selling property to settle an estate

[debodun]

What is the name of your state? New York

My mother passed away on November 25th. Being the executrix of her estate, I am in the process of liquidating her assets. We jointly owned a 10 acre parcel of undeveloped land which my cousin has indicated he is very interested in purchasing. I said that I wanted to get a realtor to handle it since I wanted a fair market value for it and a realtor would know all the legalities in selling the land. My cousin then had a hissy fit and said that a realtor wasn't necessary. He would pay me what I paid for it 15 years ago and I could just sign the deed over to him. My alarm bells immediately started ringing. I feel I'm being pressured into a quick low-ball sale. I have no idea the property's value. I tried researching similar properties in that general area and the few I found ranged in value from $1000 to $6000 an acre. How should I proceed?

 

[tranquility]

If there are any other beneficiaries than yourself, tell them you have a fiduciary duty to sell through the use of professionals (Like a real estate agent.) when you don't have the ordinary knowledge or skill to do so.

(By the way, while the market is soft now [and is dropping in many areas] we have just finished an era of meteoric rise in property value. What you paid 15 years ago may not even be a quarter of the value today.)

 

[nextwife]

What is the name of your state? New York

My mother passed away on November 25th. Being the executrix of her estate, I am in the process of liquidating her assets. We jointly owned a 10 acre parcel of undeveloped land which my cousin has indicated he is very interested in purchasing. I said that I wanted to get a realtor to handle it since I wanted a fair market value for it and a realtor would know all the legalities in selling the land. My cousin then had a hissy fit and said that a realtor wasn't necessary. He would pay me what I paid for it 15 years ago and I could just sign the deed over to him. My alarm bells immediately started ringing. I feel I'm being pressured into a quick low-ball sale. I have no idea the property's value. I tried researching similar properties in that general area and the few I found ranged in value from $1000 to $6000 an acre. How should I proceed?

If you have secured a buyer, technically, you can have an attorney draft an offer to purchase and arrange your closing. You would not need a real estate professional to MARKET the property for you IF he buys. You can list the property, but EXCLUDE your cousin from the listing contract for, say, 30 days. That way he can still buy, but needs to come forward with a fair offer quickly.

HOWEVER, you'd be nuts to sell for less than market value. This can be established by appraisal.