Selling Your Home To Family: A Few Different Approaches

If you have decided that it is time to get out of your house and move on, but you would prefer to sell your home to family, there are a couple of ways you can do this. Besides your adult children, find out if anyone else in your family is looking at homes for sale. Then share with them that you are selling your house. From there, you can do one of the following.

Hold a House Auction for Family Only

Invite interested family members to a family-only house and property auction. Start the bid at something that your family would be interested in paying for your house. If most of your mortgage is paid off, start about ten grand above the amount that you still owe on the mortgage. If the price climbs from there, you will make a bigger profit than the intended ten thousand dollars. You will also wipe out the remaining amount on your mortgage as the property is transferred to the winning family member.

Give Your Adult Children the Option of Assuming the Mortgage

In some states, it is possible to "give" your house and property to an adult child if that adult child is willing to assume the remaining mortgage payments. Since your kids benefit from a reduced mortgage and lowered monthly payments from years of payments by you, it is a good deal for them. They get a house they are familiar with and may even love, and you get to get out from under the debt and go wherever you like knowing that the house is transferred to a family member who really wanted it.

Sell the House to Family Outright

When you sell the house to a family member outright, he or she buys the house for your asking price via a real estate agent. There is no quibbling because you need to make the sale to eliminate remaining mortgage payments and have money for moving costs. There is also no issue with the legality of the sale and the exchange of money and papers because the real estate agent is present to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

Transfer the House and Property to Heirs via a Living Trust

You can also transfer the house and property to your heirs via a living trust. While the debt that remains on the house is still your responsibility, you are still free to leave the house and let your heirs move in and take over the property. Sometimes this is an agreeable arrangement when you want your heirs to have the house, you want to leave it behind, and you do not mind making the payments. It is co-ownership to some degree until your heirs can take over payments and ownership completely.


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