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5 Things to Do When You Inherit a House of Items

After you lose a loved one, you will feel a range of emotions coursing through your mind and body. Mourning is always prevalent, but you might also experience anxiety over the list of things you have to do to manage your loved one’s affairs.

 

Many people inherit a house via their parent’s will and last wishes. When this happens, you suddenly have an estate full of memories and items that you have to secure, clean out, and potentially sell.

 

Inheriting a house full of items can be a difficult time for all involved. Luckily, there are steps you can take to help ease the process. If you want to know what to do, read our top five tips below. 

 

If you’ve inherited a house full of junk, and you’re not sure what to do, contact First Choice Home Buyers. We buy inherited houses as-is. And, with our clean-out program, you can leave anything you don’t want or need behind.

 

Complete our online form, or give us a call at 717-744-9113 to see how we can help!

1. Ask Friends and Family For Help

 

The first thing you want to do when sorting through your loved one’s house is to ask for help. You may have close family members, like brothers and sisters, who already want to lend a hand.

 

But  the process of grieving can take a toll on family members. That is especially true for people who lose someone and then have to go through everything in their house. So, call up other members of the family and ask if they have any spare time to help you.

 

If you have good friends, they may have already offered their services. If not, go ahead and ask them anyway. Many times, people’s grief is hard for others to understand.

 

Therefore, your friends may not know how difficult it is to go through an old house. Once you gather your team, you can give them a list of tasks each can perform. That way, there is some order to the process.

 

You might also want to set some rules. Tell everyone they cannot throw anything away without consulting you. That way, nothing critical or sentimental goes in the trash bin. 

 

2. Follow the Will and Last Wishes 

 

A will and someone’s last wishes are two separate matters. The will is the document stating that your loved one left their estate and land to you. However, someone’s final wishes are requests made before death.

 

These typically say what the person wants to happen to their belongings after they pass away. It is critical to note that last wishes are not legally binding. That said, you are still obligated to uphold your loved one’s requests.

 

Your loved one may ask you to keep items, even if you don’t find them very valuable. What is important is that they meant something to your loved one.

 

You also want to listen carefully at the reading of the will. If there is anything left to your family members, you will have to give it to them.

 

3. Take Your Time and Set a Limit

 

When sifting through a house full of junk, it is tempting to either throw it all out or take your time and go through everything. While some people may not want to rush anything, others also don’t want to let the process drag on for months.

 

That is why setting a time frame and limit is best for the process. You can tell yourself and others that everything has to be out of the house within a month.

 

You can also set a daily limit. For instance, you can tell yourself and others that you will spend a set amount of hours at the house.

 

That will make you set aside time every day to visit the estate and rifle through items and boxes. 

 

Time limits help you pace yourself and keep the frustration to a minimum. That way, you don’t throw out irreplaceable items. Alternatively, you won’t neglect the process and have it looming over your head. 

 

4. Set Aside Important Documents

 

Many homes tend to have piles of papers stacked in each room and closet. You might not think anything of it and toss them out. Taxing as it is, you want to go through those papers to ensure you don’t lose personal documents.

 

These are items like: 

  • Driver’s license
  • Medical bills 
  • Credit card statements
  • Utility bills
  • Passwords and usernames 
  • Pay stubs
  • Tax forms 
  • Deeds
  • Car payments
  • Mortgage information
  • Social security information
  • Receipts for items like art or jewelry 
  • Insurance information

 

To be safe, save anything with your loved one’s vital information. If the papers have sensitive data on them but you no longer need them, then be sure to shred the documents.

 

You do not want them to fall into the wrong hands and have your loved one’s identity stolen. Along with documents, go through old journals with care.

 

If your loved one took the time to keep a diary or write something down, take time to read through them. You might learn something you never knew. Plus, those handwritten papers are an excellent way to keep their memory alive. 

 

5. Sell the House As-is and Fast!

 

So long as the will and final wishes allow, you might want to sell the house. Of course, not everyone has time to go through the entire house-selling process.

 

There are countless companies out there that will help you sell the house for cash. All you have to do is open your web browser and type in your location and that you want to sell a home. 

 

Consider something like this: 

  • Sell my house fast Harrisburg, PA
  • Sell my house fast York, PA
  • Sell my house fast Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Sell my house as-is for cash

 

You will see quite a few companies pop up. If you live in Pennsylvania, First Choice Home Buyers is one of the top-rated companies to help you sell for cash.

 

To see how it works, all you have to do is call us and tell us your situation. From there, we will discuss what your options are and your cash offer. 

Sell an Inherited Property Fast With First Choice Home Buyers 

 

As you can tell, there are several steps you can take when you inherit a house. When in doubt, First Choice Home Buyers is here to help you sell your inherited property quickly in Pennsylvania for a fair cash offer.

 

Not only that, but we also provide junk removal services. So, if you have a house and cannot remove all of the junk, we will come out to do the rest for you with our clean out program.

 

If you want to know how to sell inherited property as is or how to sell inherited property as is without a realtor, feel free to contact us today. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have and talk about your home for sale.

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