San Francisco Real Estate - Residential

Inherited property is a dump, so dump it

Here is an interesting article I saw in the San Francisco Chronicle about inheriting property that you may not want. It was in the January 7th SFGate Q&A by Robert Bruss.

Q: My father died in 2006. He left behind six adult children. I don't think he liked me very much. So he left me his worst property, out of the 26 he owned at the time of his death. It is a vacant, vandalized slum property that was once a nice house. I checked with five nearby Realtors and they all agree it will be very difficult or impossible to sell without an extensive fix-up. They said even "vulture buyers" don't want it. There is about $7,500 of unpaid property taxes. Otherwise, it is free and clear. I don't want to fix it up, nor do I need the money from selling the property. How can I avoid getting involved?

Wally C.
Washington, D.C.

A: You can renounce your inheritance of that property by notifying the estate executor or court-appointed administrator in writing. After you renounce your inheritance of that property, it will then pass according to the terms of the will to another heir.

Be sure to do this promptly before the probate court distributes that property to you according to the terms of the will. After title transfers to you, you become the owner and getting rid of that property could be difficult.

- SFGate

posted by SFResidence.com @ 7:49 AM