Selling an Inherited House in Florida: The Complete Guide

Someone you love has died and left a house. Along with everything else you're carrying, there's now a property with taxes, insurance and a mortgage that don't stop. This guide explains, in plain language, what Florida requires and what your choices are. Read it at your own pace.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your probate attorney handles the legal side, and anything here that matters to your case should be confirmed with them.

Do I need probate?

It depends on how the house was owned when the person died. Pull the deed (the county property appraiser's website shows the owner names) and look for one of these:

• Only the deceased person's name. This is the most common case, and it almost always means probate. A court has to approve who gets the house before it can be sold.
• Two names "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" or as husband and wife. The surviving owner usually takes the house automatically, without probate. A death certificate gets recorded and the title is cleaned up.
• A trust. If the deed says the house belongs to a trust, the trustee can usually sell it without probate, following the trust's instructions.
• A "lady bird" (enhanced life estate) deed. This names who gets the house at death. The person named usually takes title by recording the death certificate, again without probate.

If you're not sure what the deed says, a title company or probate attorney can tell you in a few minutes. So can we, at no cost, if you'd rather start there.

Florida probate basics

The personal representative. This is the person the court puts in charge of the estate (other states call them the executor). If there's a will, it usually names one. If not, Florida law says who has priority, usually the spouse, then the children. The personal representative is the one who can sign a contract to sell the house.

Summary administration. The shorter process. It's available when the estate is small (under $75,000 not counting the homestead) or the person died more than two years ago. It can take a few weeks to a few months once filed, and there's no personal representative appointed; the court orders who gets what directly.

Formal administration. The full process, used for larger estates or when creditors need to be dealt with. The court appoints the personal representative, creditors get a window to make claims, and then the property is distributed. Timelines vary a lot, but several months to a year is common, longer if anyone contests anything.

Cost. Attorney fees and court costs come out of the estate, which in practice means out of the sale of the house at closing. You don't usually have to pay them out of pocket up front, although some attorneys ask for a retainer. Ask.

Can you sell during probate?

Yes, in most cases. Once the court appoints the personal representative, they can list the house or sign a contract with a buyer. Sometimes the court has to approve the sale; your attorney will know. A cash buyer can sign a contract early, even before the appointment, and wait for the court. That locks in a price and takes the house off your plate while the paperwork moves.

What nobody can do is skip probate. If someone tells you they can buy the house without it, or asks you to sign the deed over now and "handle it later," walk away.

Homestead property: why it matters

Florida treats a person's primary home, their homestead, differently from other property. Two things come up for heirs. First, homestead generally can't be taken by most of the deceased person's creditors, which protects the house for the family. Second, if the person left a spouse or minor children, Florida law limits who can inherit the homestead regardless of what the will says.

Homestead also affects property taxes. The tax cap that kept the bill low for years usually resets when the house changes hands, so the next owner's taxes can be much higher. This is one of the reasons a buyer's offer may look lower than the tax-appraiser value.

The rules here are specific and the details change outcomes. Confirm anything about homestead with your probate attorney before making decisions.

Taxes on an inherited house

No Florida inheritance or estate tax. Florida doesn't have one. Federal estate tax only applies to very large estates (many millions), so most families never deal with it.

Stepped-up basis, in plain words. When you inherit a house, for tax purposes its "cost" becomes what it was worth on the day the person died, not what they paid for it decades ago. If you sell soon after for about that same value, there's usually little or no capital gains tax. If you hold it for years and it goes up in value, you may owe tax on the increase. This is why selling soon after a death is often simpler tax-wise than holding.

Property taxes keep coming during probate, and so do insurance and any mortgage. These are estate expenses, but somebody has to pay them on time. A CPA can confirm how any of this applies to you.

Multiple heirs who disagree

This is the call we get most often. One sibling wants to keep the house, one needs the money now, one lives in it and stopped answering the group text. Meanwhile the taxes, insurance and lawn cost somebody money every month.

A few things help. Get a real number for what the house is worth as-is and what it would cost to fix and list it; arguments get shorter when everyone is looking at the same figures. Have the personal representative, not the loudest sibling, run the process. And know that if the heirs truly can't agree, a co-owner can ask the court to force a sale (a partition action), which is slow and expensive for everyone. Most families find a way before it gets there.

When we buy from an estate, we make one written offer to the estate, explain it to every heir in English or Spanish, and the title company splits the proceeds at closing according to the estate. Nobody has to trust a sibling to forward a check.

Inherited a house in South Florida but live in another state?

Heirs in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Texas, or another country inherit Miami, Broward and Palm Beach houses every day. You don't have to move here or keep flying down. Everything can be handled remotely.

• Florida probate can be filed by a Florida attorney without you appearing in person. Many handle the whole case by phone and email.
• Contracts and closing documents are signed with a mobile notary near you or electronically where Florida allows it.
• The title company wires the proceeds to your bank wherever you are.
• We walk the house and send you photos and video, handle the cleanout, and deal with the utilities and the lawn while the estate is open.

If Spanish is easier for you or for another heir, every step above can happen in Spanish.

When a realtor is the better choice

Honestly: if the house is in good shape, the heirs agree, nobody is in a hurry, and someone can manage showings and repairs, listing with a good agent will usually get you a higher price than any cash buyer, including us. A cash offer is paying for speed, certainty and taking the work off your hands. That trade is worth it for some houses and not for others.

A cash buyer tends to make more sense when the house needs real work, when there are liens or a foreclosure date, when the heirs are out of state, when there's a tenant, or when the family just wants it done. If you tell us about the house and listing is your better option, we'll say so. We'd rather you make the right call than the one that favors us.

What to do this week

1. Find the deed and note whose name is on it.
2. Get several certified copies of the death certificate.
3. Keep the insurance and any mortgage current; a lapse costs more than a payment.
4. Talk to a Florida probate attorney, even for 20 minutes, to learn which process applies.
5. Get a written number for the house as-is so the family is deciding with facts.