Deciding what to do with an inherited house can feel like a monumental task. Large inheritances typically accompany significant and emotionally charged life transitions, and the added responsibility may seem like an impossibly stressful obligation. A solid, carefully laid-out plan will help you prepare to receive and effectively manage your inheritance. This time can also offer unique opportunities to honor your loved one’s legacy through thoughtful decisions about how to manage their property and personal belongings after death.
Whether you choose to sell, rent, or keep the house or personal possessions, a detailed, step-by-step roadmap will arm you with the confidence and clear-mindedness necessary to approach this complex process. These tools will be invaluable if you are also dealing with grief and loss. If you’re in this position now or expect to be in the future, let’s break down what to do when you inherit a house.
Deciding What to Do With an Inherited House
Before you commit to any decisions about what to do with an inherited house, contact a lawyer or estate planner to inform yourself of any legal and financial requirements, disputes, issues, or questions that may need to be resolved before you can successfully move forward. Is there an existing unpaid mortgage or any outstanding debts attached to the home? You’ll want to be aware of any legal implications, as an unexpected financial outlay could significantly affect your desired plans for the property. This information can also help you plan for any expenses you may incur as you work through managing your inheritance.
When the keys are in your hands, your next step is to secure the property: change locks, and security codes and transfer utilities into your name. This is also the time to evaluate the property’s condition, contents, location, and market value if you are thinking of selling or moving in. If repairs or maintenance to the home are required, get contractors’ quotes on the costs to update the property to help you plan a budget to address these expenses. This information may also impact what you choose to do with the property.
Selling, renting, moving in, or maintaining an inherited home are all financial decisions that require very careful consideration.
Selling
Selling is one of the most popular choices because it provides cash upfront and removes the responsibility and burden of ongoing property maintenance and management. On the other hand, selling may require setting up an estate sale to sell the home’s contents, discarding the contents of the home and paying for any required maintenance or updates. Selling could also mean relinquishing a family legacy, which may be a sensitive matter for family members.
Renting
Renting is a good choice if you’re interested in owning an asset that produces long-term passive income. You should be prepared to assume all ongoing responsibilities for maintenance, repair and any tenant issues as the property’s landlord, or pay a property management service monthly fees to assume those responsibilities for you.
Moving in
Moving in can be a way to save money, honor the deceased’s legacy or to keep the home to be passed down to the next generation, but may mean making a significant lifestyle adjustment or a major move to an unfamiliar area. You may also need to incur the various costs of selling your existing home.
Maintaining Without Occupancy
Maintaining the property without occupancy incurs ongoing costs and upkeep, many of which may require making monthly payments for services like electricity, water and home insurance.
Think through the pros and cons of each option. The right choice for you will depend on your circumstances, financial goals and objectives, and emotional connection to the property. Taking time to assess the property’s condition, understand its market potential and be clear on your own needs and wants will ensure you make an informed, well-researched decision that works for you and anyone else involved, personally and financially.
Pre-Planning for Your Property Inheritance
The sooner you can start planning before you find yourself in charge of determining what to do with an inherited house or a large collection of personal belongings, the better. Conversations with loved ones about how they would like their personal belongings managed after death may be difficult or uncomfortable, but you will appreciate having a clear understanding of their wishes, ideally in writing, when it is time to make big decisions in the wake of their passing. Having this information at the ready is invaluable if there are multiple heirs involved among whom property and assets will need to be divided.
As you work through what to do when you inherit a house, a top-down approach to tackling responsibilities will help you identify priorities and develop a logical plan:
- Schedule time with heirs and benefactors: Discuss wishes and next steps, starting with the most valuable items and most urgent responsibilities.
- Identify sentimental items: Know what matters most to your loved ones. Are there sentimental or precious belongings they would like you to keep? Would they like to gift anything to their heirs before they pass, so they may see them enjoy it? Allow them plenty of time to consider their options, so they may make confident, stress-free decisions.
- Prepare the property in advance: This is also an excellent time to declutter a soon-to-be inherited property because it is likely you will also be inheriting a lifetime of accumulated personal belongings after death. If there are items you need to clear out of the home that are too precious to part with, consider purchasing a storage unit to house them.
What to Do With Your Loved One’s Personal Belongings After Death
An inherited home is often brimming with a lifetime’s collection of personal items, many of which may hold deep personal or sentimental meaning to you and your loved ones. We’ll help you construct a well-considered strategy to inventory, assess and manage what to do with an inherited house and any personal possessions after death to keep overwhelm and stress at bay.
Start by setting aside plenty of time to take a comprehensive inventory of the entirety of your loved one’s belongings. Walk through the space and identify which items you’d like to keep, donate and discard. Start with large items, like furniture, art and decorative removable fixtures they may have installed, and plan a second sweep to dive into the contents of any drawers, closets and storage bins. Place labeled sticky notes to help keep track of your decisions and stay organized.
When you’ve finished inventorying all items, pack up any items you want to donate and make arrangements with your chosen charitable organization for drop-off or pickup. If you have a lot of items to discard, or if you are discarding items of considerable size or weight, look for companies that specialize in large-volume residential junk removal. These services will bring a truck or portable waste receptacle to the property for you to fill. Finally, carefully pack up any items you wish to keep and take with you, and choose a storage facility for any items that need safekeeping outside the home.
It’s also a good idea to take photos of anything you sell, donate or discard, especially if you are managing a copious volume of items. Keeping a record will help you keep track of belongings as you manage the estate, and will come in handy for tax filings or other accounting.
