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My mother and her second husband had the same arrangement, she owned the house in full, he was not on the deed. My sister and I would have felt horrible to do anything except keep the house and let him finish his days there as long as he lived or whenever he decided he'd prefer to move. As it turned out she sold the house and they went into assisted living together.
Just noting a certified appraiser would charge perhaps about $500.
And Zillow is so cheesy that many times their Zestimates approach fantasy. You could get a better number by asking a Realtor to run "closed" comps for you.
Note also you will have to consider the steps and approximate costs to have your sister's name removed from the deed. Could be more closing costs.
You have the appraisal fee in the ballpark and there will be closing costs (again) and lawyer's fee (again) and moving costs (again). Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it feels like I'm bleeding money that I can't replace. The death of 1,000 cuts.
Anyway, I know I can tell her to stuff Zillow, so thanks to everyone for that.
Then we have agreed, more or less, that I will buy my sister's half, but as Zillow is the highest online valuation she's found, she insists on it. We will need a lawyer for this sale/purchase, no doubt, and I can make an offer like any sale, so I guess my current question is if it's worth another small fortune to get a current appraisal or just work it out.
If you don't want an appraisal (how much do you think that would be?), get a couple of real estate agents to do a market analysis and have them suggest a list price. Based upon that, if you can't come to terms with your sister, go ahead and put the house up for sale.
EDIT: Make sure to remind her that there will be extra costs and commission if she doesn't agree to sell her interest in the house to you.
Just to give a brief example of Zillow's "Zuselessness":
Late last year, I had a buyer interested in a home with an asking price of $450,000; an offer was already on the table from another buyer who was slow in signing contracts. We also put an offer in.
When I checked Zillow a couple of months or so later (for the fun of it only), the Zestimate was over $7 MILLION!!! Two weeks later Zillow adjusted their algorithm and it went down to "only" over $5 Million. This past Summer, the house finally closed - it sold for $430,000 (to the other buyer ). Today, the Zestimate is $4,408,595.
Just to give a brief example of Zillow's "Zuselessness":
Late last year, I had a buyer interested in a home with an asking price of $450,000; an offer was already on the table from another buyer who was slow in signing contracts. We also put an offer in.
When I checked Zillow a couple of months or so later (for the fun of it only), the Zestimate was over $7 MILLION!!! Two weeks later Zillow adjusted their algorithm and it went down to "only" over $5 Million. This past Summer, the house finally closed - it sold for $430,000 (to the other buyer ). Today, the Zestimate is $4,408,595.
Do I need to say more???
Either the Zestimate was a bit off--or that buyer got one heck of a deal!
You have the appraisal fee in the ballpark and there will be closing costs (again) and lawyer's fee (again) and moving costs (again). Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it feels like I'm bleeding money that I can't replace. The death of 1,000 cuts.
Anyway, I know I can tell her to stuff Zillow, so thanks to everyone for that.
Sad to say but that is my take on it too. Death of a thousand cuts. Just one idea: you might be able to do the final transaction (getting sis off the deed) with a contract between you and sis (drawn up by a lawyer) and a quitclaim deed, IF there is no mortgage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmichigan
If you don't want an appraisal (how much do you think that would be?), get a couple of real estate agents to do a market analysis and have them suggest a list price. Based upon that, if you can't come to terms with your sister, go ahead and put the house up for sale.
EDIT: Make sure to remind her that there will be extra costs and commission if she doesn't agree to sell her interest in the house to you.
No, nothing but an appraisal from a licensed appraiser will do. Both parties sound adamant in their positions and I think real paper will be the only solution. A legitimate appraisal will remove a lot of the "iffy" parts of the deal and lead to a reasonable price that leaves little wiggle room for either party.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti
Just to give a brief example of Zillow's "Zuselessness":
I just loved your post and your coinage of a new word: Zuseless! Perfect!!!
The free real estate sites are the equivalent of gossip vs. documented facts. Good only for background familiarization if you are contemplating moving to a new town, or in preparation for moving on to the real world when you decide to buy or sell. That's the time you need to call in the professionals.
No, nothing but an appraisal from a licensed appraiser will do.
What if she doesn't agree as to the appraised amount? In the end, they still need to agree on the price and terms--however they get to that point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lovehound
The free real estate sites are the equivalent of gossip vs. documented facts.
An appraisal is not a "documented fact" (not sure if you were really implying that). An appraisal is an estimated opinion of value. Of course, it's a third party opinion by someone who (hopefully) is very qualified to render that opinion...but as with all opinions, appraisals will vary.
My poor choice of words. I should have stated documentary as in the sense that it is a document created by a licensed professional appraiser.
An appraisal from a licensed appraiser is the most reliable, unbiased estimation of the actual value that you can get. It's going to be a lot better than some Realtor comps and a hell of a lot better than a Zestimate.
You have the appraisal fee in the ballpark and there will be closing costs (again) and lawyer's fee (again) and moving costs (again). Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it feels like I'm bleeding money that I can't replace. The death of 1,000 cuts.
Anyway, I know I can tell her to stuff Zillow, so thanks to everyone for that.
These expenses should be split between you and your sister, you should not be responsible for all of them, except for an attorney who is looking out for YOUR interests, and she should be paying an attorney for herself. it's just as much her responsibility to prove the house is worth what she is claiming it is. And your moving costs are of course your own, but if she's taking any of your dad's possessions or even if you have to pay to have things cleared out and hauled away, those costs aren't solely yours.
But I have to say that I wonder if you are in a financial position to own a home. You have mentioned a couple of times about a "small fortune" to pay for an appraisal. If something in the $500 range is a small fortune to you, how will you pay for all of the necessary repairs and maintenance that come along with owning a home? If this is a cash flow issue, have you looked into getting a mortgage that would cover the payment to your sister to get full ownership? You'd have an ongoing mortgage payment of course, but since it would only be for 50% of the value of the house, it would likely be relatively low. You'd have to have decent credit and a steady income of course, but I wasn't sure if it was more about not having cash on hand to cover everything right now, and the ability to pay it off over time might be easier.
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). Today, the Zestimate is $4,408,595.
