On March 30, 2013, with the tenants moved, it was time to work on listing the estate rental property. As depicted in the article Selling the Estate Rental Property: The Tenants Move, the tenants found a new home and quickly moved. Therefore, on the same day I last met with the tenants, I also met with the realtor. In addition, I enlisted the help of my sister (also a beneficiary) to determine a listing price for the rental property. So, with the house empty, the three of us could walk around the rental property, and and assess the property.

Determining the Listing Price

To complete the task of listing the estate rental property, we had to determine the listing price. After the three of us walked around the yard and the empty house, we came up with the following recommendations:

• The realtor – The realtor gave me two choices: One choice was to sell the rental property as-is for $225,000.00. The other choice was to make some cosmetic improvements to the house and sell the rental property for $240,000.00.

• My sister – My sister recommended that I sell the rental property as-is for $225,000.00. The interior of the house needed a lot of cosmetic work that would take some time and money.

• The executor – After hearing the recommendations, I decided to list the rental property for $225,000.00 as-is. Basically, I agreed with my sister because the interior of the house smelled and looked like a toxic meth lab. So, I thought minor enhancements would only make the other flaws more noticeable and wouldn’t get rid of the smell.

In addition to selling the rental property as-is, I also wanted the property listed immediately. The realtor agreed and told me the rental property listing will appear on the multiple listing site later that day and schedule an open house on April 1^st, two days later. So, I agreed to the timeline.

Listing the Estate Rental Property

After setting the listing price, my sister left and the realtor had me sign some papers. The papers I signed were as follows:

• Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee – Consumer Relationship Disclosure. This disclosure establishes that the realtor is the Seller’s agent and that the agent represents me.

• Exclusive Right To Sell Listing Agreement – The agreement gives the realtor exclusive rights to sell the property. The agreement also sets the terms such as the listing price, the commission the realtor receives on the sale, and the multiple listing service the realtor will use.

• Property Transfer Notification Certification – This certification discloses that the seller has no knowledge of lead-based paint in the house. Also, the certification discloses the seller has no reports or records on lead-based paint in the house. The eventual buyer will also need to sign this certification.

After giving exclusive rights to sell the rental property, the realtor began taking pictures of the property.

Conclusion

The next day, Easter Sunday, the listing appeared on the multiple listing site. The outside of the rental property looked good, which was encouraging. However, nothing could save the interior of the house and I began to have some doubts. Although the listing price was low to account for the condition, the interior of the house was still a mess. Anyway, with the process of listing the estate rental property completed, all I could do was wait for the results of the open house the next day.

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