Inherited home, estate, or probate
Sell an Inherited House in Washington, As-Is, for Cash
An inherited house often comes with a lifetime of belongings, deferred maintenance, and heirs in three time zones. We buy it exactly as it sits, work with your personal representative or attorney on timing, and put the proceeds into the estate with no repairs, showings, or fees.
How it works
Selling an inherited house in Washington, step by step
First, someone has to have authority to sell. If the house was held in a living trust, passed by a transfer-on-death deed, or was community property with a survivorship agreement, it may skip probate entirely. Otherwise the estate usually goes through probate under Title 11 RCW, and the court appoints a personal representative. Washington’s small estate affidavit (RCW 11.62) only covers personal property up to $100,000, so it cannot be used to transfer a house. A probate attorney can tell you which path applies in a short call, and we recommend that call before anything else.
Washington probate is comparatively quick when the personal representative is granted nonintervention powers, which lets them sell real estate without going back to the court for each step. The sale itself works like any other: the personal representative signs the purchase agreement, title is cleared through an independent escrow company, and net proceeds go to the estate for distribution to the heirs. If several heirs own the property outright after distribution, each owner signs.
On taxes, ask a professional, but know the basics. Washington has no inheritance tax on the person who receives property. The estate itself may owe Washington estate tax only if it exceeds the exclusion, which is $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 ($3,076,000 for deaths in the first half of 2026). For federal income tax, inherited property generally gets a stepped-up basis to its value at the date of death, so a sale soon after often produces little or no capital gain. Selling to us does not change any of that; we simply buy the house as it is, belongings included if you like, and close on the estate’s schedule.
Who this is for
We make it simpler when you have
- Inherited a house you do not want to keep or cannot afford to carry while the estate settles.
- A home full of belongings and no time to sort, donate, and haul. Take what matters and leave the rest to us.
- Heirs living out of state who need a sale that runs on phone, email, and remote notarization.
- Siblings or co-heirs who want one clean number and one closing instead of months of listing decisions.
- A house that needs work the estate should not spend money on before selling.
- A probate that is still open and a personal representative or attorney we can coordinate with directly.
Your options
Your options for an inherited house (selling to us is one of them)
Helpful resources
The process
Three steps. No surprises.
Tell us about the house
Address, condition, timeline, and what is going on. Nothing to clean or fix first.
Written offer within 24 hours
Comparable sales, repair scope, our costs, and our margin, all on paper.
Close on your date
A licensed Washington escrow company handles closing; funds are wired at recording.
Questions
What people ask about inherited house or probate.
Can I sell a house that is still in probate in Washington?
Usually yes. Once the court appoints a personal representative, and especially when nonintervention powers are granted, the representative can sign a purchase agreement and close the sale with the proceeds going to the estate. Your attorney confirms the specifics. We are comfortable closing during an open probate and will work to the estate’s timeline.
Do I need to clean out the house before selling to you?
No. Take the photographs, documents, and keepsakes that matter to your family and leave everything else. Furniture, garages, and basements full of decades of belongings are normal for us, and we handle the clean-out after closing at our expense.
Can we use Washington’s small estate affidavit to sell the house?
No. The affidavit under RCW 11.62 applies to personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, belongings) when the probate estate is $100,000 or less. Real estate is not covered, so a house transfers through probate, a trust, a transfer-on-death deed, or a survivorship arrangement. A probate attorney can tell you which applies.
Will there be taxes when we sell an inherited house?
Talk with a tax professional, but for most families the answer is smaller than they fear. Washington has no inheritance tax. Washington estate tax applies only above the exclusion ($3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026). Federally, inherited property is generally valued at the date of death, so a sale near that value produces little capital gain.
Several of us inherited the house and we do not all agree. Can you still help?
We can give every co-owner the same written offer and the same math so the conversation is about facts rather than guesses. Every owner has to sign for a sale to close, so if there is a real dispute an attorney or mediator is the right first step, and we are happy to wait for that.
Get a written offer the whole family can look at
A written cash offer within 24 hours, the math shown, no obligation. If listing would net you more, we will say so.
Sound Home Offer is a professional home-buying company, not a real estate brokerage, attorney, or financial advisor, and we do not act as your agent or in a fiduciary capacity. We may purchase your property directly, purchase and resell it, or, where disclosed in writing, assign our purchase contract to another buyer. An investor offer is typically below full retail market value in exchange for speed, certainty, and buying as-is. Selling to us is one option among several; you are encouraged to seek independent legal, tax, and financial advice before signing anything. Read our full disclosures.