Is there a monetary advantage, to an executor, not sell real estate of their client until after the person has passed away? My question is based on a friends aunt who has been living in a retirement home for 1 1/2 years. she recently passed away and I found out the executor has been sitting on the property (the executor's dog has been living there) for the 1 1/2 years. She also has 2 other locations with the same circumstance for different families in this town. This seems odd. The executor & attorney advised that its not worth the trouble to rent out. Also, they couldnt find buyers for the property a year ago. Now I am told the property is all ready to sell. The local family in town are few and they are not on speaking terms with the executor. Its not alot of money, but I feel something is wrong with this picture as nobody really knows whats going on. Is this typical? Any thoughts on this are appreciated.
the beneficiariea are the ones who really need to get their act in gear, figure out the details & tell the executor what to do, otherwise he'll just do whatever he feels like Get a good probate atty to help What state is it ?
Cost basis is stepped up at death to Fair Market Value, which means that the property can now be sold free of capital gains tax. If the property was her residence and had only appreciated $250,000 since she puchased it, this step up would not have been necessary, as she could have avoided that much gain even before she died. If the property had appreciated substantially more than that while she owned it, or if she had acquired the property by gift during the previous owner's life (no step up would have occurred at that point) then the strategy makes perfect sense. Getting renters out of the house and having to fix it up - again - before sale may also not have been a bad idea - just depends on the circumstances. Hope that helps
It sounds like they were waiting for her to pass so they could sell. Seems like the right thing to do in hindsight. Getting rid of bad renters could have turned into a nightmare. Fortunately that won't be a problem. The beneficiaries should have already seen copies of the will and know what's up.
Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling about the capital gains tax issue but wasnt sure. The home is located in eastern oregon and while i dont think its worth that much, she did own it for about 30 years. They may have planned it to sell after she died to avoid additional tax. Yes, the beneficiaries should get their act together. My friend's mother was supposed to address this issue, or at least inquire, while she was up there. Thanks again.
