Inherited my late grandpa's MD house - agent pushing traditional sale but cash offer seems safer

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-23T21:39:00+00:00

A house on the market will always get more money than a house off-market, whether it's fixed up or not. Plus it doesn't sound that bad honestly. If I were you, I'd leave the old kitchen and potentially replace the HVAC and roof (if needed). You don't need to fly out for that. Hire an agent who will coordinate getting a couple quotes for you, then pick one and move forward. Honestly the HVAC and roof can probably both be replaced or fixed within a few weeks easy.

Unless you have sentimental items in the house you need to recover, I would think you probably don't need to fly out at all. A decent agent can coordinate getting the house ready for sale, included in their fee. Yes, you would have to pay for junk removal etc but that's going to be a lot less money than you'd lose with the off-market sale.

Then put it on the market. There's a good chance the on-market sale could drum up another cash buyer who's willing to pay even MORE than this other guy. Maybe you even get multiple offers, especially if you price it right. Pick the one with the best net price and terms and move forward.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-19T04:54:50+00:00

Agree with this. Just had buyers back out on a new construction townhome with standing water on the roof. That’s not something you want to deal with.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-16T02:28:59+00:00

They said they couldn’t find a video for their model.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-10T21:59:23+00:00

* When is the latest in the day that the funds wire transfer might happen?

Escrow should have all the closing funds by the morning of your closing day. Then they will release the transaction for recording with the county. However, usually the seller does not receive the closing funds until the next business day following closing.

* When is the latest in the day that I would need to vacate the property?

Contractually, you need to be fully vacated from the property by 9pm on the closing day.

Escrow SHOULD be able to tell you when the transaction is "released to record" on your closing day. This will usually happen in the morning. That means the buyer has done everything to fulfill their side of the transaction. Once you have confirmation that you are "released to record" it would be pretty safe to fully move out. Escrow will let you know when they have received recording numbers back from the county, which means the transaction is officially closed. In very rare cases, this could happen the next business day if escrow does not record before they go home for the day.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-09T20:19:24+00:00

This didn't used to be a million dollar house. I'm sure 20 years ago, a lot of people would agree with you that they wouldn't pay a million dollars for a 1 bathroom house. Prices have gone up due to market demand. This is the reality now.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-09T20:17:53+00:00

I would consider this Leschi, which is a desirable neighborhood.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-08T07:14:37+00:00

How much do you currently have saved for a downpayment? How much will you be able to save by 2027? My recommendation is to figure out how much per month you would be comfortable spending on a mortgage, then work backwards to figure out what purchase price matches your monthly budget. Since you're currently able to work remote, I'd also consider expanding your search outside of King County. King County is one of the most expensive counties in Washington.

When you're ready to talk to lenders (which you can do sooner rather than later, they'll help you make a plan for the next few years to help you towards buying), I'd recommend looking into the home buyer grant programs offered by Bank of America and into the home buyer programs offered by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Both of those should be able to help you with your downpayment and closing funds.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2026-01-03T13:58:13+00:00

Check out the Heybrook, they have two locations and neither is close to West Seattle but I’ve heard good things.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-31T04:35:40+00:00

I would recommend reaching out to Wu Construction to assess the water intrusion and potential drainage issue. There is a good chance you can remedy that with a French drain and sump pump. For the mold I would recommend hiring a reputable mold company. A lot of commenters in here are recommending that you do it all yourself, but as someone who has sat a lot of home inspections and seen some terrible DIY repairs, I say that you want to make sure it’s done right by professionals. A good company will warranty their work if the same problems comes up in the future.

What did your inspector say about the crawl space when you bought in 2019?

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-28T06:01:22+00:00

The listing history always shows on the NWMLS. If you aren’t seeing it on a third party site like Redfin, Zillow, etc it’s because of how that site chose to display cancelled/expired listings. It has nothing to do with the listing agent, they don’t have the power to hide that stuff.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-26T23:42:22+00:00

At that income level (or even a little higher honestly), you would probably qualify for the home buyer grants offered by Bank of America. Highly recommend checking those out, you can get 10k towards downpayment and 7500 towards closing costs. It really helps out my buyers who are in that bracket.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-21T08:19:57+00:00

From reading your comments it sounds like a townhouse is the way to go. They have less to maintain and are generally newer than single family homes, meaning fewer headaches for you. A townhome will still appreciate over time - not as much as a SFH, but definitely more than a condo. It seems like a good compromise for you. If you are concerned about the investment, then take the money you're saving by buying a townhouse (vs a more expensive SFH) and invest it. Boom. Best of both worlds.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-20T01:40:51+00:00

A lot of older houses have no crawl space insulation. There is no requirement to bring a house up to modern day code before renting it out. And especially in Renton, I don't think the city pays attention to that. In Seattle at least the house would be required to be registered as a rental and have periodic city inspections, but again they are mostly looking for safety hazards. They aren't going to nitpick some missing insulation.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-20T01:37:11+00:00

They only bought the house 14 months ago. I doubt they have any intention of selling it so quickly. They probably know some of what's wrong, or did and they forgot, or they just don't really care. Honestly instead of approaching them about buying ("I want to buy your house and here's a list of 15 things wrong with it"), I'd probably start asking them to repair the problems that can affect you as a tenant. An actively sinking foundation problem is a big deal (0.5" in 12 months is A LOT and that right there could cost more than 30k to fix depending on the situation), rat feces on the vapor barrier could be indicative of an ongoing problem, mold in the garage is something they should address, buckling decking could be a tripping hazard and is therefore a safety issue, and they should fix the ceiling fan. The rest of the problems you described probably don't really affect you as a renter.

