The first 30 days: protect the house, not sell it

If you are reading this, someone you love has died, and a house is now part of what you have to handle. There is no prize for going fast. Most costly mistakes come from acting before anyone has legal authority, and from letting the house sit empty and unprotected.

Nobody can sign a listing agreement or a sale contract until they have legal authority, usually letters of administration from the probate court. What you can do now:

• Secure it. Change or re-key the locks, keep a record of who has keys, and photograph every room.
• Call the homeowner's insurer. Tell them the owner died and whether the house is empty. Many policies limit coverage for a vacant home after 30 to 60 days.
• Keep the utilities and the AC on. Humidity and mold do more damage to a closed-up South Florida house than almost anything else.
• Find the will and the deed. Whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the clerk of court within 10 days of learning of the death (Fla. Stat. 732.901). The deed shows how title was held.
• Keep paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance and HOA if you can, and keep receipts. The estate can usually reimburse you.
• Don't give away or sell anything yet, including furniture and cars. They belong to the estate until it is settled.
• Talk to a Florida probate attorney. In a formal probate, the personal representative generally must have one (Florida Probate Rule 5.030). We can refer you.

Who can sell the house

It depends on how the house was titled, whether it was the owner's Florida homestead, and which kind of probate the estate goes through.

Titled so it skips probate. A house held jointly with right of survivorship, as tenants by the entirety with a surviving spouse, in a living trust, or with a recorded enhanced life estate ("Lady Bird") deed usually passes without probate. The survivor, trustee or named beneficiary can sell once the title company has what it needs.

Power of sale. If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale, they can sell without asking the court again. If there is no will, or no power of sale, "no title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale" (Fla. Stat. 733.613). Title companies check this closely.

Homestead: the rule that surprises families

If the house was the owner's Florida homestead, it usually is not sold by the estate at all:

• If the owner left a spouse or a minor child, the homestead cannot be left by will to anyone else, except to the spouse when there is no minor child (Fla. Stat. 732.4015).
• With a spouse and descendants, the spouse gets a life estate and the descendants get the remainder. Within 6 months of the death, the spouse can instead elect a one-half interest as a tenant in common with the descendants (Fla. Stat. 732.401).
• Protected homestead passes directly to the heirs, free of most of the estate's creditors. The attorney usually asks the court for an order determining homestead, which title companies want before the heirs can sell.
• Every owner then signs the sale, so all the heirs need to agree.

How long it takes

A formal probate with a house usually runs 6 to 12 months. It cannot close much faster than about 3 to 4 months, because creditors get 3 months after the notice to creditors is first published to file claims (Fla. Stat. 733.702). After 2 years from the death, most claims are barred altogether (Fla. Stat. 733.710).

1. The attorney files the petition and the will.
2. The court appoints the personal representative and issues letters.
3. The notice to creditors is published; the 3-month claims window runs.
4. The house is listed and sold, with court approval where needed.
5. Debts, costs and taxes are paid.
6. What is left is distributed to the heirs, and the estate is closed.

The house can usually be listed and put under contract once the personal representative has letters and, where needed, the court's approval. It does not have to wait for the whole estate to close.

What it costs, and the taxes to know about

Attorney's fees. Florida sets a fee for ordinary services in formal administration that is presumed reasonable, based on the estate's value (Fla. Stat. 733.6171). Families and attorneys can agree to something different.

The personal representative can also take a fee set by statute; family members serving in that role often waive it. Add court filing fees, the notice publication, and the house's carrying costs while probate runs.

Stepped-up basis. For federal income tax, an heir's basis in an inherited house is generally its fair market value on the date of death (IRS Publication 551). If the house sells soon for about that value, there is usually little or no capital gain. Ask the attorney about a date-of-death appraisal to document the number. This is general information, not tax advice; talk with a CPA.

Property taxes reset. When a homestead passes to anyone other than a surviving spouse, the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap end, and the house is reassessed at full market value on the next January 1 (Fla. Stat. 193.155). On a house owned for decades, the next tax bill can be thousands of dollars higher.

Sell, keep or rent?

When heirs disagree. Most families settle it with numbers on the table: a market value, a net sheet for a sale, and what a buyout would cost. If co-owners truly cannot agree, Florida law lets any co-owner ask a court to divide or sell the property (a partition action). That is slow and expensive, so it is a last resort.

If there is a mortgage or reverse mortgage

• A regular mortgage does not have to be paid off just because the owner died. Federal law bars the lender from calling the loan due when the house passes to a relative on the borrower's death (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)). Keep the payments current while you decide.
• A reverse mortgage becomes due. Once the lender sends a due and payable notice, heirs have 30 days to buy, sell or turn the house over, and it may be extended up to 6 months. If the house is worth less than the loan balance, heirs can pay it off by selling for at least 95% of the appraised value, and the loan's insurance covers the rest (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Call the servicer early; this clock is the one that most often forces a rushed sale.

Getting the house ready to sell

• Clear it out in stages. Family first takes what matters, then an estate sale or donation, then a clean-out crew. Keep a list; the personal representative has to account for estate property.
• Decide as-is or light repairs. Many inherited homes sell best with a deep clean, fresh paint, yard work and the paperwork buyers' insurers ask for: roof permit date, 4-point and wind-mitigation reports. Big renovations rarely pay back inside a probate timeline.
• Be careful with fast cash offers. Investors mail and call heirs as soon as a probate is filed. Some offers are fair; many are priced well below market. Compare any cash offer with what the house would net listed as-is before anyone signs.

We can handle showings, repairs and the closing locally if the family lives out of town. Want it on paper? Get the free PDF of this guide from the form on this page.