Investor vs. Realtor: Should You Sell Your Inherited House in Georgia?

If you inherited a house in Georgia and you’re trying to figure out what to do with it, one of the biggest questions you’re probably asking is:

Should I sell the house to an investor or list it with a real estate agent?

There isn’t necessarily one answer that works for every inherited property or every family. It really depends on the condition of the house, how much work you’re willing to put into it, how quickly you want to sell, and what matters most to you.

I’m Brad, the Probate House Guy. I’m an active real estate investor and a licensed real estate agent in Georgia. Over the last 10 years, I’ve helped more than 300 sellers get their properties sold, whether that meant buying the house for cash or helping them sell it through the traditional real estate market.

So, in this article, I’m going to look at this from both sides.

I’ve been on both sides of the transaction, and believe me, they’re two very different worlds.

Selling an Inherited House to an Investor

Let’s start with selling the inherited house to an investor.

One of the biggest advantages is that it’s generally pretty easy.

You contact an investor, they come out and look at the property, and they make you an offer. In many probate and estate situations, that offer will be for the property as-is.

And that’s a big deal when you’re dealing with an inherited house.

You May Not Have to Clean Out the House

I’ve bought a lot of probate and estate properties, and we buy a large percentage of them with the stuff still inside.

The family goes through the house and takes the keepsakes and personal belongings they want. The furniture, old belongings, unwanted items and everything else can often stay behind.

We deal with it.

And if you’ve ever had to clean out a house after someone has lived there for 40 or 50 years, you know how much work that can be.

That’s especially true when you’re dealing with a collector’s house or, in some cases, a hoarder house.

We’ve bought plenty of hoarder houses, and cleaning those properties out isn’t fun. Even when you have junk-removal companies helping you, it can be expensive, time-consuming and difficult.

That’s one reason some families decide that selling the inherited property as-is to an investor makes sense for them.

They’re not necessarily looking to squeeze every possible dollar out of the property.

Sometimes they just want to be done with it.

The Biggest Risk: Choosing the Wrong Investor

Now, there are some downsides to selling to an investor.

One thing you need to be careful about is who you’re actually dealing with.

There are plenty of experienced investors out there, but there are also inexperienced investor and wholesalers.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with wholesaling. We wholesale houses sometimes.

The problem is when someone puts your house under contract without actually having the ability or financing to close on it.

Here’s how it can happen.

A wholesaler might offer you $200,000 for your house. They then take that contract and shop it around to other investors, trying to find someone willing to pay more.

Maybe they find someone willing to pay $190,000.

Now they’ve got a problem.

They might come back to you and say, “Sorry, this deal isn’t going to work at $200,000. We’re going to have to reduce the price.”

You agree to $175,000, for example.

Then, right before closing, their buyer backs out.

If that wholesaler doesn’t have the money or financing available to purchase the property themselves, they may have no choice but to cancel the transaction.

I’ve seen this happen.

And sometimes it happens right before closing.

What Should You Ask an Investor?

If you’re considering selling your inherited house to an investor, you need to understand who you’re actually selling to.

Is this person actually buying the property?

Do they have the funds or financing to close?

What happens if their buyer backs out?

Those are important questions to ask before signing a contract.

In my case, I’ve had buyers bail out on me at the last minute. But I’ve always had alternative financing options available.

I’ve had situations where I needed to call a private lender and say, “I just had a buyer bail out. I need the money sent to the attorney’s office so we can close.”

I’ve always had a Plan B.

That’s important to me because if I tell a seller I’m going to buy their house for a certain price, I believe I need to do what I said I was going to do.

Need Help Deciding How to Sell Your Inherited House?

If you’re dealing with an inherited house or probate property in Georgia and trying to figure out whether selling to an investor or listing with an agent makes sense, we’d be happy to talk with you about your options. Simply fill out the form on this page. A member of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

Sometimes Doing the Right Thing Costs You Money

I’ll give you a real example from one of my own deals.

Last year, I bought an estate property and realized a few days before closing that I’d made a mistake with my numbers.

I had underestimated something.

I was going to overpay for the property by roughly $50,000.

I had $5,000 in earnest money at stake. Technically, I could have walked away and surrendered that earnest money.

But I had already promised the family that I was going to buy the house.

This was an estate situation, and the family needed the money because their mother was moving into assisted living and needed additional care.

So I decided to close.

I bought the house for the price I had agreed to, even though I knew I’d made a mistake.

I eventually cleaned out the property, did some work, found a buyer and resold it.

I lost $45,000 on that deal.

That’s the most money I’ve ever lost on a deal.

But sometimes you have to do what you said you were going to do.

The Downside of Selling to an Investor

Let’s be completely honest about something else.

