I Inherited a Vacant House in Georgia. What Should I Do First?

If you’ve inherited a vacant house in Georgia, you might be wondering, “Okay… now what?”

What should you do first? How do you protect the house? What happens if something breaks, the pipes freeze, or mold starts growing?

I’ve dealt with a lot of vacant houses and inherited properties over the years, and there are a few things I would recommend taking care of right away.

By the way, I’m an active real estate investor and a licensed real estate agent in Georgia. Over the last 10 years, I’ve helped hundreds of sellers get their properties sold, whether that meant buying the property for cash or listing it traditionally.

I’m sharing what I’ve learned from those experiences to help you understand what you should be thinking about when you inherit a vacant house.

And just to be clear, I’m not an attorney, so don’t take anything in this article as legal advice. Every probate and estate situation is different, and you should talk with a qualified probate or real estate attorney about your specific circumstances. Pasted markdown

1. Secure the Vacant House

The first thing I would do after inheriting a vacant house is make sure the property is secured.

Go over to the house and make sure all the doors and windows are locked. You want to make sure the property is protected and that you have an easy way to get inside when necessary.

One thing I recommend is putting a lockbox on the house.

That way, you don’t have to drive over there every time someone needs access. You can give the lockbox code to someone you trust, and they can get the key themselves.

Obviously, don’t give that code to just anybody. You want to make sure you’re giving access to people you trust.

But having a lockbox can make things much easier, especially when you’re dealing with contractors, inspectors, agents, or other people who may need to access the property.

2. Check on the House Regularly

Just because nobody is living in the house doesn’t mean nothing is happening there.

In fact, vacant houses can develop some pretty serious problems when nobody is checking on them.

I recommend having someone check on the property regularly—at least once a week.

I’ve learned this lesson myself.

I had a house that we were renovating that was sitting vacant while we were waiting on an inspection and an engineer’s letter. We couldn’t do any more work on the house until we got those things taken care of.

So the house was basically just sitting there.

I hadn’t been by in a couple of weeks because there wasn’t any work happening. Then we got a call from a neighbor.

A tree had fallen on the house during a thunderstorm.

Crap.

It caused a lot of damage.

Fortunately, I had insurance on the property, and I was in the middle of dealing with the insurance claim. But it was a good reminder that even when nothing is happening at a vacant property, you still need to check on it.

You never know what could happen.

3. Make Sure You Have Vacant House Insurance Coverage

This is a big one.

If you’ve inherited a house and it’s sitting vacant, you need to make sure your insurance policy actually provides the coverage you need for a vacant property.

Not every insurance policy covers vacant houses the same way. There can be exclusions or specific requirements when a property is unoccupied.

And even if you have coverage, your insurance company may have requirements about checking on the property periodically.

So talk to your insurance agent and specifically ask about vacant house coverage.

Don’t just assume the existing homeowners insurance policy automatically covers everything because the house is insured.

I’ve seen what can happen when insurance lapses.

In one estate situation, a valve on an upstairs toilet ruptured and flooded the entire house. The son of the deceased was dealing with the property, but the insurance had lapsed.

The house wasn’t insured when the flood happened.

The result?

A significant amount of damage—and the insurance company wouldn’t cover it.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a mortgage on that particular property, but it was still a huge problem.

If there is a mortgage on the property, the lender will generally require insurance to be maintained and may be notified if the policy is canceled.

So make sure you understand exactly what coverage you have and whether it applies to a vacant inherited house.

Need Help With an Inherited Vacant House in Georgia?

If you’re dealing with an inherited vacant house in Georgia and trying to figure out what your options are, we’d be happy to talk with you about it. Simply fill out the form on this page. A member of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

4. Shut Off the Water

Another thing I would strongly recommend is turning off the water to a vacant house.

You can usually shut the water off at the main valve or at the meter.

You can leave the account itself active with the county or utility company, but you don’t necessarily want water constantly flowing into a house where nobody is living.

Why?

Because pipes can break.

Toilets can leak.

Valves can rupture.

And when nobody is there to notice the problem, you can end up with a flooded house.

I’ve had houses flood before, and it’s not fun. It’s not cheap. And it’s a huge mess.

If nobody is living in the property, shutting off the water can help prevent a plumbing problem from turning into a major flood.

That previous estate property I mentioned is a perfect example. A toilet valve upstairs ruptured and leaked, eventually flooding the entire house.

That’s the kind of thing you want to prevent when you’re responsible for a vacant inherited property.

5. Winterize the Property

If you’re dealing with an inherited vacant house during the winter, you’ll also want to think about winterizing the property.