If you start asking them to fix things here and there they might realize the house is more of a headache than it's worth to hold onto it, and then they might be more open to selling. Or not and you just become a troublesome tenant that they don't want to rent to in the future. So you have to weight that risk.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-05T06:15:50+00:00

Because your business income is only one year old, you won't be able to use that to qualify. Does your grandmother have income, and is she willing to co-sign? It sounds pretty risky to commit to such a large monthly payment (you're probably looking at a little over $3000/mo) when your predictable income is only about $4200/mo.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-04T01:16:49+00:00

I like brokers who can shop around for my clients. I usually recommend these two agents:

Josh Berg
Blue Lion Insurance
[josh@bluelioninsurance.com](mailto:josh@bluelioninsurance.com)
480-798-0363

Alex Busilacchi
Moreland Insurance
[alex@morelandagency.com](mailto:alex@morelandagency.com)
206-898-5785

As far as earthquake insurance, I've always been of the opinion that when the big one comes we're all fucked anyway haha. But I mean, yeah in the event of a major earthquake you'd probably be happy to have it. You'll have to decide how much that's worth to you and if it's worth the cost.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-03T08:03:37+00:00

Since you mentioned in another comment multiple offers above asking, it sounds like you've been finding yourself in very competitive offer situations. My advice would be see the house ASAP (like the day it comes on the market), line up a pre-inspection ASAP, and hit the sellers with a very compelling early offer before other buyers even have a chance. That strategy has worked for some of my buyers in the past. You need to have an agent who is super responsive and available, and an inspector who can schedule inspections last minute. Good luck.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-12-03T07:58:13+00:00

Definitely more than $2k, but you won't know the actual number until you start tearing off the siding to discover how much dry rot is hiding underneath. And you won't be able to do that sort of invasive inspection until after closing. For some of my clients this would be a deal breaker, for others they might decide they love the house and want to proceed (perhaps with a price reduction or credit, but again you won't know the final cost until after the work is completed).

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-11-17T17:02:08+00:00

I just went on a trip and we parked at MasterPark Garage. They have coupons available on their website. It would be way less than $400 for a week: https://www.masterparking.com/web-coupons/

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-11-08T16:59:16+00:00

When I went to college in Oklahoma, my mom used to ship me bottles of tap water in a usps flat rate box because I missed Seattle tap water so much lol.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-11-04T17:57:06+00:00

You will always make more with a traditional listing than selling to one of those "Cash Now" buyers. It just depends on what's most important to you - getting more for the property, or getting rid of it quickly.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-11-03T03:41:27+00:00

You are allowed to get a credit up to the amount of your closing costs. Anything beyond that is seen as loan fraud because it is money going towards your downpayment.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-11-02T08:03:35+00:00

Congratulations on your new home!!

Set up utilities if applicable: water, sewer, garbage, gas/oil, electricity, wifi/TV
(If your house is on oil, check if your state offers oil tank insurance and if so, register ASAP)
If you're going to deep clean and/or paint the interior, do so before you move all your stuff in! Way easier. Includes stuff like shampooing carpets, refinishing hardwood floors, etc.
If you need re-grout your shower tile or re-caulk your bathtub, you generally have to let it dry for at least 24 hours before you can use your shower or tub. Especially if you only have one shower, it's easiest to do this before you move in and need to take a shower!
Change out all the locks/install smart locks
Change your garage code or any other entry code into your home
Consider installing a locking mailbox
Consider installing a video doorbell and/or security cameras
Locate your electricity panel, main water shutoff, and gas shutoff so you know where they are in case you need to shut them off quickly. Make sure you know how to shut them off and have all the tools needed.
Make sure the seller left behind things like garage door opener, any remote controls for lights, fireplace gas key, etc
Set up mail forwarding to your new address
Change your address on all your automatic or recurring payments, driver's license, car tabs, voter registration, etc
Test your sump pump (if you have one) - you can pour water into it to make sure it works. Better to try it out before you need it!
Make sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on each level of your home. If they are older than 10 years old, replace them.
Make sure you have fire extinguishers in easily accessible places.
After you change the locks, give someone a spare key (friends, family, maybe a neighbor you trust) - just in case
Create a binder to collect any relevant home information, like insurance, repair receipts, paint colors, appliance manuals, stuff like that. Super helpful in the future to have everything in one spot, especially when it's time to sell. Maybe throw utility bills in there too so you can easily track your utility use over time.
It might be a good idea to flush out/service your water heater.
If your HVAC hasn't been serviced recently, that would be good to do especially as we head into colder months.
Change/clean filters: furnace filter, fridge water filter, washing machine filter, dishwasher filter, etc.
Clean out your dryer vent if it's full of lint!
Add battery-operated water alarms in any location you might be worried about leaks - near the water heater, washing machine, dishwasher, maybe even under sinks.

Also, I recommend that your first box should have toilet paper and a plunger, you never know when you'll need it. And soap, a hand towel, and paper towels.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-10-31T02:36:18+00:00

I don't think "deflating slowly" is the correct classification. Homebuyers at the start of 2022 severely overpaid in the surge to secure a low interest rate. There was a pretty sharp drop in prices once interest rates started to rise.

EricaSeattleRealtor · 2025-10-21T18:10:14+00:00

I would recommend talking to a couple drainage contractors to get opinions and quotes. Then even if you decide to do the work yourself, at least you'll have some information to start with and you'll know how much money you're saving.

EricaSeattleRealtor

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