Probate real estate agent in Florida: selling an inherited house
A probate real estate agent works for the person who ended up responsible for a house they did not plan to own. Most people who call us do not use the word at all. They say they need to sell their parents' house, or that a relative died and nobody knows what to do with the property. We handle probate sales across Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin and St. Lucie counties. That includes homes full of belongings, homes nobody has visited in a year, and homes where the heirs live in three different states. This page covers what you can sell and when, and how to value a house like this. It also covers selling as it stands, and what happens when the heirs do not agree.
Inherited Property Value and Plan
Send the address and we will come back with a written value range, what the home would likely need, and a plain sequence for getting it sold. No obligation, and no pressure to clear it out first.
What a probate real estate agent actually handles
Selling an estate property is a normal listing with three extra layers. First, authority: somebody has to be legally able to sign, and that is usually a personal representative appointed by the court rather than the heirs themselves. Second, condition: these homes are often dated, full of furniture and have sat empty for months. Third, people: there is frequently more than one heir, and they do not always want the same thing.
So our first conversation is not about price. It is about who signs, what stage the estate is at, and who else has a say. Getting that wrong wastes weeks, and we would rather ask the awkward questions early.
After that it is marketing, and the marketing matters more here than people expect. An empty dated house photographed badly looks like a problem. The same house cleaned, lit and photographed properly looks like an opportunity, and the difference shows up in the offers.
We also coordinate with the attorney handling the estate. If you do not have one yet, that is usually the first call rather than the second.
Read next: our full guide to estate and inherited property sales · how an estate sale runs in Florida, step by step
Can you sell a house while probate is still open?
Often yes, and that surprises people. In Florida a personal representative appointed by the court generally has authority to sell real property. How far that authority goes depends on the will, the type of administration and what the court has ordered.
What that means in practice is that you may not have to wait for probate to close before listing. It also means you may need a court step before signing a contract, or before the sale can close. Whether you do is a question for the attorney rather than for us.
Where there is no will, or where the property passed directly to several heirs by law, the signing requirement changes again. Sometimes every heir has to sign. Sometimes one person signs for all of them. We will not guess at which applies to you.
So the useful order is this. Find out who can sign, get the value, then decide when to list. We can do the middle step today while the first is being sorted out, because knowing the number usually helps the family make every other decision.
Read next: selling a home held in a trust · get a value for the property now
What the house is worth, and what the estate would net
Probate homes are harder to value than ordinary ones, for a simple reason. The comparable sales nearby are usually updated houses, and this one almost certainly is not. So a value pulled from an automated estimate tends to be well above what a buyer will actually pay.
We price from closed sales in similar condition, not just similar square footage. Then we show you both numbers. What the home would bring as it stands, and what it might bring after specific work. Then you can decide whether the work is worth doing.
Net proceeds matter even more than usual here, because the estate pays costs the heirs may not be expecting. There may be a mortgage still running, unpaid property taxes, insurance that lapsed, utility bills, association dues or a lien nobody knew about. All of it comes out of the sale.
We put the estimate in writing with the assumptions visible. If there is a lien or an unpaid association balance, it is far better to find it now than three days before closing.
Read next: the costs that reduce what an estate keeps · estimate the proceeds from the sale
Selling an inherited house as it stands
Most families want to know whether they have to renovate. Usually the answer is no, and often renovating is the wrong call.
Selling as it stands in Florida does not mean hiding problems. Disclosure obligations do not disappear because a house was inherited, and you must disclose what you know. What as-is does mean is that you are not agreeing to make repairs, and buyers price accordingly.
There is a middle path that works well on a probate house. Clean the house, clear it out, cut the landscaping, fix anything cheap and visible, and leave the kitchen and bathrooms alone. That combination tends to return more than it costs. A full renovation funded by an estate, managed remotely by heirs, usually does not.
You also do not have to empty the house before we value it or photograph it. We would rather see it as it is, tell you what matters, and then help you find someone to handle the clearance if you need one.
