How to Sell a Dilapidated Home in a Commercial Area

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Dear Monty: In 2021 I inherited my mom’s house, which is falling apart. I live on a dead-end street with only two homes in an area zoned heavy industrial. There is a lot of new apartment construction in the area. My house is appraised for taxes as residential. My mom fenced and used property behind and adjoining hers for 40 years, during which she saw the owner twice. Am I able to sell the property as either commercial or residential? And which would appraise higher? Also, can I claim the portion of the other persons’ land that we have fenced, used and maintained by adverse possession? The city has the house and property appraised at $122,000. The house is in such disrepair that I would not get that, and in fact, I was offered $45,000 today for the home (not the adjoining property). I feel like it is worth much more than that if it is sold as not residential. So, how do I know which direction to go and if I am being offered a fair price? And if I can claim adverse possession on the adjoining land, don’t I really need to do that before I sell the house to sell all of it at once? The land portion my mom fenced was appraised at $34,370 by itself. I know whoever buys it wants to make a profit, but I got a little leery when I saw the words “substantial profit.”

Monty’s Answer: Put up a “for sale” sign by the road where it is most visible. Have your phone number prominently displayed. Then I would follow the path as written in the following article on Dear Monty.