Closing on the sale of a home that’s not your own

I always laugh at the MLS when it gives a selection for how long the owner of the property has owned it. 1) More than a year 2) less than a year3) the seller does not yet own the property… Ahhhh, that last one… those were the days when someone was purchasing a property to flip it and has already put it on the market to entice a buyer.

I know there are other reasons to use this function but it still gives me the giggles. But here is another reason a seller is selling a property that isn’t really their own- when they have inherited the property.

Let’s say you have a seller who puts a property up on the market. The inheritors never lived in the home and their parent, who had life tenancy, died a few years ago. This may not be a complicated situation. The folks who were on the deed were the children of the last remaining parent. However, one of the adult children died before the mother did and didn’t have a will.

The children of that inheritor inherited her share of the property (or at least they think they did) but to further complicate things, the father of those children (essentially, the grandchildren of the original owner) wants a piece of the pie.

I don’t know the end of the story yet but I will tell you that it has taught me a very valuable lesson- when you become an adult and you start gathering assets, don’t let the state decide who gets what. I know the rules are different depending on the state you live in but, regardless, make that decision for yourself while you are well and of sound mind.

Get a will made and don’t let your family fight over something silly. You can’t take it with you and neither can your heirs.