Have you recently inherited a home after a family member or friend passed? Losing someone is never easy, and when you combine grief with the stress of figuring out what to do with their belongings, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Following these 6 steps for what to do after you inherit a house can help to take some stress off of your plate and allow you to focus on your family.

A Breakdown of Steps After Inheriting a House

1. Consult with all beneficiaries: If you are not the sole beneficiary of the house, it is important to consult with all beneficiaries before making decisions about the house. Different members of the party may want different things, and it is important to consider everyone’s wishes.
2. Continue to pay the bills: Even if the mortgage of the house has already been paid off, you still need to pay for the water, gas, electric, trash and any other utilities the house has. This will not only make it more comfortable for you to be in the house, it will also prevent you from racking up some serious late fees.
3. Take time to process: If possible, try to take some time to process your loss. It is easy to bury yourself in a task like dealing with the house during a loss, but this can lead you to making decisions you may regret in the future. Before making any major decisions about the house, try to take time to process your loss.
4. Get the value of the home appraised: One factor that may directly impact your decision is the value of the house. If the house has been in the family for a while, it is very likely that the value has fluctuated from the initial cost of purchasing it.
5. Make a decision: Together with all of the other beneficiaries, decide what you want to do with the house. When it comes down to it, you’re three big options are to sell the house, have one party live in the house or rent the house out to a tenant. Selling the house will likely be the most work upfront but will also result in the highest income upfront. Before deciding to rent the house out to tenants, it is essential to be prepared for the amount of work being a landlord can entail.
6. Let others help: Once it comes down to emptying out the house, let others help with the process. This will not only help to expedite the process for you, it will also allow for other people to walk through the house and choose mementos.

Let a Storage Unit Rental Help with the Process

If you are looking to sell the house as soon as possible, you may not have time or be ready to sort through all of the belongings in the house. A storage unit rental will allow you to get everything out of the house and sell it to prevent the house from accruing any additional expenses.

Storage World has storage facilities in Jonesboro, GA and Decatur, GA on Panthersville Rd and Flat Shoals Pkwy. Check out our storage locations today.

If you’ve recently lost a family member, you are likely dealing with a lot of emotions. The pain of your loss may still be very raw. Unfortunately, another emotion you may be feeling is the stress of having to sort through all of their items. And if they lived in a rental, like assisted living or an apartment, you may be under a time crunch.

We’re here to help. In order to alleviate as much stress as possible, we put together 5 tips for decluttering after death. 

5 Tips for Cleaning Out the House After Death

1. Ask for help: Sorting through your relative’s belongings can be exhausting both physically and mentally. During this time, never be afraid to ask for help. Family members and friends will likely want to help as a way to say goodbye.
2. Find important documents: When sorting through documents, be sure to locate any important documents. For example, pull out the Will, trusts, life insurance policies, real estate deed, recent bank statements, stock certificates and 401(k) information. Place this information in a location where it will not get lost or mixed in with other items.
3. Invite friends and family members over early: When sorting through the items, pull out any that are damaged or broken. After pulling out those items, invite family and friends over that weren’t previously there to determine what they want to keep. This will not only help to speed up the process, it will also prevent you from accidentally getting rid of an item that someone else wants. 
4. Get items appraised: It is important to get items that you are unsure of the value appraised. There are appraisers out there that specialize in fine jewelry and art work. This can help you to avoid any messy problems later on.
5. Take breaks: If you are under a time crunch, you may feel the need to keep working and working. Due to the high emotion and stress of the situation, it is important to take breaks. If you start to feel overwhelmed, take a break. Go for a walk, get lunch with a friend or go do something for yourself.

Are You In Need of Temporary Storage?

During this period of time, it is important to take it easy on yourself. If there are items that you are unsure what to do with, put them to the side. Later on, come back to this pile. As time goes on, hopefully it will be easier to touch these items.

If you are under a large time crunch and feel that you are unable to rationally go through the items, consider a storage unit rental. A storage unit rental allows you to get the items out of the home and into a secure location until you are ready. Storage World has three locations near you, one in Jonesboro  and two in Decatur on Flat Shoals Pkwy and Panthersville.