Read next: what selling as it stands means in Florida · repair before listing or sell as it stands
When several heirs own a probate property
Several heirs is the single most common reason a probate house sits for a year. One sibling wants to sell, one wants to keep it, one lives in it, and nobody wants to be the person who forces the issue.
The practical fix is to separate the two decisions. Whether to sell is a family decision, and sometimes a legal one. What the house is worth is neither, and it can be answered first. Once everybody is looking at the same number, the conversation usually changes, because people are often arguing about figures they each invented.
If one heir wants to buy out the others, that works the way it does in any shared ownership. The house gets valued, and whoever keeps it either pays cash or finances it in their own name. If nobody will agree, there are legal routes to force a sale of jointly owned property, and that is a conversation for the attorney.
We are happy to present the valuation to all of you at once, on a call or in writing. Sending one report to one sibling is how these things go wrong.
Read next: selling an inherited house in Palm Beach County · selling a jointly owned home when owners disagree
Selling a probate property from another state
A large share of the probate sales we handle belong to families who live somewhere else. That is workable, and it does not require you to fly down repeatedly.
Florida closings can be handled remotely. Documents can be signed electronically or with a notary where you live. A title company or real estate attorney can then close without the seller in the room. Deposits and proceeds move by wire.
The part that does need local hands is the property itself. Somebody has to let the photographer in, meet the inspector, deal with the lawn, make sure the power stays on and secure the house. We do that, and we send photographs so you can see the condition for yourself rather than taking our word for it.
If the home is vacant, tell us. Vacant homes have their own insurance and security issues, and an insurer that discovers a house has been empty for months can take a position nobody wants.
Read next: selling a Florida house from another state · what out of state sellers need to arrange
Mortgages, liens and taxes on a probate property
An inherited house frequently arrives with obligations attached. The mortgage does not vanish when the owner dies, and whoever ends up with the property has to deal with it.
If payments have stopped, the lender's own timeline is running whether or not the estate is settled. That is the one item on this page we would ask you to treat as urgent, because the options narrow as it progresses.
Unpaid property taxes, code enforcement fines, association dues and judgments all attach to the property and come out of the sale. A title search will find them, and we would rather run that early than discover a surprise during the closing.
Tax on the sale itself is a question for an accountant, not for us. Inherited property is treated differently from a home you bought, and the difference can be significant. So it is worth one conversation with a professional before you sign anything.
Read next: options when an inherited home is behind on payments · selling with code liens or municipal fines
A cash offer or a listing on the open market
Cash buyers advertise heavily to heirs, and for an honest reason: an estate often wants speed and certainty more than the last dollar. Sometimes that is genuinely the right trade.
The trade is still a trade, though. A cash offer is usually below what the open market would pay, and the discount is the price of the convenience. What makes the decision difficult is that most families never find out what the market would have paid, because they only ever had one number.
So get both. We will give you a market value and, if you want, help you compare it to any cash offer you have in hand. If the cash offer is close, take it and we will say so. If it is not, you will know what the gap is before you accept it.
There is also a middle option people forget. A property listed on the open market can still sell to a cash buyer, and frequently does, except that several of them are competing rather than one.
Read next: how cash offers on Florida homes work · compare every way to sell a property
A sensible order of operations
If you are at the beginning, this is the sequence that wastes the least time. Secure the house and keep the insurance and utilities on. Find the will if there is one. Speak to an attorney about who has authority to sign.
Then get a value, before anybody clears the house out or starts getting repair quotes. The value tells you whether the work is worth doing. Clearing a house out is also easier once you know whether you are selling to a buyer or an investor.
After that, agree as a family on what you are doing, using the written number rather than opinions. Then list it, or accept an offer, and let the title company deal with the liens and payoffs.
That whole first stage costs nothing. We would rather be the people who gave you a straight answer in week one than the ones who turn up in month nine.
Read next: what the whole selling process looks like · what a listing agent is responsible for
Where to get help that is not us
The Florida state courts publish a plain-language overview of the process and the forms involved. It is useful background, and it is not a substitute for an estate attorney, who should confirm who is able to sign before anything is listed.
