Can I Sell A House That’s In Probate?

Yes. I’ve bought a lot of them, and it’s a normal week around here.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance somebody died, there’s a house, and you’re the one handling it. Maybe from another state. Maybe while everyone else has an opinion and nobody wants to be the one who decides.

Here’s how it actually works on my end.

What I need to make you an offer

The address, and a rough idea of where the estate is in the process. That’s it.

I don’t need the house cleaned out. Furniture, closets, the garage, thirty years of boxes in a spare bedroom — leave all of it. That part is mine to deal with.

I don’t need repairs. Not the roof, not the electrical panel, not the floors.

And I don’t need everybody to have made up their minds yet. You can get a number before the family agrees on anything. It’s easier to agree on something real than on a maybe.

What I can’t tell you

I can’t tell you how long your probate takes. I can’t tell you whether you have the authority to sign yet, or which path your estate qualifies for.

That’s your probate attorney’s job, not mine. They’ve seen your file. I haven’t. Anybody online answering that question confidently hasn’t either.

What I can do is put a number in your hands while you’re waiting, so the decision is ready when the court is.

The house is almost never the hard part

It’s three siblings in three states.

Somebody has to sort through a parent’s whole life, and everybody has an opinion from far away. I’ve sat in those living rooms. The house is the easy part of that conversation — it’s the only piece with a number attached to it.

You don’t have to have the rest settled before you call me. And if you’re the one handling this from out of state, I wrote a longer page on exactly that: Inherited a house in Florida and you don’t live here?

Situations I buy in regularly

A house still full of belongings. An heir two states away who can’t keep driving down. No will. A tenant still in place. Taxes or insurance lapsing while the estate sits. A property that’s been empty long enough that the county has started sending letters.

None of that is unusual. It’s most of what I buy.

When you shouldn’t sell to me

A cash offer comes in below retail. That’s the trade — price for speed and certainty.

If the house is in good shape and the family isn’t in a hurry, listing it will usually net you more, even after commission. I’ll tell you that if I think it. I’m a licensed Florida agent, so I can say it out loud: sometimes the right move is the MLS, not me.

Where I’m usually the better answer is when the house needs work, when it’s full, when there’s a tenant, when the family is spread out, or when somebody just needs this finished.

What happens if you call

You send me the address. I come walk it myself — I’ve been buying houses in Hillsborough and Pinellas since 2015 and I’ve walked more than a thousand of them. I buy across Tampa Bay.

You get a number the same day. There’s no inspection period, because I’ve already been inside. We pay the closing costs. You pick the closing date, and if you’re not ready to move anything out, we can close and let you take your time.

Then you do whatever you want with that number. Including nothing.

This is general information about how probate sales usually work, not legal advice. Every estate is its own thing — talk to an attorney about yours.

Send me the address and I’ll tell you what I’d pay

Call or text Mike: 813-200-7665
A+ Home Buyers · TMWRK Brokerage LLC
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