Selling Your House While Traveling? Here’s How to Stay Grounded

Selling a house is one of the most stressful decisions you can make, up there with getting married or changing careers. This is true even if you’re excitedly along for the ride—but what happens if you’re not physically at the house you’re trying to sell? And further, what’s the process for selling your home in the US while traveling or living abroad?

Perhaps your nomadic urges got the better of you, and you simply couldn’t wait for a sale to go through before you shot off. Or, maybe you’ve decided to extend a round-the-world trip indefinitely. Either way, you’ve got a house to sell and are far from home!

The thought alone is enough to stress out even the most zen traveler, but fear not—it’s entirely possible to sell a house as you travel. Here’s how you can streamline the process and make sure it goes smoothly!

Settle Legal Issues Before You Go

We know that the calling to travel can be intense, but your house-selling journey will be a lot more stressful if you leave any outstanding legal matters unresolved, like signatures. The good news is that you can sign most of the paperwork online, but some parts of selling still require you to appear in person.

This is especially true if you’ve inherited a house or are selling a house amidst legal disputes like divorce. In this instance, you’ll likely need to appear in court before you can become an executor for selling a house in probate or taking half of a joint property. Unfortunately, there’s no real way around that.

But don’t fret too much! You can sort these issues quickly, especially if you line up sellers in advance. Flying back for a few days to handle those hairy details will help you move the process along more elegantly.

Find a Way to Source the Right Documents

Selling a house is a legal matter, and lawyers must handle certain documents throughout the process, including property deeds, purchase agreements, and others. While you can sign contracts long-distance, this paperwork must be physically transferred to the new owners.

One easy step is to provide your attorney with any relevant paperwork for legal issues during an in-person meeting. If you’re not flying back anytime soon, you can appoint someone back home to handle this.

And while a loved one won’t be able to handle the legal aspects of your house sale without becoming a fiduciary, it should be fine for them to drop all essential documents to your lawyer with permission—make sure your lawyer knows who to expect, and detail precisely which documents that person will need to take with them.

Reduce Tax Strain

Selling a house is always a tax minefield—even more so when you’re technically not living in the country. For one thing, home sale tax exclusion makes it possible to be exempt from up to $250,000 of property capital gains taxes if you’re single, and $500,000 if married filing jointly, is reliant on you having used that property as your primary residence for at least two of the past five years. Those years needn’t be consecutive, but you may be exempt if you’re out of the country and have been for a long time. The only exceptions to this are if you’ve relocated due to illness, work, or unforeseen circumstances like divorce. Otherwise, you may pay more tax on a property sale than you would otherwise.

You’ll also need to consider the tax laws within the country you’re currently residing in, as any capital gains may be subject to taxation in both the US and your current country. This can result in pretty steep expenses if you aren’t careful, but you could offset that by looking into potential exemptions like foreign tax credits or by simply putting that money in the trust of someone with a bank account back in the US. For instance, if you hire a fiduciary, that person would be bound by a legal responsibility to handle your money in the best way for you, including keeping it aside for your return.

Plan Your Next Move

This point ties roughly back into what we were discussing: you could save yourself a lot of stress by taking time to plan what you intend to do with any gains before a house sale back home. There are tax ramifications to placing those funds in an overseas bank account, so many people either entrust their money to someone else or keep it in a US bank account that they can access on their return.

However, neither of these options will be right for you if you’re looking to fund your travels with money from a house sale. If this is the case, you should seek assistance from a financial advisor back home, who preferably has experience working with expats in your position. This is vital considering the amount of money you’ll need to move. An advisor can help you understand potential tax exemptions, preferred plans for transferring that money, and even a financial travel plan to ensure your funds last your entire trip.

Selling a house is always challenging, especially if attempting to sell a property while traveling overseas. Your calming travel adventures will undoubtedly take a hit for a while as you navigate this new portion of your journey, and you may need to drop back home to handle key legal elements of a sale.

But staying grounded while selling property in your absence is entirely possible. Get a trustworthy team, seek expert advice, and understand the best ways to get the most from any property capital gains that come your way. You’ll find the process so much smoother and less stressful!

About the Author

Mike is a freelance writer who researches and shares actionable advice around travel, finance, and personal growth. Read his other articles on Frayed Passport here.

Featured image by Bench Accounting on Unsplash