Can I sell a house if the owner is deceased?
Yes, but not until Florida probate confirms who inherited it, or a buyer like MGO purchases the heirs' interests and finishes the probate itself. If the deed is still in the deceased person's name, nobody can sign a normal sale yet, no matter how clear the family is on who should get the house.
That second sentence is the one that catches most families. The will says the house goes to you, everyone agrees, and the title company still says no. Here is why, and what actually gets the house sold.
Who owns the house the day after someone dies
In Florida, a house does not pass to the heirs automatically. The moment the owner dies, the house belongs to the estate, and the estate can only act through a personal representative appointed by a probate court. Until a judge signs that order, the heirs own an expectation, not a deed.
There are three exceptions where probate is not needed:
- The house was held jointly with right of survivorship (common between spouses). The surviving owner records a death certificate and owns it outright.
- The house was in a living trust. The successor trustee can sell without court.
- A lady bird deed (enhanced life estate deed) named a remainder beneficiary. The beneficiary records the death certificate and the house is theirs.
If none of those apply, you are in probate, and the question becomes which kind.
The two kinds of Florida probate, and how long each takes
Summary administration (Fla. Stat. 735.201) is the short form. It applies when the person has been dead more than 2 years, or when the estate is worth under $75,000 not counting the homestead. A Brevard County summary administration with no disputes usually takes 4 to 8 weeks from filing to the order that lets the house be sold.
Formal administration (Chapter 733) is everything else. A personal representative is appointed, creditors get a 90 day notice period, and the house is sold either by the representative or after it is distributed to the heirs. Six to twelve months is normal in Brevard, longer if an heir contests anything or cannot be found.
Both go through the Brevard County Clerk of Court probate division in Viera. Both need a Florida attorney for formal administration, and in practice for summary too.
What if there is no will
Florida's intestacy statute (Fla. Stat. 732.101 to 732.111) decides. A surviving spouse with no children from another relationship takes everything. A spouse plus children from another relationship split it. No spouse, the children share equally, and a deceased child's share passes to that child's own children. No children, it goes to parents, then siblings, then further out.
This is where houses get stuck. A grandparent dies in 1998, three children never probate it, two of them die, and now eleven grandchildren across four states each own a fraction. Every one of them has to sign, or be bought out, or be dealt with through the court. We see this on the Space Coast constantly, in Cocoa, Titusville and the older parts of Melbourne.
Three ways the house actually gets sold
Option 1: Finish probate, then list it. Cleanest title, highest price, slowest path. Expect 6 to 12 months and $3,000 to $8,000 in legal and court costs before you can even put a sign in the yard, plus the carrying costs on an empty house (taxes, insurance, lawn, the roof that keeps aging).
Option 2: Sell during probate with court approval. The personal representative signs a contract subject to court confirmation. Works well in formal administration when the family needs money before the estate closes.
Option 3: Sell the heirs' interests to a buyer who finishes the work. This is what MGO does. We buy from the heirs as they are today, with the deed still in the deceased's name, and we handle the probate, the missing heir search, the lien payoffs and the title cure after closing. The family is paid at closing and is done. We take on the months of paperwork because that is our specialty, not something we subcontract.
A real one: 3rd Avenue, Melbourne Beach
The owner of a house on 3rd Avenue in Melbourne Beach passed away alone, and nobody knew for two weeks. By the time the family was notified, there was no will anyone could find, the house was in his name only, and the heirs had no idea where to start. An estate like that cannot be listed, cannot be insured properly, and every month it sits is a month of taxes, utilities and risk on a house near the beach.
We stepped in and handled the legal side ourselves: identified and contacted every heir, opened the probate, cleared the title, and bought the house. The family was paid at closing and did not have to hire a lawyer, fly down, or deal with the court. We did.
Every case is different and we never promise a timeline, but that shape repeats: a house nobody can sign for, heirs who want it over, and a clock (taxes, code enforcement, a vacant house) that does not care about probate.
What you need to have ready
You do not need to clean any of this up before calling. It helps if you know:
- The deceased owner's full name and roughly when they died
- Whether there was a will (even if nobody has filed it)
- The names of the children, spouse or siblings as best you know them
- Whether anyone is living in the house now
- Whether taxes or a mortgage are behind
With that, we can usually tell you in one call whether the house can be sold, which path fits, and what it is worth to us as is.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my deceased parent's house without probate in Florida? Only if the house was jointly owned with survivorship, in a trust, or on a lady bird deed. Otherwise some form of probate is required before a buyer can get clear title. A cash buyer like MGO can purchase the heirs' interests before probate is done and complete it after closing.
How long do I have to sell a house after someone dies in Florida? There is no deadline to sell, but there are clocks that hurt you: property taxes keep accruing and a tax deed can be applied for 2 years after they go delinquent, insurance often lapses on a vacant house, and code enforcement fines can start. Most families are better off deciding within a few months.
Who pays the mortgage while the estate is in probate? The estate does, out of the deceased's assets. If there is no cash in the estate, the heirs either pay to protect the equity or the lender eventually forecloses. Selling during probate is often the way to stop that.
Can one heir sell the house without the others? One heir can sell their own share, but not the whole house. A buyer who purchases one share becomes a co-owner with the rest. Under Florida's Heirs Property Act (Fla. Stat. 64.201 and following) the other heirs get a chance to buy out a share before a court forced sale. The practical answer is usually one buyer purchasing every share at once.
How MGO handles a deceased owner sale
We are a Florida cash home buyer based between Palm Beach County and the Space Coast, and curative title is the part of this business we are built around. We buy houses still titled in a deceased owner's name, do the heir research ourselves, work with Brevard probate attorneys we already know, and close on your timeline. No commissions, no repairs, no cleaning out the house.
Call or text (561) 295-9202, or send the address through the form, and Jose will tell you where you stand.