- 3 -
California. Less than 3 weeks later, the grandmother died, and
petitioner became the sole owner of the property.
At the time of the grandmother's death, the property was in
a state of disrepair. For instance, mildew had grown on the
interior walls around the windows; the awning over the patio had
fallen down; the garage door did not open; the yard required
landscaping; and the fence surrounding the property required
mending. Furthermore, the house was located in a neighborhood
that was not safe at night.
After several months spent considering whether to sell or to
rent the property, petitioner decided that she would repair the
house and offer it for rent. However, petitioner did not know
the amount of the rent to charge for the property.
As a starting point in determining how much rent to charge,
petitioner sought to determine the fair market value of her
property. To determine the property's value, petitioner had
several real estate agents come to the property and provide her
with estimates. A Century 21 real estate agent performed a
thorough market analysis of the property on June 6, 1991. The
agent estimated the fair market value of the property was between
$219,500 and $275,000, and that it would sell quickly at
$229,000. To determine how much to charge for rent, petitioner
researched a trade magazine and several newspapers which listed
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011