Expert: Hans Weber, Licensed Broker Associate - 10/22/2008

Question
Hello Hans,
My dad had passed away. I'm the executor of the estate. One of my brothers is willing to buy the house. There are 3 siblings and myself, so he is willing to apply/get a mortgage for 75% of appraised value. Appraisal occurred 2 years ago, at the time of my dad's death. a) Do I need a new appraisal?  b) is this sale something I can do or would I need a real estate lawyer?  c) If this is something I can do, how do I do it?
Thanks in advance,
Thom

Answer
Hello Thom,

Thank you for your question.

It is always a pleasure to hear someone wanting to keep a parent's home in the family.

You can use any price you agree on.  The appraisal from 2 years ago was for estate purposes.  You can use that price or the current value or anything you agree on.

You could do this yourself, but it is a large transaction involving 4 family members.  It would be a safe idea to have a neutral party to guide and help you with the closing to protect everyone.  The lawyer would also need to do a title search to be sure that there a no liens on the property when title passes.  All this should only cost a few thousand dollars if there are no liens and it will protect everyone.

Hans