Can you sell a house during probate?
Yes, in most cases the executor or administrator can sell a house during probate once the court has given them authority, through letters testamentary or letters of administration. Whether the sale also needs a judge's approval depends on your state and on the powers the will or the court gives the executor.
By Andy Rong
Published
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws change and every situation is different, so check yours with a professional.
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Who can sell a house in probate?
The personal representative: the executor named in the will, or the administrator the court appoints when there's no will. Their authority starts when the court issues letters testamentary or letters of administration. Until then, nobody can sign a sale for the estate, though the family can start getting the house ready and talking to buyers.
Does a judge have to approve the sale?
Sometimes. Many wills give the executor a power to sell, and several states have a simpler kind of probate, often called independent or unsupervised administration, where the executor can sell without asking the court. In other cases the executor asks the court for an order approving the sale, which adds a hearing and some time, so the contract's closing date has to allow for it. Each state's rules are below.
How does a probate sale work, step by step?
- The court appoints the personal representative and issues their letters.
- The personal representative secures and insures the house, and finds out what's owed on it.
- If the state or the court requires it, they get the house appraised or valued.
- They sign a purchase contract, and, where it's needed, ask the court to approve it.
- At closing, the title company pays the mortgage, any liens and the costs of sale, and sends what's left to the estate, not to an heir directly.
- The estate pays its debts and expenses and distributes the rest to the heirs under the will or state law.
How does probate work for a house in my state?
A short summary of each state's rules for a personal representative selling a house, with the law behind it. The will and the court's orders control in every case, and laws change, so confirm the steps with the estate's probate attorney.
Texas
Under independent administration, which the will or all the heirs can set up, the independent executor can sell real estate without court approval (Tex. Est. Code § 402.052). Otherwise, estate property can't be sold without a court order unless the will authorizes the sale (Tex. Est. Code §§ 356.001, 356.002). Texas also lets a will be probated as a muniment of title, which passes property without a full administration when the estate owes no unpaid debts other than those secured by real estate (Tex. Est. Code ch. 257).
Covent buys in Texas: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio.
Georgia
Without broader powers, the personal representative petitions the probate court for leave to sell (Georgia probate form for leave to sell). With the consent of every heir, or every beneficiary when there's a will, the court can grant powers that include selling without that petition (Georgia probate form for a grant of powers).
Covent buys in Georgia: Atlanta.
Tennessee
Whether the personal representative can sell without a court order depends on the powers in the will and the court's letters. Ask the probate court clerk or the estate's attorney before you sign a contract.
Florida
The personal representative can sign a contract, but title can't pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale, unless the will gives a power to sell real estate or any estate asset (Fla. Stat. § 733.613).
Covent buys in Florida: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville.
Indiana
In unsupervised administration, which needs a solvent estate and the heirs' agreement or the will's permission, the personal representative can sell real estate without a court order. In supervised administration, a sale needs a petition, a hearing and an order, unless the will gives a power to sell (Ind. Code §§ 29-1-7.5-3, 29-1-15-2, 29-1-15-11).
Covent buys in Indiana: Indianapolis.
Missouri
Missouri allows independent administration, with less court supervision, when the will authorizes it or all the heirs consent (RSMo § 473.780). Ask the estate's attorney whether a sale needs the court's order in your case.
Covent buys in Missouri: Kansas City, St. Louis.
Kansas
If the will gives the executor a power of sale, the executor can sell without a court order unless the will says otherwise (K.S.A. 59-1413). Otherwise a sale of real estate goes through a petition, notice and a court order, and the simplified estates procedure still keeps the notice of a petition to sell real estate (K.S.A. 59-3203).
Covent buys in Kansas: Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Prairie Village.
North Carolina
The personal representative can apply to the clerk of superior court for an order to sell real estate (N.C.G.S. § 28A-17-1). Ask the estate's attorney whether the will or the heirs' consent changes what's needed.
Can I sell the house before probate starts?
Not as the estate, because no one has authority to sign yet. A house that passes outside probate is different: a surviving joint owner, or a beneficiary named on a transfer-on-death deed where the state allows one, can usually sell once the title company has the death certificate and the papers it asks for. Selling an inherited house covers those cases.
Selling to Covent Homes
A probate sale goes smoother with a buyer who will wait for the court. Covent Homes buys the house as-is, and the personal representative signs for the estate.
No repairs or cleaning. You don't repair, paint or clean up for us. We buy the house in the condition it's in.
No showings before you sign. Nobody walks through your house before we have a signed contract, so there are no strangers in your home while you decide.
You pick the day. Choose a closing day 14 to 60 days out, and you get paid at closing.
Closing costs paid. Covent pays the closing costs, including title and escrow fees. You pay off your own mortgage or liens.
Stay 10 days free. After closing, you can stay in the house up to 10 days at no cost, so there's no rush to move.
Cash, no financing. We pay cash, with no lender and no financing contingency, so a buyer's loan can't fall through.
Questions homeowners ask
How long does it take to sell a house in probate?
It depends on the court and the state. The sale itself can close as quickly as any sale once the personal representative has authority, but a court approval adds weeks, and the estate can't be closed until debts and taxes are settled.
Can an heir live in the house during probate?
Only with the personal representative's agreement, and it should be in writing. The personal representative has a duty to protect the house for every heir, which includes insurance, taxes and upkeep.
Who gets the money when a house in probate sells?
The estate. The title company pays the loan, liens and costs of sale, and the rest goes to the estate's account. The personal representative pays the estate's debts and distributes what's left to the heirs.
Do I have to make repairs or clean out the house?
No. Covent buys the house as it is today. Leave behind anything you don't want to take with you.
Read more about your situation
Sources
The public pages this guide's facts and figures come from.
- Texas Legislature: Texas Estates Code, Chapter 402
- Texas Legislature: Texas Estates Code, Chapter 356
- Texas Legislature: Texas Estates Code, Chapter 257
- Supreme Court of Georgia: Petition of Personal Representative for Leave to Sell Property (GPCSF 13)
- Supreme Court of Georgia: Petition by Personal Representative for Waiver of Bond, Reports and Statements, and Grant of Certain Powers (GPCSF 32)
- The Florida Senate: Florida Statutes § 733.613: Personal representative's right to sell real property
- Indiana General Assembly: Indiana Code, Title 29
- Missouri Revisor of Statutes: Missouri Revised Statutes § 473.780
- Kansas Revisor of Statutes: Kansas Statutes 59-1413
- Kansas Revisor of Statutes: Kansas Statutes 59-3203
- North Carolina General Assembly: North Carolina General Statutes § 28A-17-1
About the author
Andy Rong leads Covent Homes, which buys houses for cash, as-is, from homeowners in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and North Carolina.
Andy writes these guides to answer the questions homeowners ask before they sell, in plain words, with a public source for every fact and number.
Andy isn't a lawyer, an accountant or a financial adviser. The guides give general information, and each one says when it's time to talk to one.