You’re generally going to get less money for your house when you sell it to an investor than you would by selling it on the open market.

I’m not going to sugarcoat that.

That’s the trade-off.

You’re potentially giving up some money in exchange for convenience, speed and an as-is sale.

And after dealing with more than 300 families over the years, I’ve learned that it’s not always about getting the absolute highest price.

Sometimes people just want to be finished.

They don’t want to clean out the house.

They don’t want to make repairs.

They don’t want to deal with showings.

They don’t want to wait for a buyer.

They just want to sell the inherited property and move on.

And I completely understand that.

Selling Your Inherited House With a Real Estate Agent

Now let’s put on the real estate agent hat.

I’ve been a licensed real estate agent in Georgia since 2017, so I’ve seen this side of the business, too.

The biggest potential advantage of listing your inherited house with an agent is pretty straightforward:

You may be able to get more money for the property by selling it on the traditional market.

But there are some trade-offs.

You’ll Have More Preparation

When you list a house, there’s usually more preparation involved.

If the inherited house is full of furniture and personal belongings, I’d generally recommend cleaning it out or at least getting it down to a minimal amount of furniture so the house can be properly presented.

The house will also need to be cleaned.

And then there are repairs.

Depending on the property and the agent, you may be given a list of things that should be repaired or improved before putting the house on the market.

Maybe the walls need painting.

Maybe the flooring needs work.

Maybe the kitchen needs updating.

Maybe there are other repairs that need to be addressed.

All of that costs something.

Sometimes the cost is money.

Sometimes it’s time.

Sometimes it’s effort.

And sometimes it’s all three.

An Agent Can’t Guarantee the Sale

Another thing to understand is that the real estate agent isn’t actually buying your house.

The agent’s job is to market the property, find a buyer and help guide the transaction toward closing.

But ultimately, the buyer has to follow through.

There’s no way for an agent to guarantee exactly how long the property will take to sell or exactly when it will close.

You might get an estimate based on what similar properties have done in the area, but real estate markets can change.

I’ve experienced that myself.

There have been properties where I thought the house would sell for more money and in less time than it actually did.

That’s simply part of selling on the open market.

What Would I Do With My Own Family’s Inherited House?

Here’s where this gets interesting.

My own family is currently going through the probate process with my grandfather’s estate, and we’re selling my grandparents’ house.

My grandparents owned the house for decades. My dad and his siblings grew up there, and I have a ton of memories in that house.

We had swimming pools in the backyard, family cookouts, Easter egg hunts and sleepovers with my grandparents.

My grandfather also gave me my love of grass and my grandmother gave me my love of flowers.

So, yeah, there’s a lot of sentimental value there.

But we’re still selling the house.

Why?

Because my dad and his sisters have their own homes and their own families. One of my aunts lives all the way down in Florida. None of them really wants to take on the responsibility of maintaining this property.

The house is actually in pretty good shape.

The HVAC is only a couple of years old. The roof is only a couple of years old. The appliances work. It’s a solid brick ranch.

It needs some work, but nothing crazy.

Could I buy the house and renovate it?

Sure.

Could we sell it to another investor?

Absolutely.

But after looking at all of the options, we decided to list the house as-is.

I’m going to list it for my family as the real estate agent.

And that’s because, in this particular situation, we believe selling it on the traditional market makes more sense for our family.

The house is in good enough condition that someone can move in and make their own updates over time.

It’s a solid house, and we’re not interested in putting a huge renovation project on our family’s plate.

Investor or Realtor: Which Option Makes Sense for You?

That’s really the point of this whole conversation.

There are legitimate reasons someone might choose to sell an inherited house to an investor.

Maybe you want a simple as-is sale.

Maybe the house is full of stuff.

Maybe you don’t want to make repairs.

Maybe you don’t want to deal with preparing the property for the market.

Maybe you simply want the estate settled and the house sold.

On the other hand, there are reasons you might choose to list the inherited property with a real estate agent.

Maybe the property is in good condition.

Maybe you’re willing to clean it out and prepare it for sale.

Maybe you’re willing to wait for a buyer.

And maybe maximizing the sale price is more important to you than having the simplest possible transaction.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

The important thing is to understand the trade-offs before you make a decision.

Get Help Exploring Your Options for an Inherited House in Georgia

If you’ve inherited a house in Georgia, you don’t necessarily have to figure everything out by yourself.

Whether you’re considering a cash offer from an investor or wondering whether you should list the inherited house with a real estate agent, we’re happy to talk through the options with you.

Go to ProbateHouseGuy.com and fill out the form on the page.

A member of our team will get in touch with you as soon as possible so you can discuss the property and your situation.

If you’re ready to sell an inherited house in Georgia, let’s talk about your options.