Selling a house you inherited in Florida.

The situation we see most often

A parent passes. The house goes to two or three siblings who live in different states. Nobody wants to fly down repeatedly, nobody wants to manage a renovation remotely, and the property still needs insuring, mowing and securing every month it sits empty.

Meanwhile the house has usually not been updated since the 1980s and is full of a lifetime of belongings. Listing it would mean clearing it, repairing it and staging it first, which is exactly the work nobody involved has the time or appetite for.

Where probate comes into it

In Florida, a property that was owned solely by the person who died normally has to go through probate before it can be sold. Formal administration takes several months; summary administration is faster and applies to smaller estates or where the death was more than two years ago. If the property was held in a trust, or titled jointly with rights of survivorship, probate may not be needed at all.

You do not need to have all of this worked out before you call us. What usually happens is we look at the property and give you a number, and the title company tells us where the estate actually stands. We have closed with personal representatives mid-probate more than once, and we are comfortable waiting for letters of administration if that is what the timeline requires.

Working with heirs who are not in Florida

Most of this can be handled remotely. Documents are signed and notarised wherever each heir happens to live, and the title company coordinates the signing. You do not all need to be in a room in Venice, and in most cases nobody needs to fly down at all.

We can also usually accommodate a date that suits the family rather than one that suits us. If you need to get into the house one more time before closing, or you want to wait until after a particular date, that is a normal request.