How to Handle inheriting a house in a trust

Hey, this is Mike from Mike Buys Houses. If you are inheriting a house in a trust, then this video should help you out. 

What is a Trust?

A trust is a way to transfer assets and ensure that the wishes of the one who has passed are followed. So a successor trustee will be named by the trust. At that point, they will get their directions basically from the trust document of what are the wishes of the deceased and which direction that will go. 

So if the plan is to sell the property, then you really have two ways to do it. These are what we will talk about. 

Sell with the Trustee

The first way to do it is to sell it with the trustee, which basically means that you’re going to look at the trust document and make sure that the trustee has the ability to sell the asset. Then, at that point, the trustee can reach out and list the property with a real estate agent. At closing, the title agency is just going to want to make sure that this is legit. 

So they’re going to want to look at the trust document, potentially the certificate of trust signed by the trust attorney, and potentially the death certificate. They really just want to make sure that everything as far as the trust and the trustee and the decision making process was all legit. 

Then, the trustee will be the one doing the signing and the sale will occur and then the distribution of assets will occur after that point. So the first way to sell is just using the trustee. 

Sale without the Trustee

The second way to get this done is without the trustee. So what you’re going to do is review the trust documents, make sure that they have the ability to transfer title to the beneficiary of the asset. If it’s not in there, most likely, it’s assumed that they do have that ability. You may want to check with an attorney in your area just to verify that, but at that point they will transfer the title to you and you’re going to be able to sell the property. 

One thing of note is that they are not obligated to transfer the title to you. So if they don’t think that’s the decision that the trust was written in order to achieve, then they may not do this. So that’s something to consider when you’re trying to go this route. 

Really the last thing you need to consider is how are you going to sell the property? So depending on the condition and your situation, you may want to list the property and use a realtor to sell it because you’re going to get the biggest pool of buyers. This might make sense for someone who is going to be living in the property right away and the property doesn’t require too many repairs. 

However, you can refer back to some of our other videos where we talk about, what are the costs and benefits of using a realtor and how much money are you actually going to walk away with? Remember that you’re going to pay closing costs and commissions and they’re probably going to give you some repairs and clean up there. 

You can also sell it as-is to someone like me at mikebuyshousespa.com.

I buy as-is with:

• No closing costs
• No commission
• No repairs
• No fees
• Nothing for you to do 

At the same time I can also purchase your property via terms, which means that I can make you the bank. You’ll get the most money for your property, you’ll collect payments every month, you’ll be secured by the property and it’s just a great option for a lot of homeowners. 

So if that’s something you’d like to explore then reach out to me at 267-984-4765 or fill out the form below. We look forward to helping you.