How to Sell an Inherited House in Florida (Probate, Taxes, and Timeline)

Inheriting a house in Florida usually means inheriting three problems at once: a legal process (probate), an ongoing expense (taxes, insurance, and upkeep on a house nobody lives in), and a property that often needs decades of deferred updates. The good news is that all three have well-worn solutions, and you do not need to renovate anything to sell.

Probate is Florida's court process for transferring a deceased person's assets. Whether you need it depends on how the house was titled. If the house was held in a living trust, owned jointly with right of survivorship, or had a recorded "lady bird" (enhanced life estate) deed naming you, it passes outside probate and you can sell relatively quickly.

If the house was titled in the deceased's name alone — the most common situation — the estate goes through probate before anyone can sell. Florida offers a shorter form called summary administration for smaller estates (generally under $75,000 in non-exempt assets, or when the person has been deceased more than two years); otherwise the standard process, formal administration, applies. Expect several months for summary administration and six months to a year or more for formal administration. A Florida probate attorney is effectively required for formal administration, and worth consulting in every case.

Florida has no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax, and federal estate tax only touches estates in the many millions. For most heirs, the key concept is the stepped-up basis: for capital gains purposes, the house's cost basis resets to its market value on the date of death. If mom bought the house for $60,000 in 1985 and it was worth $450,000 when she passed, your basis is $450,000 — sell it for $460,000 and you owe capital gains tax only on $10,000, not $400,000.

This is also why selling reasonably soon after inheriting is tax-efficient: most or all of the appreciation is wiped out by the step-up. Hold the house for years and new appreciation becomes taxable. One caveat: the property loses the previous owner's homestead exemption cap, so property taxes often jump at the next assessment — budget for that if you plan to keep it. Confirm the details with a CPA for your specific situation.

Inherited South Florida houses are frequently 40–70 years old with original systems, and often full of a lifetime of belongings. Listing traditionally means clearing the house, funding repairs the buyer's lender and insurer will demand (roof, electrical, plumbing), and managing showings — hard enough locally, and much harder for the majority of heirs who live out of state.

The alternative is selling as-is to a cash buyer. A legitimate cash buyer purchases the house in its current condition, contents included, works alongside your probate attorney on timing, and closes once the estate can convey title. For multiple heirs, one clean cash closing also makes splitting proceeds simple. Get a cash offer and compare it honestly against the listed price minus repairs, cleanout, commissions, and months of carrying costs — for older houses, the gap is smaller than most people expect.