Florida Courts probate self-help informationThis page explains how selling an estate property works in Florida. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the questions about authority to sign, court approval and the division between heirs have real legal answers that depend on the will, the title and the court file. Speak to a Florida probate attorney, and to an accountant about tax. We are glad to introduce you to either, and a valuation costs nothing in the meantime.
Where We Sell
Selling an inherited home near you
Condition, demand and buyer type vary a lot by town. These pages cover what listing a home looks like in the places we sell every week.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can you sell a house that is in probate?
- In many cases yes. A personal representative appointed by the court generally has authority to sell real property in Florida. Whether a court step is needed before signing or closing depends on the will, the form of administration and the order. Your estate attorney can answer it for your case, and we can value the home while that is being confirmed.
- Do all the heirs have to agree to sell?
- It depends on how the property is titled and who has authority. Where the house passed directly to several people, each owner usually has to sign. Where a personal representative is authorised to sell, that person may be able to sign alone. Ask the attorney, because the answer changes the whole plan.
- How long does it take to sell an inherited house?
- The sale itself runs like any other listing once you can sign. What varies is the time before that, and the legal stage is usually the long part rather than the marketing. Houses that are empty, dated and priced for their condition tend to go under contract quickly, because investors and first-time buyers both want them.
- Do we have to clear the house out before selling?
- No. Many probate homes sell with furniture and belongings still in them, and buyers who want these properties expect that. Clearing it out usually helps the photography and the showings, so it is worth doing if the family has the time. It is not a condition of listing, though, and it should not delay getting a value.
- How much is the inherited house worth?
- Less than an automated estimate will tell you, in most cases, because those tools compare it with updated homes. We price from closed sales in comparable condition and give you two figures: as it stands now, and after any specific work worth considering. Both come in writing with the reasoning shown.
- What if the house still has a mortgage?
- The loan gets paid off from the sale proceeds at closing, the same as any other sale. If payments have stopped, treat that as the urgent item. The lender's timeline runs independently of the estate, and the available options narrow as it moves forward, so it is worth a call before anything else.
- Can we sell from out of state?
- Yes, and it is common. Documents can be signed remotely and a Florida title company or real estate attorney can close without you present. What you need locally is someone to handle access, the yard, the utilities and the condition of the house, which is the part we take on.
- Should we take a cash offer instead of listing?
- Sometimes, and we will tell you honestly when the answer is yes. A cash offer buys speed and certainty at a discount to market. The mistake is accepting one without ever knowing what the market would have paid. Get a value first, then compare the two numbers side by side.
- Will we owe tax on the sale?
- That is a question for an accountant rather than for an agent. Inherited property is treated differently from a home you purchased, and the difference can be meaningful. So it is worth one conversation with a tax professional before you sign a contract. We can introduce you to one.
- Do you charge for the initial valuation and advice?
- No. The value, the written condition notes and a plain explanation of what to do first are all free. There is no obligation to list with us afterwards. We would rather give a family a straight answer early than compete for a listing that has already sat for a year.
Other Reasons People Sell
Divorce real estate agent in Florida: selling the marital home
Selling the marital home: timing, valuation, net proceeds and what happens when one spouse will not sign.
Short sale realtor in Florida: selling when you owe more than the home is worth
Owing more than the house will bring: lender approval, what it costs you, timelines and the alternatives first.
FRBO: renting out your own property, and when to sell it instead
Renting out your own property, and selling a rental when it stops making sense, with or without a tenant in place.
Work out your numbers
What is my home worth?
A valuation built from closed sales in your own community, with the comparables named.
Estimate your net proceeds
Work the commission, documentary stamps and closing costs against your own number.
Current market reports
Prices, days on market and inventory for the counties we cover, updated monthly.
How we list a home
What we do between the listing agreement and the closing table, phase by phase.
Talk It Through
Get the number first, then decide as a family
Onias Derilus is a licensed Florida broker. A written value and a condition review cost nothing, they do not commit you to anything, and they tend to end the argument about what the house is worth.
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