If temperatures get cold enough, water inside the plumbing can freeze.

Frozen water expands, and that can cause pipes and plumbing fixtures to crack or break.

I’ve even seen toilets crack because they froze.

If you’re winterizing the house, drain the pipes and take appropriate steps to protect the plumbing.

For certain applications, RV antifreeze can be used in plumbing fixtures and traps. Don’t use regular automotive antifreeze for this. The transcript specifically recommends RV antifreeze.

It can be used in toilets, sink drains, and drain traps as part of the winterization process.

You can find RV antifreeze at places like Walmart, auto parts stores, grocery stores, or RV supply stores.

The goal is to avoid coming back to your inherited property one day and discovering that frozen plumbing has created another expensive problem.

6. Keep an Eye on Humidity and Mold

Another thing people don’t always think about with vacant houses is humidity.

If the house is sitting empty, you still need to think about the indoor environment.

If the power is on, keeping the air conditioner running at a higher temperature can help dehumidify the house and keep air circulating.

You don’t necessarily have to keep the thermostat at a low temperature like you would if people were living there.

The idea is to maintain the house and control the humidity.

If you don’t want to run the air conditioner, you could consider using dehumidifiers in the home.

Why does this matter?

Because excessive humidity can lead to mold growth.

And mold can turn into a very expensive problem.

A Vacant House Can Go From Beautiful to Full of Mold

I’ve seen this happen firsthand.

Last fall, I went to a beautiful home on Lake Lanier. Well, it was beautiful once upon a time.

It was a huge, roughly 5,000-square-foot mid-century modern home on Lake Lanier.

It was an estate and probate situation, and nobody had lived there for around 10 years because the family had been fighting over things.

At one point, that house was absolutely gorgeous.

But when I saw it, there was mold everywhere.

The furniture had mold.

The clothes had mold.

The walls had mold.

The countertops had mold.

Basically, you name it, there was mold on it.

The power had been turned off, there were no dehumidifiers running, and the humidity inside the house had continued to build up.

Eventually, the whole property was essentially ruined.

The house was going to have to be gutted down to the studs and started over.

And that’s pretty sad when you think about what the house used to be.

That’s why maintaining a vacant house isn’t simply about locking the doors and forgetting about it.

You need to pay attention to what’s happening inside the property, too.

7. Don’t Let the House Sit Completely Unchecked

When a house is vacant, it’s easy to think:

“Nobody’s living there. Nothing is happening. I’ll deal with it later.”

But that’s exactly when problems can sneak up on you.

A storm can knock down a tree.

A pipe can burst.

A toilet can leak.

Humidity can build up.

Mold can start growing.

And the longer a problem goes unnoticed, the more expensive it can become.

Spending some money on electricity to keep the home reasonably climate-controlled may be a lot less expensive than dealing with extensive mold remediation.

The same basic principle applies to regular inspections of the property.

Check on the house. Keep it secured. Keep the water under control. Maintain the insurance. Pay attention to the temperature and humidity.

Those simple steps can help protect the property while you’re figuring out what you ultimately want to do with it.

What Should You Do With an Inherited Vacant House?

Once you’ve taken care of the immediate issues, you still have another decision to make:

What are you going to do with the inherited house?

Maybe you want to keep it.

Maybe you want to sell it.

Maybe you want to sell it for cash.

Or maybe you want to put it on the traditional market.

If you’re not sure which direction makes sense for your situation, it can be helpful to talk through the available options.

We’ve helped hundreds of sellers over the years get their properties sold for cash. And if you’d rather discuss listing the property, we can talk about that option as well.

The important thing is to understand what you’re dealing with before allowing an inherited vacant property to sit indefinitely.

Final Thoughts: Protect the Property First

If you’ve inherited a vacant house in Georgia, don’t wait until something goes wrong before you start paying attention to the property.

Start by securing the house.

Make sure someone is checking on it regularly.

Talk to your insurance agent about vacant house coverage.

Turn off the water if appropriate.

Winterize the plumbing when necessary.

And keep an eye on humidity and mold.

A vacant property can develop expensive problems surprisingly quickly, especially when nobody is checking on it.

And once you’ve protected the property, you can take your time figuring out whether selling, keeping, or listing the house makes sense for you.

Ready to Talk About Your Inherited House in Georgia?

If you’ve inherited a vacant house in Georgia and you’re trying to figure out what to do next, we’d be happy to talk with you about your options.

Whether you’re interested in selling the inherited house for cash or discussing the possibility of listing it traditionally, fill out the form on this page and a member of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.