How to Sell a Florida Home During Probate

If you have inherited a house and are considering selling it, you have almost certainly heard the term “probate” and may be wondering what it means and if you can still complete the sale quickly. A common misbelief is that you cannot sell a house until the probate process is complete. Thankfully this isn’t the case! And it doesn’t have to be as stressful or tedious as it may seem.

What is probate? And can I avoid it?

In the simplest terms, probate is the court-supervised process of settling an estate after the owner passes away. This includes gathering the deceased person's assets, paying off debts and taxes, and then distributing assets to the people who are set to inherit them. Probate officially begins when the will is submitted, along with a death certificate and a petition form, following the owner’s death to the county court where they lived or owned the property.

This is a necessary process for most inherited homes (you can avoid it if the owner set up very specific types of joint ownership, beneficiary accounts or lady bird deeds), but you can indeed sell a house before the probate process is complete. Just note that if you sell the house before probate is completed (if the required 90 days have not passed since the notice to creditors), the money from the sale typically needs to be held in either a court restricted account or your attorney’s account until the process is done. Then the funds from the sale can be dispersed to the identified heirs.

Key Player: Personal Representative

A Personal Representative, known in other states as an “executor”, plays a central role in the probate process, as this is the person designated to carry out the deceased person’s will and testament. PRs are typically identified in the will, otherwise the court will appoint one based on lineal kinship to the deceased – surviving spouse, then children, etc. The PR is responsible for several tasks, from identifying and securing all assets of the estate to filing tax returns for the deceased’s estate. One of their tasks is finalizing the legal closing of the estate.

Do I need a probate attorney?

If you were selling through a traditional real estate agency or on your own, it is recommended to hire an attorney to handle the probate. This makes your life easier and helps you avoid any legal missteps. But when you sell directly to a legitimate cash buyer like Hamby Housing, our team can take care of all the paperwork and stress that is involved in the process. We will pay our expert probate attorney to handle it all, so you don’t have to worry about it. ‍

Save yourself stress and time. Let us handle your probate!

At Hamby Housing, we are not realtors looking for another listing to add to a digital catalogue. We are direct homebuyers who pay cash and can close quickly on your home even while it’s in probate.

As mentioned above, you don’t even need to hire a probate attorney when you sell to us. That’s just one of the numerous benefits: you also won’t be responsible for any repair costs (cleaning, painting, staging or other repairs) and can close as quickly as two weeks after accepting our competitive cash offer, a staggering difference than if you went through a realtor or attempted to sell on your own.

We are here to help! If you are looking to sell your home for cash before you think probate will be finished, contact us.

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