Selling an Inherited Property in Rochester

Property here comes with acreage, and in an estate that changes what you are actually selling.

A house on eight acres with a barn, a workshop and thirty years of equipment inside them is a different proposition from a house on a quarter acre. The land may carry value the family has never had reason to think about: what can be built on it, whether it can be divided, whether it has been held under a reduced-tax classification for agriculture or forestry, and what happens to that classification when it changes hands.

That last question in particular belongs with the estate's attorney and accountant, and it is worth asking early, because the answer can affect what the family nets rather than just what the property lists for.

• The septic system, since almost nothing here is on sewer and a Title 5 inspection is a normal part of a sale. On an older rural system this is the single item most likely to move a closing date.
• The well, since most properties are on private water and testing is commonly part of a transfer.
• Wetlands and conservation restrictions, which decide what a buyer can actually do with the land and are worth establishing before the questions arrive.
• Frontage and whether the land is divisible, which can change what the estate is selling entirely.
• Clearing the outbuildings, which in Rochester is usually a larger job than clearing the house. Equipment, vehicles and tools often have real auction value and should not be let go cheaply against a closing date.

Items to plan for and discuss, not statements of what the law requires. The estate's attorney tells us what applies here.