Good Neighbor Podcast: Orange County

From Loss To Listing: How An Inherited Property Specialist Maximizes Family Assets

• Rachel Fyffe & Tanya Parks

Share episode

What if you could hand over the key to a loved one’s home and have the hard part taken care of—respectfully, quickly, and with real financial upside? We sit down with Tanya Parks, Orange County’s Inherited Property Specialist, to unpack a compassionate, end-to-end process that clears, cleans, stages, and sells family homes while honoring memories and maximizing market value.

Tanya shares how a sudden personal loss shaped her mission and why so many families feel stuck by distance, grief, and logistics. She explains the full service chain—careful content clearing, large-item removal, donation strategies, deep cleaning, yard refreshes, and professional staging—that can transform a property in about seven days. We get practical about probate and trust timelines, the psychology of family dynamics, and the surprising value hidden in smart pre-sale optimization. Along the way, Tanya dispels common myths, including the idea that heirs must do everything themselves or that an inherited house can be listed immediately for a quick check.

You’ll hear how trust attorneys, fiduciaries, and neighbors connect families with this specialized help, and why early planning matters as the silver wave accelerates. From “Is that really Grandma’s house?” marketing moments to smooth negotiations that protect relationships, Tanya shows how expertise and empathy can coexist—turning a painful chore into a dignified, well-managed transition that preserves both legacy and equity.

Visit: https://tparksrealestate.com/

Ready to learn how this could work for your family or a friend? Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your top question about selling an inherited home.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Rachel Five.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Now, if you or your family have inherited a home and don't know where to begin, and well, you know what? We have the perfect resource for you. Allow me to introduce your good neighbor, Tanya Parks, the Orange County, Southern California Inherited Property Specialist. Tanya, how is it going?

SPEAKER_01:

Hi, Rachel. Thank you for having me. I'm so glad to be here. And I'm just so glad to share a really positive message with people.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, wonderful. Well, you know, we're really excited to not only learn about your real estate business, but the unique position you are in with your business in real estate. So tell us all about it.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Yes, I've been a real estate broker for over 10 years, 10 years of safe and successful transactions for my clients. And I started seeing a need after experiencing a loss myself, the loss of my mother. And I started seeing a need in a space where families and individuals are inheriting homes. Often the families are not in the same area, even the same city or state as the home. A lot of people don't have the uh wherewithal financially to travel. These homes are being inherited, but they need to be cleared and cleaned and optimized because the family houses for most people, it's you know, it's really uh the biggest asset in anyone's family. And so when you inherit a property, it's so important to make the most of that asset during a sale. But people, for many reasons, uh they're just not in proximity to the home. There are family dynamics, there can be certainly some grief issues around that, and the inability to, whether they live here or not, to prepare the property for sale. And so I created a complete service chain where I do that for people. People can literally send me a key from another state, and I will very respectfully and reverently clear the home of all the contents. I have a great process for donating most of the contents of the home. And then I deep clean and detail the home, the yard. Every home has its own specifics. Sometimes we're removing cars, uh, just anything you can think of. There's some great stories. Um, but ultimately this process is all about unburdening the family of this experience on all its levels, and then selling the home and making sure the family gets the most out of that asset. It's so important to me. Wonderful. Gosh, well, I think you touched upon this, but how did you get into this business? Yeah, thank you. So uh, this is something that I just really think it's so important for people to know because so many people of new generations are inheriting homes. Um, my mother passed away about 10 years ago. It was very sudden, it was a complete surprise. Uh, she had moved to Southern California just a couple years before. She lived in a small place, she was a renter at the time. But when she passed away, you know, um the world keeps moving. And I remember that the landlord of that property was, you know, I'm so sorry for your loss, but I need to uh get this uh apartment cleaned out and rented, right? And so whether it's even a situation like that, I was so aggrieved, and my mother's passing was such a surprise that I emotionally could not, I didn't have the emotional wherewithal to go in and clean out the apartment. And it was so quick, it was all happening so quick, which if anyone has lost anyone, you know, things move fast. So I asked a friend to do it for me, and it was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. It was someone I really trusted, they did a beautiful job, and I just thought, wow, this is incredible. And I had a little pang of guilt, you know, should I have done that? And I want people to know that that's natural, and I also want you to know that it's completely okay if for whatever reason you don't want to go in and clear out a home and get it prepared. So I had these feelings, you know, did I do the right thing? And I really felt like I did. And then suddenly in my business, I started having completely organically a number of trust attorneys and fiduciaries and asset managers begin to connect me with families who had suffered a loss and this exact same situation. They had properties and um sometimes investment properties, sometimes family homes. And these properties needed to be sold, and these assets needed to be prepared so that the trust could be settled, and so that family members could move forward with that portion of their lives. And so it was very personal for me. And as soon as I started doing it, I just went, oh my gosh, I get it. I understand why I went through what I went through and was able to create something that helped other people also be at peace during that time and during that situation. So it's kind of found me and it's been incredible, and it takes an incredible uh myriad of skills because, in one way, um, it's very important to understand what's happening with trust and probate, and the laws change every year, and it's important to understand just the psychology of family dynamics. Then it's really important to understand the contents of the home, what what is valuable, what isn't. Uh, there's a lot of grit that goes into clearing out a home. It's a very beautiful process, but it is hands-on. And um, and then there's all the real estate skills beyond that of really maximizing the marketing, maximizing negotiations. And, you know, when you're selling a family home, and especially if it's been in the family a few generations, um, you know, you just want the experience to go well, not only financially for everyone, but you want a smooth transaction and a smooth ride because that's going to help family dynamics in the future. And it also just helps with healing during that moment and into the future. So if it sort of found me, it is absolutely my purpose. And then I found that I already had sort of this entire toolbox that was really naturally and some of it hard-earned as well. And um, and I put it all together and I created something very special to offer people. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, what do you think are maybe some myths or misconceptions, Tanya, in your industry?

