Usually, once the right person has the authority to sign. Here is how to tell who that is, and what you can do before then.
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The executor or administrator the probate court appoints signs the sale, and the money goes to the estate first. If the will gives a power of sale, or the court grants one, no separate court order is needed for the sale; otherwise the court approves it first.
Until the probate court appoints a personal representative, no one can sign a sale contract for the estate. You can still price the house, protect it and plan the sale.
With a survivorship deed, or once the estate has deeded the house to the heirs, every owner signs and the closing attorney pays each owner their share at closing. If the house is in a trust, the trustee signs.
A surviving spouse or minor children can claim year's support within 24 months of the death, and it comes ahead of most other claims on the estate, so ask about it before anyone lists. Not sure which case is yours? Bring the deed and the will, if there is one, and we will tell you which question to ask a probate attorney. Sources: O.C.G.A. §§ 53-8-10, 53-8-13 and 53-12-261 (sales by a personal representative); §§ 53-3-1 and 53-3-5 (year's support). General information, not legal advice.
Sell Without the Stress: a cash offer, or an as is listing where investors compete. No cleanout, no repairs, at a lower price than the open market.
Get the Most: clean out, prepare and list for the highest price, with more time and some money up front.
Keep it, as a rental or for family. We can give you a rent estimate; we do not manage rentals.
An inherited home's tax basis is generally its fair market value on the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it, so selling soon after often means little or no capital gains tax. Georgia has no inheritance tax. Source: IRS, Gifts and inheritances. General information, not tax advice; confirm your case with a CPA, and we can refer you to one.
When the estate is open, the money goes to the estate and is distributed under the will or Georgia law. When the house already passed, the closing attorney pays each owner at closing.
The others can be bought out, often with a new loan on the house. A lender can tell you whether it fits. If you want, our preferred lender can run the numbers for you.
If there is a mortgage, a lien or back taxes, they are paid from the proceeds at closing, before anything is split between the heirs.
What you can do now, before anyone can sign: secure the house, keep insurance and utilities on, gather the will, deed, death certificate, mortgage statement and tax bill, and get it priced. Every situation we handle is on the situations page.
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Not always. A survivorship deed or a trust often avoids probate; a house in the deceased person's name alone usually needs a personal representative first. A probate attorney can tell you which applies, and we can refer you to one and price the house in the meantime. General information, not legal advice.
No. Investor buyers will often take the house with the contents in it, by agreement in the contract. If you list it instead, a cleanout sometimes pays for itself in the price.
You still have to tell buyers about serious problems you actually know about that they could not find on their own. Not having lived there limits what you know; it does not excuse what you do know. Source: Wilhite v. Mays (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1977), on a seller's duty to disclose known hidden defects. General information, not legal advice.
Start with the numbers. When everyone sees the as is, listed and keep figures side by side, most disagreements get smaller. When they do not, that is a question for the probate attorney, and we will say so.
Yes. Most of the sale runs by phone, email and electronic signature, we handle access to the house, and the closing attorney can arrange for you to sign where you live.
Tell us early. The loan still needs paying while the estate is open, and the balance is paid from the sale at closing. If payments have stopped, our Behind on the Mortgage page explains the timing in Georgia.
That changes the plan, not the answer. A relative or a tenant living there has to be part of the timeline, and a tenant with a lease may have rights a real estate attorney can explain. We ask about it on the first call.
No. We request offers from program buyers and our investor list, put them next to what a listing would net, and represent the estate through closing.
We will contact you the same day. We ask who can sign and what the house needs. Then you see the numbers for each path, and you decide.