Selling a house to pay for assisted living or a nursing home
For most families the house is the money that pays for care. The problem is that a normal sale takes months, and the community wants a deposit and a move-in date now.
- Close in time for the move-in date
- No cleaning out, no repairs, no showings
- A son, daughter or power of attorney can handle it
- Our own title company clears liens and estate paperwork
Ask about selling for care costs
Free, no obligation, and we answer fast.
Why the house usually has to pay for it
Medicare generally does not pay for long-term custodial care or for room and board in assisted living. It can cover a short skilled-nursing stay after a qualifying hospital admission, and that is about it. Long-term care insurance is uncommon. So for most families in Philadelphia and the suburbs the largest asset is the house, and the equity in it is what the care runs on.
Your real options, in plain terms
1. List it with an agent
If the house is in good shape and you have a few months, this usually puts the most money in your pocket even after commission. We will tell you that on the phone if it is true for your house.
2. Sell it as-is for cash
Less than a retail price, in exchange for speed and certainty: no repairs, no cleanout, no showings, no buyer's mortgage falling through two weeks before the move. You pick the settlement date. This is the answer when the timeline is tight, the house needs work, or nobody in the family can manage a listing.
3. Rent it out
It keeps the house in the family and brings in income. It also makes someone a landlord at one of the hardest times to be one, and the rent is rarely enough to cover a monthly care bill on its own.
4. Borrow against it for a while
Some senior communities and lenders offer short-term bridge financing to cover the entrance fee until the house sells. It buys time. It does not remove the need to sell.
5. A reverse mortgage — usually not a fit here
A reverse mortgage generally comes due once the borrower stops living in the house as a primary residence for more than twelve months in a row. If the move to care is permanent, it is the wrong tool.
6. Veterans' benefits
Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for the VA's Aid and Attendance pension, which helps with the cost of care. It is worth asking about before deciding how much has to come from the house.
The timing problem
Senior communities often want a deposit or the first months up front, and that money is sitting in the house. A listing takes months and the closing date is not in your control. With us, the closing date is whatever you choose — before the move, or after, so nobody is rushed out the door.
The house itself
A home lived in for thirty or forty years is usually full: furniture, papers, a lifetime of belongings, and maintenance that has been put off for a while. Getting it market-ready means an estate cleanout, repairs and staging, often coordinated by adult children who live somewhere else.
You do not have to do any of that. Take the things that matter and leave the rest.
Selling for a parent
With a power of attorney. The agent named in a valid durable power of attorney can usually sign for the owner. The title company reviews the document before settlement, so send us a copy early and we will check it while there is still time to fix a problem.
Without one. If a parent can no longer make decisions and never signed a power of attorney, Pennsylvania generally requires a guardianship through the county Orphans' Court before the house can be sold. It is slower, and it needs an elder law attorney. Ask one now rather than later.
A spouse on the deed has to sign as well, even if only one person is moving.
Medicaid, before you sign anything. Selling at fair market value is not a penalized gift, but the money from the sale counts as an asset and can delay Medicaid eligibility until it is spent on care. Pennsylvania looks back sixty months at anything transferred for less than it was worth, so do not sell the house cheaply to a relative or give it away without advice. The home can stay exempt while a spouse still lives in it, and Pennsylvania can seek repayment from an estate for long-term care Medicaid paid for. An elder law attorney can tell you how this applies to you. If you do not have one, we can point you to one.
Taxes on the sale
Federal law lets a homeowner exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for a married couple) on the sale of a main home they lived in for two of the last five years. There is a special rule for care: if the owner lived in the house for at least one of those five years and then moved into a licensed care facility because they could no longer care for themselves, the time in the facility can count toward the two years. Ask an accountant to confirm it for your situation.
The honest version
If the house is in good condition, the move is months away and someone in the family can manage a listing, list it. Where we help is the house that needs work, the tight move-in date, the family that lives out of state, or the property with tax or title problems attached. We own a title company, Prosperity Abstract, so those get handled in-house instead of stalling the sale.
Also see: administering an estate, inheriting a property and a house that needs work.
Questions families ask us
Does Medicare pay for assisted living or a nursing home?
Generally not for long-term care. Medicare does not cover assisted living room and board or long-term custodial care. It can cover a limited skilled-nursing stay after a qualifying hospital admission. That is why the house so often ends up paying for care.
Can I sell my parent's house with a power of attorney?
Usually, yes. The agent named in a valid durable power of attorney can generally sign for the owner. The title company reviews the document before settlement, so send it early. If there is no power of attorney and your parent cannot make decisions, Pennsylvania generally requires a guardianship through Orphans' Court first.
Will selling the house affect Medicaid?
It can. Selling at fair market value is not a penalized transfer, but the proceeds count as an asset and can delay eligibility until they are spent on care. Pennsylvania also looks back sixty months at transfers for less than fair value. Talk to an elder law attorney before you sign.
How fast can you close?
The offer usually comes back the same day or the next business day, and most purchases settle in under 30 days. It can be as quick as about a week. You choose the date, so it can line up with the move-in.
Do we have to clean out the house first?
No. Take whatever the family wants to keep and leave everything else. We handle the cleanout after we buy.
How selling to us works
Tell us about the house
Two minutes on the form or one phone call. Address, rough condition, and what is going on. You do not need to have anything cleaned up or figured out first.
We check the numbers
We pull the comparable sales, the tax and lien position, and whatever else is on record for the property. Usually same day, always within one business day.
You get a real cash offer
A written, no-obligation number with the math behind it, so you can see how we got there. No fee to hear it and no pressure to take it.
You pick the closing date
Two weeks, two months, or after the holidays. We settle at a title company, you get certified funds, and you leave whatever you do not want behind.
Other situations we handle
Facing foreclosure
Stop the clock. We can close before the sheriff sale date and settle what you owe.
Inherited a property
A house you did not ask for, in a city you may not live in. We handle it end to end.
Administering an estate
Executor duties, probate, and a house to deal with while you are still grieving.
Liens, judgments & title problems
Tax liens, water bills, old mortgages, clouded title. We own a title company.
House needs work
Roof, water damage, full gut, hoarder cleanout. We buy it exactly as it stands.
Problem tenants
Not paying, will not leave, trashing the place. Sell it with them still in it.
Squatters
Someone is living in your property who has no right to be. We deal with it.
Out-of-state owner
You do not have to fly in. Everything can be handled remotely and notarized where you are.
Relocating for work
A start date in another state and a house that has not sold yet.
Find out what your house is worth in cash
It takes about two minutes to ask and there is no fee for the answer. If a cash sale is not your best move, we will say so.