What to do with Mom's house? (Flippers and landlords please read)

[Big A]

The time is coming to transition my Mom into an assisted living facility, and as POA I'll be tasked with figuring out what to do with her house. It's a 2kish sqft house in Plano that hasn't been updated in over 10 years. It'll need paint and carpets (or other flooring) at a minimum, and a deep cleaning, I am open to suggestions on who you've worked with previously that does a good job at a reasonable price. I'm not looking to skimp and save, though also realize that I'm only wanting to get the house ready to rent or sell, these aren't intended to be owner-occupied upgrades.

Part B of the question is to get your opinions on whether or not to rent. I like the thought of one and done, sell it and put that money on her account. Though I do also realize that may not be the better option from a retirement planning perspective, as renting would provide supplemental income, and the house will continue to appreciate. As POA the headache of managing all aspects of the rental fall to me, and I suppose I could ask for compensation of some sort to make it worth my while, it's just not something I've had to put too much thought into just yet.

TIA for your input.

[Grimpala]

My nephew does wholesale real estate, you leave the house just as it is and he finds a buyer, you both end up with a check in your pocket.

I would rent it personally, but my wife is an industrial property manager and will not touch residential renters with a ten foot pole.

[scootro]

renting sucks dick

[Frank]

I've been through this. Is the house in her name? Will you be applying for medicaid for her assisted living or out of pocket?

If the answer is Yes to these, you cannot sell it. Medicaid will seize the house to pay for her long term care expenses. If you sell it, or anything of hers, they will come back for the proceeds from that sale for up to 5 years prior to her entering a facility.

In my case, the house was paid off, in my Mom's name. We got a Warranty Deed with Transfer on Death and filed it with the county. The house could not be seized, but I could not sell it either until she passed. I don't know if you could rent it during that time though.

Here is a resource that might answer some questions. https://www.medicaidplanningassistan...ibility-texas/

[Frank]

Also, having rental property can be great if you are having it managed. Mine is managed through Epps Realty. They have over 40 years managing 1000+ properties around DFW. They have saved me $$$$$ over the past 10 years they have managed my one house.

[Sean88gt]

Sorry to hear that about your mom, Aaron.

With you being out of state, renting gets more complicated. You'll be dealing with property management companies or general headaches if you rent direct.

When was the last time any of the major systems were maintained or replaced? What kind of money will you need to invest?

I have a long term renter. Once they die or move out, I'm selling the place. I may wholesale it as I'll need to put a fair amount into getting it move-in ready.

If it hasn't been said, never rent to family.

[Murph Tang]

My father is a real estate agent who handles this very thing. He removes/sells all the possessions for you that you don't want. Then can either sell house as is or have it rehab for you.

He will tell you what you need to update for more value and what needs to be left alone.

PM me if you would like his contact details.

[TX_92_Notch]

I'm selling my one and only rental. As Sean mentioned, NEVER rent to family or even someone you know, or a friend of a friend. We made that mistake twice.

I moved out 5.5 years ago and I've profited maybe $1,000 in those 5 years. We did it all wrong.

If you use a management company - watch out for repairs. The company we used nickel-and-dimed us to death. There was at least one repair every single month and this was a NICE house. They ate up every ounce of profit on repairs.

[Big A]

She has a sizeable estate, so I don't think Medicaid will come into the picture, which is also why getting a good value for the house or renting is an important consideration. She doesn't have an extended care policy, and her estate is of a size that the house is still a part of her retirement plan, she'll hopefully need every penny.

I'm not sure what all will need to be done to the house Sean, all I know is that she's incapable of cleaning even herself at this point, so there's definitely cosmetic work to be done at a minimum, and Orkin was out today and verified that we need to treat for carpenter ants at a minimum. I am trying not to allow my level of effort cloud the overall picture, I'll be kicking myself if she outlives her money because I was short-sighted or lazy.

I'm definitely not interested in renting to family, my brother very well may want to buy it, which will be at the same as-is wholesale price Mom would get otherwise. If I weren't POA I'd buy it to fix up, but I'm learning that isn't an option because of my fiduciary responsibility for her. I'll keep asking questions though, someone's going to make money on the house, in my mind I should be able to be that someone so long as Mom is treated the same as if I were just another bidder.

All valid and appreciated input gents.

[lincolnboy]

Ever think of selling property and use a huge amount to throw into stock. Then pull said money that was thrown back out after sometime to have that money back.

[Big A]

Ever think of selling property and use a huge amount to throw into stock. Then pull said money that was thrown back out after sometime to have that money back.

All income, from rent or sale, will indeed be invested.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[bcoop]

I've been through this. Is the house in her name? Will you be applying for medicaid for her assisted living or out of pocket?

If the answer is Yes to these, you cannot sell it. Medicaid will seize the house to pay for her long term care expenses. If you sell it, or anything of hers, they will come back for the proceeds from that sale for up to 5 years prior to her entering a facility.

In my case, the house was paid off, in my Mom's name. We got a Warranty Deed with Transfer on Death and filed it with the county. The house could not be seized, but I could not sell it either until she passed. I don't know if you could rent it during that time though.

Here is a resource that might answer some questions. https://www.medicaidplanningassistan...ibility-texas/

You can sell it to a family member for a couple grand put the couple grand in her bank account, and let them seize that. Speaking from experience.

[Grimpala]

My dad created a trust after my mom passed so that assets would be easier to keep track of and split later since she had some land with her brothers and my dad has a brother who is a ward of the state.
IIRC in this trust he also bought the 80 acres that was in my grandmother's name so that it is in the trust. The only thing she has is her house and a couple acres around it so that they couldn't come after the land that's been in the family since the late 1800's if it ever came to that.

Maybe speak to a lawyer/financial advisor that's local.

[Big A]

So yeah, she's in a group home now, and her short-term memory and cognitive abilities are greatly diminished. I'm kicking myself for not paying better attention while we lived there, y'all be sure to talk to your aging parents about themselves occasionally, for more than 5 minutes at a time. I spent a week there to get her into the hospital (malnutrition and alcohol abuse), and that hospital stay was quite the eye opener. It took a couple extended conversations for it to finally sink in the the the Mom that raised me is gone.

I digress. It's now a reality that she's not coming back to that house, which is fine, she's turned a 180 in terms of quality of life. I've decided to sell the house, and need to invest in the basics to get a decent price, due to it's current state of disrepair. I'm not looking to renovate, just to replace the carpets, maybe put sealant down first (dog owner), and put fresh paint on the walls.

If you have personal experience with a contractor or handyman that fits the bill, please post up.

[inline 6]

I obviously have not seen the place but in your opinion is doing those things really going to be worth the return? I would assume that if those items are in bad shape other items are as well and anyone looking to buy the property is going to be ok with how it is now or had planned on renovating it themselves anyways.


I would list it as is unless those things are really going to pay off and offer a discount for whatever you were going to spend as an offer to potential buyers.