Guide · November 9, 2026
Selling an inherited house in Florida and Arizona: probate, heirs and the things left inside
Before heirs can sell, someone must have the legal right to sign the deed. Each state has its own paths to that right, and the house can be sold with the furniture still inside.
Key points
- First find out how the house was owned. A trust, a joint deed or an Arizona beneficiary deed can pass it without probate.
- Florida has a shorter court process, summary administration, for estates of $150,000 or less, or when the owner died more than 2 years ago.
- Arizona heirs can use an affidavit instead of probate when the Arizona real property is worth $300,000 or less after liens, no sooner than 6 months after the death.
- A mortgage stays on the house after a death. Payments, taxes and insurance keep coming due while you wait.
- For a reverse mortgage, heirs have 30 days from the lender's notice to choose, and can sell for the lower of the balance or 95 percent of the appraised value.
- BIMINIO buys inherited houses as is, with the belongings inside. The cash offer is below full market value.
Step one: find out how the house was owned
Nobody can sell a house until a living person has the legal right to sign the deed. How that person is found depends on how the owner held the house when they died. Pull the last recorded deed from the county recorder or clerk, and look for a trust, a will and any loan papers in the owner's files.
This guide explains how each path works in Florida and Arizona. It gives no legal or tax advice. A probate lawyer in the state where the house sits can read the deed and the will and tell your family which path fits.
| How the house was held | What usually happens | Who signs the sale |
|---|---|---|
| In a living trust | The house passes under the trust, with no court case for the house | The successor trustee named in the trust |
| Jointly, with a right of survivorship | The surviving owner already owns it | The surviving owner, with a death certificate recorded |
| Arizona beneficiary deed, recorded before death | It passes to the named beneficiary at death | The beneficiary |
| In the owner's name alone, Florida | Probate: summary or full administration | The people named in the court order, or the personal representative |
| In the owner's name alone, Arizona | Affidavit for a small estate, or probate | The heirs named in the affidavit, or the personal representative |
Florida: the shorter path and the full path
Florida Statutes section 735.201 allows summary administration when the will, if there is one, does not direct full administration, and the estate in Florida, less property exempt from creditors, is worth $150,000 or less, or the owner has been dead for more than 2 years. It ends with a court order that names who receives the property. The title company prepares the sale from that order.
When summary administration does not fit, the court appoints a personal representative under full administration. A notice to creditors is published, and section 733.702 gives creditors until the later of 3 months after the first publication or 30 days after a known creditor is served. Ask the lawyer whether the house can close before that period ends in your case.
Section 733.710 sets an outside limit. Two years after the death, the estate and the heirs are no longer liable for most claims against the person, unless a creditor filed within those 2 years. That limit does not touch a recorded mortgage, so the lender can still enforce its loan against the house.
Florida homestead: a home the owner lived in
Florida has special rules for a homestead, the home where the owner lived. Section 732.401 says that when a homestead is not left by will in a way the law allows, and the owner leaves a spouse and children or grandchildren, the spouse takes a life estate and the descendants take the rest. The spouse can instead choose to take a one-half share, within 6 months after the death.
These rules decide who must sign the deed, so they matter before any offer. They do not apply to a house held by the couple as tenants by the entirety or jointly with a right of survivorship. A Florida probate lawyer can tell you who holds what.
Arizona: the beneficiary deed and the small estate affidavit
Arizona Revised Statutes section 33-405 lets an owner record a beneficiary deed that passes the house to a named person at death. It works only if it was signed and recorded with the county recorder before the owner died. The owner could revoke it while alive, so check the records for a later revocation.
With no beneficiary deed, section 14-3971(E) offers an affidavit of succession to real property. It fits when no personal representative has been appointed and all Arizona real property in the estate, less liens, is worth $300,000 or less as valued at the date of death. It can be filed no sooner than 6 months after the death, with a certified death certificate, in the court of the county where the owner lived. The court issues a certified copy, which is recorded in the county where the house is. After that, the heirs named in it can sell.
When the affidavit does not fit, the estate goes through probate. Section 14-3108 says informal probate generally cannot start more than 2 years after the death, with exceptions. Section 14-3801 gives creditors 4 months after the first publication of the notice, which runs once a week for 3 weeks in a row.
When the house has a reverse mortgage
A federally insured reverse mortgage is called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Under 24 CFR 206.125, when the last borrower dies, the lender sends a notice to the estate and the heirs. They have 30 days from that notice to pay the loan, sell the house, give the lender a deed in lieu of foreclosure, or take another step HUD allows.
If the family sells, the price HUD requires may not be more than 95 percent of the appraised value, and the lender orders the appraisal no later than 30 days after a request tied to a sale. The lender must start foreclosure within 6 months of the due date, unless HUD approves more time. Write to the lender as soon as the family decides to sell, and send it the signed contract and the closing date.
Inherited house with a reverse mortgage →
What it costs to wait
An inherited house costs money every month until it sells. A mortgage stays on the house after the owner dies, and the lender expects payments. The year's property tax, the insurance, power and water, lawn and pool care, and any HOA dues keep running.
In Florida, a homestead's capped assessment ends with the change of ownership. Section 193.155 says the property is assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year after the change, so the tax bill for a house you keep can rise. Call the insurer when the owner dies, and ask what its policy says about a house that stands empty.
- Mortgage or reverse mortgage interest
- Property tax and homeowners insurance
- Utilities, lawn care, pool care and HOA dues
- Repairs from leaks or storms while the house is empty
- Travel for heirs who live far away
The belongings inside
Clearing a parent's house can be the hardest part. Families decide what to keep, what to give to relatives and what to donate, and that takes time when heirs live in different cities.
You do not have to empty the house to sell it to BIMINIO. Take what the family wants to keep, and leave behind what you do not want. Agree in writing on what stays, so every heir knows before the closing day.
When several heirs own the house
When a house passes to several children, each one usually has to sign the deed or the court papers. One heir who wants to keep the house, or who cannot be reached, can hold up the sale. Share the same numbers with everyone: the offer, the comparable sales behind it, the payoff of any loan, and what each heir would receive.
BIMINIO's written offer lists the comparable sales we used, so every heir reads the same page. Heirs who live in other states can ask the title company how they can sign the closing papers from where they live.
Taxes when heirs sell
The IRS says the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death. If you sell for more than that basis, you have a taxable gain. A sale soon after the death, at a price near the value on that date, can show little or no gain. Ask a tax adviser about your own case, because BIMINIO gives no tax advice.
Ways to sell an inherited house
Repairing and listing can bring a higher price. Someone has to pay for the work, empty the house, keep it ready for showings and wait for a buyer's loan, and every heir has to agree at each step.
A cash sale as is brings a lower price, because the buyer takes on the repairs and the clean-out. A cash offer is below full market value. In return there are no repairs, no showings and one closing date. BIMINIO buys inherited houses in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Lakeland, Phoenix and Glendale. You get a written offer within 24 hours, you pick a closing date from 7 to 35 days out, and we pay the closing costs. The closing waits for the court order, the recorded affidavit or the trustee's papers.
Inherited a house or in probate →
Want a number for your house? BIMINIO buys in Florida and Arizona, as is. A written offer comes within 24 hours.