Selling An Inherited House In Florida

Someone died and left you a house. You may not have asked for it, you may live somewhere else, and there may be siblings involved who don’t agree with you.

Here’s the whole process in order, including the parts that cost money while you figure it out.

Step 1: Find out if you can legally sell it yet

You almost certainly cannot sell it today. Until title legally moves from the deceased person to you, no title company will insure a sale and no buyer’s lender will fund one.

Which path you’re on depends on the estate:

It skips probate entirely if the property was held jointly with right of survivorship, was in a living trust, or had a Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed). In those cases title passes automatically and you can sell once you record a death certificate.

Summary administration - 3 to 8 weeks - if the estate qualifies. Florida raised the threshold to $150,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 (it was $75,000 before), and protected homestead is exempt and doesn’t count toward it. There’s no dollar limit at all if the person died more than two years ago. See Florida summary administration.

Formal administration - 8 to 12 months - for everything else. See Florida probate timeline.

A quit claim deed signed by the heirs does not fix this. You can’t convey what isn’t legally yours yet. See Florida quit claim deeds.

You can go under contract while probate is pending. Many cash buyers will hold a contract and close once the letters or order come through. That compresses the total timeline considerably.

Step 2: Figure out who actually owns it

If there’s a will, it says who gets the property.

If there’s no will, Florida’s intestacy statutes decide. See who inherits when there’s no will in Florida. The short version: a surviving spouse inherits everything if all children are shared; if either spouse has children from another relationship, the spouse takes half and the descendants take half.

If multiple heirs inherit, you each own an undivided share. Every one of you has to sign to sell. One holdout stops the sale. If that happens, see can siblings force the sale of inherited property.

Step 3: Deal with the mortgage

The loan doesn’t disappear. Under the federal Garn-St Germain Act, a lender generally can’t call the loan due when property passes to a relative at death - but somebody has to make payments.

Call the servicer, tell them the borrower died, and ask to be treated as a “successor in interest.” Federal rules require servicers to give successors information about the loan and let them apply for loss mitigation, even without assuming the debt.

Missed payments start the foreclosure clock like any other loan. See Florida foreclosure timeline.

Step 4: Protect the house while you wait

Insurance is the emergency. Most homeowners policies limit or void coverage once a property has been vacant for 30–60 days. An uninsured fire or water loss in an empty estate house is the single worst thing that can happen here.

Call the carrier immediately, disclose the vacancy, and get a vacancy endorsement or a dedicated vacant-property policy. Do this in week one, not month three.

Also handle: property taxes (delinquency starts a clock - see behind on property taxes in Florida), HOA dues, utilities enough to prevent mold and freeze damage, lawn maintenance so code enforcement doesn’t cite you, and basic security.

Twelve months of carrying costs on a typical Central Florida house runs $8,000 to $15,000. That comes straight out of what the heirs receive.

Step 5: Understand the taxes - this part is good news

You get a stepped-up basis. Your cost basis is the property’s fair market value on the date of death, not what the deceased paid for it.

If your mother bought the house in 1994 for $85,000 and it was worth $340,000 when she died, your basis is $340,000. Sell it for $345,000 and you have a $5,000 gain - not $260,000.

For 2026, long-term capital gains rates are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income.

Get an appraisal as of the date of death. A formal appraisal or a documented broker price opinion establishes your basis and protects you in an audit. It costs $400–$800 and is worth every dollar. Don’t guess at this number years later.

Florida has no state income tax and no state estate or inheritance tax. Federal estate tax only applies to very large estates.

Selling costs reduce your gain - commission, doc stamps, title, and repairs all come off.

If the property produced rental income or you hold it a long time before selling, the picture gets more complicated. Talk to a CPA.

Step 6: Decide what to do with it

Keep it and live in it. Fine if it works. Redo the insurance and update the deed.

Keep it and rent it. Real money if the numbers work, but you’re now a landlord - often a long-distance one. Run actual numbers including Florida insurance, which is the line that kills most of these.

List it with an agent. Highest price. Add 30–90 days of marketing plus 30–45 to close, on top of probate. Financed buyers will inspect and ask for repairs the estate has to fund. Best when the house is in good shape and nobody’s rushed.

Sell as-is for cash. Below retail, but closes in 7–21 days, no repairs, no cleanout, no showings. Stops the carrying-cost bleed.

Doing the math honestly

Compare net to the heirs, not headline price:

• Listed: sale price − 7–9% costs − repairs − months of carrying costs − cleanout
• Cash: offer − minimal costs − 2–3 weeks of carrying costs

List it if the house is clean and updated, the heirs agree, and nobody needs the money soon. You’ll net more. That’s usually true and we’ll say so.

Sell as-is if it needs significant work nobody wants to fund, it’s full of forty years of belongings, the heirs are scattered across states and want it finished, or the carrying costs are eating the inheritance faster than the delay is earning anything.

The gap between those two options narrows fast once you count ten months of taxes, insurance, HOA, and a $25,000 roof.

The emotional part

This is a house someone lived in. Sorting it takes longer than anyone expects, and siblings who get along fine can fall out over a dining room set.

Two practical things that help:

• Decide the sale question before you sort the contents. Otherwise every decision gets relitigated.
• Set a date. “We’ll have it cleared by March 1” prevents the house from sitting for two years, which happens constantly and costs real money.

Selling as-is means you don’t have to empty it. Most cash buyers, including us, take houses with everything still in them. Take what matters to you and leave the rest - for a lot of families that’s worth more than the price difference.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell an inherited house in Florida before probate is finished? You can go under contract, but you generally can’t close until title has legally passed - through summary administration, formal administration, or a probate-avoiding mechanism like a trust or Lady Bird deed.

Do I pay capital gains tax on an inherited house in Florida? Only on appreciation after the date of death, thanks to the stepped-up basis. Florida has no state income, estate, or inheritance tax.

What if my siblings and I disagree about selling? All co-owners must sign. If one refuses, the others can file a partition action under Fla. Stat. Ch. 64. See siblings forcing a sale.

Who pays the mortgage on an inherited house? The estate, or the heirs. It doesn’t pause. Contact the servicer as a “successor in interest” immediately.

Do I have to clean out the house before selling? Not if you sell as-is to a cash buyer. A listed sale generally requires it.

What if the house needs major repairs? Then a financed retail buyer likely can’t get a loan or insurance on it. As-is cash sale, or the estate funds the repairs first.

How long can an inherited house sit empty? Legally, indefinitely. Practically, your insurance may lapse in 30–60 days and Florida houses deteriorate fast when empty. Handle insurance immediately.

---

General information about Florida law and federal tax rules, not legal or tax advice. Get a date-of-death appraisal and talk to a Florida probate attorney and a CPA.

Beach Bums Real Estate buys inherited houses for cash in Orlando and Central Florida - as-is, contents included, and we’ll hold a contract while probate finishes. Call (689) 249-4888. If listing nets the heirs more, we’ll tell you.