SPEAKER_01:

I think that what I would want people to know three things. One is there's there's a misconception that you've got to do this yourself. If you don't want to do this yourself, or you can't, because you live in another state and you're taking care of your own family. Um, I want you to know that I can help you through the process and make you feel extremely involved, um, but that it's also okay if you don't want to go through all of your loved ones' stuff. You know, there's a lot of stuff. There's old paint cans in the garage, there are chopsticks in the back of the drawer, they're very precious things. There are things that uh everything you can imagine. And I just want people to know number one, it's okay if they don't want to or can't be part of that process for some reason. Number two, I would want people to know that um it takes a little bit of time. It's so exciting, I'm sure for some people, even going through loss, um, families, you know, when you inherit a property or learn that you've inherited a property, um, you know, you have an asset and you have some financial proceeds coming to you. But it's not as easy as just sticking a sign in the yard and getting a check in 30 to 60 days. Um, probate has some different nitty-gritties to the timeline. Uh, the same is true if the property is in trust and someone is um taking care of a trust. So I just want people to know that it's not as quick as you might think. And then number three, I would just want people to know that this is what your loved ones want. This is why they have passed this property on to you. They've trusted you to make some decisions around it. And we can do everything to really honor not only their belongings that they're leaving behind, but we're gonna honor everything that they wanted to leave you with. We want to be sure to capture that so that your loved ones are really honored in this process as well, and so that their plans for you and hopes for you and dreams for you can move forward, you know, after the close of this asset.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, beautiful. Well, now, I know we know marketing is really the heart of every business. So, how are you finding your customers? I know you kind of touched upon that, but how are you doing that?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's so great to come on your show today because most of the clients I meet come to me through trust attorneys, fiduciaries, asset managers, and that is beautiful. But I'm in conversations pretty regularly, or when I'm in a neighborhood and I start the process on a home, I will be speaking with neighbors and all kinds of people in my life. I run into people who when I tell them what I do, they say, Oh my gosh, we just went through that, and we wish we would have known that someone can do that, that someone can take all the processes out of the pre-sale optimization for the home. That is hard on people. So while I love getting uh clients through fiduciaries and asset managers, I really just want to get the word out to people, family to family, person to person. If anyone knows someone who has a loved one that's gone into care, um, this also is true for homes where a loved one has gone into care and maybe the family is selling the home prior to any passing. Um, I just want families to know that you're not alone in this, you don't have to do it alone. There is someone who's an expert in this, and I can walk you through it, and I can help guide you and take care of you and do all the things that are going to help really unburden you. Of this is one of the toughest things in life that anyone has to go through. More and more people are dealing with it every day as we go through this silver wave. We have an aging demographic, um, especially here in Southern California. And I just uh so right now I'm hoping to just get the word out person to person. And that's how I'd really like to be finding my clients, to be one-on-one with families before these situations happen too. We can have conversations well in advance as we get prepared. Have you ever thought of doing your own podcast? Oh my gosh. Um, I'm a podcast junkie, so I probably think about it, dream about it all the time. Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

So the answer is yes. All right. Well, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun, Tanya?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, I am just so blessed to live in Southern California. I just, when it is my time off, um, I love what I do. And and that is really, really takes up so much of my time in such a beautiful way. But I love to decompress, I love to paddle board, I love to hike here in Southern California and mountain bike. I really just, you know, it's hard to get me to leave. Uh, I'm I'm home. I'm so happy when I'm here, and there's just always something phenomenal to do. Always.

SPEAKER_02:

It's so true. It's so true. So um, Tanya, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about, you know, Tanya Parks, the inherited property specialist.

SPEAKER_01:

I think I would like you to remember that whether you live right in the neighborhood of the family home that you've inherited, or whether you live states away or a whole country away, you could literally hand me the key. And in about I can clear and prepare almost any home of any size within seven days. And that generally also includes staging. So someone could hand me a key, and within seven days, I would be sending them an unbelievably gorgeous marketing website. My favorite thing is when families don't even recognize the home. They they I do my process at the end of the week, they get this whole showcase of all the marketing and they go, Oh my gosh, is that is that really grandma's house? Is that uncle's house? Is that my sister's house? I didn't even recognize it. Um, and I also think that that's important for healing. I I really see some beautiful healing take place. But I want people to know that they don't have to do any of it. You could literally stand in the yard or hand me the key or you can send me the key. And within about 30 to 60 days in this market, um, you will receive your proceeds from the sale.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. Well, how can our listeners learn more about Tanya Parks Inherited Property Specialist?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, thank you. So I have a YouTube channel that is Tea Parks Real Estate Success in San Diego. More than anything, I would just love a phone call. I think you'll have my number there, Rachel, my email as well. And then my website is teaparksrealestate.com. But the best way for me to see how I can really alleviate you from anything that's happening as you get ready to sell an inherited home, I would just love a phone call. We get on a phone call, we get on a zoom, and that's where we build the trust, and that's where I take you through the process, and everyone gets very comfortable after that. They get they say, I get it. I understand what we're doing here. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Tanya, I really appreciate you being on the show, and I wish you and your business really all the best success moving forward.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I'm so glad you had me, Rachel. Thank you. And you're you're such a gift, and just this show being out there introducing the community to everyone who's out here helping each other, right? We're all in this together, and for you to be a connector in that is um just phenomenal. So thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnporgecounty.com. That's gnpoorgecounty.com or call 714 94863.