as probate is through.

In Georgia, there are alternatives to the probate process, but most of these must be put into motion by the previous owner of the property before their death. In these cases, our advice is the same: stay involved. An inheritance can be a large responsibly, and if you want to sell your inherited house for the fairest price, vigilance is key.

Preparing the Property

Once all debts are paid and the probate court has determined that the house is legally yours, you can follow the same steps as you would for selling any other property when trying to sell your inherited house. First, you’ll need to determine which selling method works best for you.

Regardless of the method that works best for you, there might still be some roadblocks ahead when selling your inherited house in Georgia, like disagreements between multiple heirs or property taxes, which you need to keep in mind.

Selling an inherited house with multiple heirs

Perhaps surprisingly, if a property has multiple heirs who are named co-owners, not all of the heirs do not have to agree to sell the house in order for it to be sold. Of course, at the end of the day, the best option is to find an agreement that everyone is happy with, but sometimes that kind of ideal outcome isn’t a possibility. If heirs disagree about what to do with their co-owned inherited property, there are several steps that can be taken in order to sell the house:

1. Negotiation or Mediation: All parties can negotiate for the best win-win agreement. In the case of mediation, a neutral third-party, usually someone with legal experience, helps the co-owners discuss options to resolve the issue. Mediation is usually the best practice if disagreements over the future of the property are causing strife between the heirs, especially if one the disagreeing heirs is also the executor of the will. Hiring a mediator also helps all parties avoid the cost of going to court.
2. Buyout: The heir who is opposed to selling can offer to buy any other owners’ shares in the inherited property, thus providing them with sole ownership. This way, all parties get what they want: the heir who wanted to sell is able to offload their shares, and the heir who wanted to retain the property is able to do so.
3. Partition Action: If all else falls, the matter can be settled in court. The court will divide the shares of the property evenly between the heirs, and it will often order a sale in order to divide the proceeds according to each owners’ share, which is called “partition by sale.” In some cases, the court may also be able to split the property and provide each heir with a separate portion to do with as they please, which is called “partition in kind.”

If one heir sells the house without receiving consent from the other owners, then the other heirs may have the legal right to challenge the sale and file a lawsuit in order to make sure they receive their share of the inheritance.

How is inherited property taxed when sold?

Georgia is a pretty good state to live in in terms of taxes on your inherited property. You won’t have to worry about an inheritance tax, which hasn’t applied in Georgia since July of 2014. However, there are still potential tax implications that your should be aware of if you are dealing with an inheritance.

Estate Taxes

Estate taxes are paid directly out of the estate, and they will be paid to the state before you inherit the property. The estate tax has a minimum threshold of $13.61 million as of 2024, meaning that your inheritance cannot be taxed unless its total exceeds the amount of $13,610,000. In short, if you have inherited an Average-Joe property and not a multi-million dollar estate, you won’t have to worry about losing anything to an estate tax.

Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Property

A capital gains tax is the most likely tax you will face when selling your inherited property. This tax is placed on the appreciation of any inherited property, and you only have to pay it if the inheritance is sold for a profit. You do not have to pay it if you retain ownership of the house or if you sell it for its fair market value from the time of the previous owner’s death. This is because a capital gains tax on an inherited home is calculated using a “stepped-up cost basis,” which means you will subtract the fair market value of the property at the time of the previous owner’s death from the recent selling price in order to figure out your tax liability. You will then be taxed according to this liability and your income.

Documents required to sell an inherited property

There are several documents you will need in order to sell your inherited house in Georgia, such as documents issued by the court that granted you legal ownership of the property or provided you the right to act as executor of the estate. Documents that you will need in order to sell your property include:

• Proof of Ownership: This document will be provided by the court following probate. If you avoided probate, then the executor of the deceased’s will should be able to provide appropriate documents.
• Death Certificate of the Previous Owner: If you have inherited property after the death of a loved one, title companies, bank lenders, and buyers may ask for proof of death before finalizing the sale.
• Title and Tax Records: The documents track the ownership and tax history of the property. They will inform about any existing liens or mortgage payments, and they will prove that the taxes have been paid.
• Seller Disclosure: This document informs potential buyers about the condition of the property. It is required in Georgia.

Is there an easier way to sell?

Yes, there is! In order to avoid the hassle of listing and showing your property after surviving the lengthy probate process, you can sell your inherited house in Georgia to a local house-buying company. Professional cash homebuyers make competitive offers and purchase houses in any condition through direct sale, allowing you to close on your property in as little as week. You can avoid making repairs and updates to get your property “market-ready” and instead hand your property off to a homebuyer so you can move on.

Get a cash offer on your inherited property today!

We Buy Houses In West Georgia is a local homebuying company that makes fair cash offers on properties as-is. No matter your situation, we can help you offload your property as quickly as possible. Our process eliminates the hassle of the traditional home-selling process, allowing you to sell your house and move on, worry-free and with cash in-hand.

Once you fill out our form to get your no-obligation cash offer started, someone from our team will contact you within 48 hours in order to set up a meeting to view your property, answer any questions, and make our cash offer. If you choose to accept this offer (there is no obligation to accept!), we will close at a local attorney’s office, and you receive your cash payment.

“Great cash offer and we closed a week later”

“I was recently married and my house was in need of repair. We Buy Houses In West Georgia made me a great cash offer and we closed a week later.”

– Jill Tholl, Villa Rica, GA

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If you want to learn more, we invite you to visit our How It Works page. Here, we offer full transparency about our homebuying process, including details about exactly how we calculate our offers. You can also check out Our Company page to get to know our team, our credentials, and our experience. Fill out the form below to get a no-obligation cash offer started now!