I am the sole executor - in writing and in word.  He made it clear that not only was I the executor but that my word was final.  We had a very good relationship and he trusted my financial judgement completely and made it clear in the will and prior to his death he made it clear that I was "chief".  I just allowed them the opportunity to bid as a  means of clearing the decks, I had no legal requirement to do so.  But knowing that some of you have had difficulties with estates in the past is informative.  I will refresh my ads to reflect that this estate does not require a committee decision.

Actually, here in Virginia, a property going to auction many times brings more than the actual market value. Now, let me tell you why...it't simply the auction mentality! You don't realize how badly you want something until you think someone else wants it too and many time people get carried away with the process. I can't tell you how many times I had realtors come up to me totally amazed at the amount a property brings. Of course this happens most more frequently with a medium prices "middle income" sort of property rather than a large McMansion. THe most memorable....we auctioned off a house (a nicer one) and it brought $245,000.00 plus a 10% bidder premium. One of the most prominent realtors in town was at this auction and stated that he would not have listed this property for anymore than $160,000.00

Just so I have this straight ... you are the executor, but the proceeds of the house will be split between you and other heirs?

   You say you have an agent ...  what is this person doing to help it sell?  Is he doing ads? Open houses? 

    I've sold an inherited house at auction ... it went pretty well, though we had a heck of a time getting the buyer to close. 

 

 

Time is of the essence here.  During my marriage, my ex and I purchased two estate houses.  The second had been sitting empty, one of the heirs stripped out the appliances and the AC, another one stole all the wiring and sold it for salvage, and then the local teenagers started using it for a party house.  We cleaned up quite a mess.  

In this economy, squatters are a very real possibility.  I'll probably get jumped on for saying this, but many squatters are crackheads or meth monsters, and one meth cooker will ruin your chances for a sale permanently, since the law requires professional decontamination.  

A rent-to-own or lease-to-own may get it off your hands quickly, and the additional income from the mortgage interest may be desirable to the heirs.  People who have limited down payments but steady employment are jumping all over rent-to-owns in this area.

I was wondering if you have had any luck yet selling this property.  I am in the same boat, and if you found something that worked would love to hear about it.

 

 

Yes we finally sold it. For all the advertising we did it was sold by MLS. We also offered an agent bonus which was what got the attention. We ended up with 5 offers, all low. We selected the one with the best financial picture and negotiated hard and long with them. Due to the economic circumstances of the area the house was in (no loans available, very depressed area) we ended up financing half of the purchase price. You could list the property for sale by owner on the various websites, I suggest v-flyer because they post it on many sites for you. Craigslist only generated junk email. At least this way you could test the market. The biggest problem right now is finding someone to finance the property for the buyer, it is a huge problem. I would suggest waiting until next year. Our property had a house with utilities, large taxes and other issues and we absolutely had to sell to cut carrying costs. If it had been vacant land I would have held it longer.

Ads in Mother Earth News and/or Backwoods Journal.  Don't know if homesteading or frugality blogs would classify a post like this as spam.  If I had a little money, I certainly would not!  Make my big browns grrrreeeen with envy...

Also try mobile home sellers.  Some of them purchase land and finance it to mobile home buyers.  Some surveyors buy land on speculation. Youmight be able to subdivide and trade a lot in exchange for surveying, platting, etc.?