What to Do With an Inherited House: DIY Options vs. Professional Estate Sale Options
If you are wondering what to do with an inherited house full of personal belongings, an estate sale can help you clear out items and generate some cash. Money from the sale of personal belongings after a death could be especially helpful if there are outstanding debts on the property or other final expenses that need to be settled.
DIY Estate Sale
A do-it-yourself approach may be a better fit for smaller or more manageable estates, or if you have plenty of help available to prepare for your sale. A DIY sale allows you to set your own prices and schedule one or more sales at your convenience. Keep in mind that you will be responsible for every aspect of the sale, from researching prices to managing the sale itself, and buyers may expect you to haggle on prices.
Hiring a Professional Estate Sale Service
The days, weeks and months after a death can be a profoundly difficult and emotional time, and you may want to delegate the complexities of sorting out what to do with an inherited house during this time to a professional service. A professional estate sale service will handle every aspect of the sale for you, relieving stress and allowing you to attend to other important responsibilities. If you choose to hire a professional estate sale service, they will manage the inventorying, appraisals, pricing, listing and selling of your loved one’s personal belongings for you.
These services usually take a percentage of the total sales and may charge other fees as well, so thoroughly research your options and be mindful of any budgetary concerns as you decide.
Whichever approach you choose, you and any other heirs should carefully go through the deceased’s personal belongings before you hold an estate sale to identify any valuable assets or sentimental items you wish to keep. Temporary or long-term storage may be useful if you have items about which you are undecided, or if you need to store belongings while you plan your estate sale.
What Happens When You Inherit a Storage Unit?
If you inherit a storage unit filled with personal belongings after a death, you will need to provide the storage facility with a death certificate or proof of executor status to have ownership transferred to you. After establishing your right to the unit, decide if you’d like to take over the existing rental agreement, move the contents to another facility, take them with you or discard them.
Many storage facilities offer a grace period, typically 30 days, to give a beneficiary time to sift through a unit’s contents and decide what they’d like to do with the unit. Ask the facility if they offer a grace period to assess the contents and decide what to do with the unit after it is turned over to you. Try to decide what you’d like to do with the unit’s contents as soon as possible, to avoid incurring additional storage fees. You may be able to negotiate with the storage facility if you need more time to work through this process.
When you gain entry into the unit, inventory its contents just as you would if you were assessing the contents of an inherited home. If there are other heirs, include them in this process to ensure all wishes and desires are respected. You may also appreciate having additional help going through a large volume of personal items. Sort belongings by personal and financial value, and decide what you would like to keep, donate and discard. Consider renting a moving truck for large items or to move items to another unit under your name.
Remember the Basics to Successfully Manage Your Home Inheritance
If you are faced with what to do with an inherited house, planning ahead in concert with your loved ones and other heirs can make the experience far less stressful, and potentially more meaningful.
- Consult legal advice to ensure you are aware of any legal or financial obligations you may incur as the property is transferred to you.
- Have thoughtful discussions with your loved ones and any other heirs to ensure you have a clear understanding of everyone’s goals for management of the property and how they would like personal belongings to be distributed after death.
- Selling the contents of the inherited property through a professional or DIY estate sale may help generate needed income to cover other expenses related to the passing of your loved one.
If you need a place to store precious items, or if you require more time to sort through inherited personal belongings, a storage unit will provide a safe location to house them in the meantime. Let us help you find a storage unit near you if you need to secure sizable items, items you haven’t yet decided how to address, or any items that require more time to manage.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the storage unit if someone dies?
The property of the deceased is typically transferred to whomever they have designated as a beneficiary, or to their legal heirs. If you have inherited a storage unit, you will need to provide the storage facility with a death certificate or proof of executor status. Check with the storage facility directly to determine which documents you will need to access the unit and have the contents of the decedent’s storage unit released to you.
What are inherited objects called?
Inherited objects are called “bequests.” Note that there is a subtle but meaningful difference between a bequest and an inheritance. Bequests are the specific gifts and directives for assets like cash, a house or property, or other items that are made as part of a will or trust. An inheritance, on the other hand, comprises the end-to-end process of receiving assets after a death. An inheritance does not always include a bequest, and a will is not always required. You may receive property because you are a legal heir to an estate, such as a blood relative, adopted child or spouse of the deceased.
What do you do with your parents’ belongings after they pass?
If you are selling the property, set aside plenty of time to go through your parents’ belongings and decide which items you’d like to keep, give away and discard. Take your time to make sure you identify items that may have personal or sentimental value to you. If there are other heirs, they should be included in this process as your parents may have willed specific items to them. If you aren’t sure what to do with certain items, consider purchasing a self-storage unit to house them safely in the meantime.
What to do if you inherit a house full of stuff?
First, take a general inventory of the contents of the house. If you are dealing with a large home, walk through the space and identify which items you’d like to keep, donate and discard.
Start with large items, like furniture, art and valuable fixtures they may have installed to replace original ones, and plan a second sweep to dive into the contents of any drawers or storage containers. Use labeled sticky notes to help keep track of your decisions and stay organized.
Pack up any items you want to donate and make arrangements with your chosen charitable organization for drop-off or pickup. Discard any items you do not want. Carefully pack up any items you wish to keep and take with you, and choose a storage facility for any items that need temporary safekeeping.
It’s also a good idea to take photos of anything you sell, donate or discard, especially if you are managing a large volume of items. Keeping a record will help you keep track of belongings as you manage the estate, and will come in handy for any tax filings or other accounting.
