When multiple owners are involved selling a house gets even more complicated.It could be that you inherited the house with siblings, or you purchase it with a business partner. Whatever the reason, selling a house that has multiple owners can be a big hassle for everyone involved.
If this is the situation you found yourself in, it’s important to understand the main factors that are going to impact the sale of your property. Take a look below, and we’re going to show you seven things that you need to know about selling a house with multiple owners in Atlanta. We’ll also go over how working directly with the professional direct house buyer can simplify the process significantly and get you a successful sale for you and everyone else involved.
1. Figure Out the Ownership Structure
Right off the bat, you need to figure out the ownership structure of the home. Find out who all the owners are and what percentage of the home that person owns. If a property is owned jointly, that means that each owner has an equal share. However, if it’s owned as tenants-in-common, each owner may have a different percentage of ownership in the house.
Understanding this is important because it’s going to change the process when you sell the home. For example, you need consent from every owner to sell the home, not just one or two. Knowing who owns what percent of the house will also let you know how much everyone will be getting individually.
2. Figure Out a Price
Agreeing on the sales price of the home can be one of the more difficult aspects. It’s hard enough to figure out what your home is worth, and it’s even more difficult when you have multiple people trying to figure that out. Every owner might have a different opinion of how much the house is worth, but until you come to an agreement, the houses can’t be sold.
The easiest option with this is the higher professional appraiser who can determine the market value of the property in a more fair manner. Having a 3rd party opinion makes things much easier because there’s no emotion behind the price. That way you all can come to a fair price that you all agree on. Keep in mind that all parties will need to share the cost of this evaluation to make it fair. Anytime you purchase something for the home, make sure you’ve got an agreement in place.
3. Make a Sales Agreement
Having terms of a sales agreement when you’re selling a house is the next step. Note, this is going to include the closing date, the sales price and any other contingencies that might pop up. Making sure that you have this in place so you know how the process of the home sale will go will help things move smoothly.
This can be complicated when there’s multiple owners. Getting an experienced real estate attorney who can help make sure the agreement is sound is a good plan. They’ll make sure that all of the owner’s interests are protected, and there’s nothing unfair in the sales agreement.
4. Figure Out Who’s Getting What
Once the sale is finalized, the proceeds have to be given among the owners. This is paid out depending on the percentage of who owns the home. This can be tricky when there’s multiple owners, especially if they have different ownership percentages in the house.
A professional escrow company can help this significantly. They’ll distribute the proceeds in an equal and fair manner, depending on the ownership of the house. You may notice a lot of these steps require outside help and that’s normal.
5. Get the Taxes Handled
Selling a property is a very tax heavy interaction. Making sure that all local and national taxes and fees are paid through the sale of the house is incredibly important.
If the house is worth significantly more than when it was originally purchased, there may be capital gains tax on every portion of the sale. Tax professionals can help you take a better look at this and figure out what taxes need to be paid so you don’t end up getting audited. The last thing you want is the government getting more involved in selling a house than they need to be.
6. Consider Options Like a Local Home Buyer
Now figuring out the sale of a property with multiple owners is already complicated and time consuming. If you want to skip a lot of the hassle, you can just work with a professional direct buyer.
A direct home buyer will purchase the property from you for cash. That way you’re not dealing with real estate agents, associated fees or anything else that has to do with that. You find out what your house is worth, and you get a fair offer in cash. At Christian Buys Houses, we’re a company that does that as well. We work with many owners in Atlanta to give them a fair price for their home and expedite the selling process.
7. Pick a Buyer With a Good Reputation
If you work with a direct buyer, it’s important to pick one that has a good reputation and a fantastic track record. You want to look at the reviews of people that have worked with them, and you might even see if you eat in contact with some of the people who’ve had their homes purchased before. There’s no better reference in a satisfied client, so you should talk to them to see how well it went. It will also help give you some peace of mind.
If you’re selling a house with multiple owners in Atlanta, you do have some challenges ahead of you. You’ve got things like figuring out the sales price, getting the sales agreement together, addressing any tax implications, and even more than that. If this is too much or just not something you want to deal with, getting in contact with us to sell your house directly will simplify the process significantly. You can even give us a call at (770) 695-7368.