Cleaning Out the Home of a Deceased Loved One
House cleaning is one of those tasks that may not be the most enjoyable of activities, but it needs to get done if you don’t want your home to look like a landfill. But it’s a whole other kettle of fish if you need to clean out the house of a loved one who has recently passed away. If you find yourself with such a challenge after the funeral service in Anna, OH, here are some suggestions to get the now-unoccupied home ready for a “for sale” sign on the front lawn.
Change Locks
It can be hard to know where exactly to start. But if you want to know what to do first, begin by changing the locks. The reason is that you can’t be sure how many people have a set of keys to the home, so you should change the locks to protect the residence.
Look for Important Documents
Search for financial documents that are in the home. Specifically, look to see if there’s a will, home insurance policy, life insurance policy, mortgage documents, and other things that will be important. These things will prove invaluable when the time comes to put the home up for sale. Ensure that relevant documents are given to the executor since this will facilitate the distribution of the deceased’s estate.
Sort Through the House
You might need some help with this step since it involves going through the home and sorting things out. If the person died with a lot of stuff in the house, this step will take longer than if the home is not overly furnished. You can make your job a bit easier by organizing the things in the house into three categories — things that will be kept, things that will be brought to the landfill, and things that will be given away or sold. Be sure, as well, to determine if there is a will. And if there is, consult it to see if your deceased loved one allocated specific items to specific people.
Get the House Ready to Hit the Market
Have you ever sold a home? If you have, then you pretty much have an idea of what needs to be done. You’ll want the home to look its best, but you probably won’t want to spend a lot of money to fix things up before finally listing it. Signing on with a realtor will simplify the process because a real estate professional will do all of the heavy lifting.
Cleaning out a house after a loved one has died can be emotionally taxing, so it’s probably not something you can do alone. Hopefully, you have other family members who are willing to pitch in to clean out the home and ready it for a sale. Another word of caution: it goes without saying that the home can only be sold by a party that has rights to it after the death of the owner.
When you’re ready to plan an Anna, OH funeral service, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Eley Funeral Home & Crematory. We’re an experienced provider of funeral and cremation services, and we specialize in helping families who are planning a final disposition. You can stop by and see us at 1102 Lincoln Ave, Wapakoneta, OH 45895 or you can call us at (419) 738-7676 for a free consultation when you’re ready to talk. We’re here to help.
