Yes, an inherited California home can be sold without a realtor, either by the owner selling it directly or through a direct sale to a buyer who takes it as it is, though a direct offer is often lower than an open-market price. What does not change is who may sign: the authority to sell, any probate court step, the disclosure rules and the tax rules apply the same way whoever the buyer is.
California property guideUpdated October 17, 2026General information, not legal or tax advice
Most people facing this question are carrying more than a real estate decision. A parent's house now sits empty, or a sibling still lives in it, and someone has to decide whether paying a listing commission makes sense when the family may live hours away and the house needs work. The question underneath is usually practical: if no agent is hired, what does the family actually have to do, and what can go wrong?
This page walks through that sale from the start, in the order a California seller meets it: who holds the power to sell, the three ways a sale can happen, the probate and trust steps, the disclosures, the tax points and the steps to closing.
Who Has Authority to Sell — and Where That Authority Comes From
Authority to sell an inherited house comes from a document, never from the family's agreement. Which document depends on how the property passed at death.
When the house goes through probate, the person with authority is the personal representative, the Probate Code's general word for the person who runs the estate. An executor is the person named in the will for that job; an administrator is the person the court appoints when there is no will or no executor who can serve. Under Probate Code section 8400, a person has no power to administer the estate until appointed and issued letters, the court document that proves the appointment, whether or not the will names that person as executor. Before then, a named executor may pay funeral expenses and take necessary steps to maintain and preserve the estate.
A successor trustee is different. That is the person the trust names to take over after the person who created it dies, and the authority comes from the trust document rather than from a court.
A transfer on death deed is a third route. Under Probate Code section 5652, it transfers the owner's interest at death to the named beneficiary, subject to liens, leases and other limitations of record; two or more beneficiaries take as tenants in common, in equal shares. The beneficiary then holds title and sells as an owner. Where heirs are in open conflict or misconduct is suspected, that is a contested matter for an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
The Three Ways to Sell: Agent, FSBO, and Direct Sale
"Without a realtor" covers two quite different sales, and both sit beside the ordinary listing.
A listing with a licensed agent. The agent prices the home, markets it, typically on the multiple listing service, runs showings and negotiates offers, and is usually paid a commission from the sale proceeds. Under Business and Professions Code section 10131, a broker is someone who sells or negotiates a sale of real property for another for compensation; the California Department of Real Estate's update on choosing a real estate agent urges verifying a license before hiring anyone.
For sale by owner (FSBO). The authorized seller does the work an agent would: pricing research, marketing, showings, reading offers and handling the paperwork. If the buyer has an agent, the seller may still be asked to pay that agent's commission.
A direct sale. The seller accepts an offer from a buyer, often one paying cash, who takes the house in its present condition with no listing or open-market marketing. That convenience has a price: a direct offer often comes in below what the open market might pay, because the buyer is absorbing the repairs, the risk and the cost of reselling. What the seller gets back is less preparation, fewer showings and less reliance on a buyer's loan approval.
None of these is the answer for every family. Comparing written offers by estimated net proceeds, meaning the price less commissions, repairs, carrying costs, loan payoffs and closing costs, is how a family tells which fits. A side-by-side look at a cash offer versus a listing goes further.
Probate Sales: Court Confirmation and the Independent Administration Option
In a probate estate, how the sale works turns on what authority the court granted the personal representative, not on whether an agent is involved.
The default rule is court confirmation. Probate Code section 10308 provides that, except as provided in section 10503, all sales of real property must be reported to and confirmed by the court before title passes to the buyer, even when the will directs or authorizes a sale. If the personal representative does not file the report and petition within 30 days after the sale, the buyer may file them, and notice of the hearing goes to interested persons and the buyers named in the petition. At a confirmation hearing, other bidders may appear and bid more.
The alternative is independent administration, a grant under the Independent Administration of Estates Act that lets a personal representative act with less court supervision. The court may grant full authority or limited authority, and only full authority reaches a sale of real property without confirmation. With full authority, the personal representative gives heirs and beneficiaries a notice of proposed action, a written notice describing the planned sale. Under Probate Code section 10503, the court-confirmation requirements, such as published notice of sale, court approval of agents' and brokers' commissions, sale at not less than 90 percent of appraised value and the court's examination of the sale, do not apply to a sale made with that authority.
So a probate sale avoids confirmation only when the court granted full authority and no one objects to the notice of proposed action; with limited authority, no independent authority, or an objection, the sale goes to the court. A FSBO or direct buyer does not change any of that. The sequence of letters, notice and hearing is laid out in selling during probate in California.
Trust Sales: How a Successor Trustee Sells Without Probate
When a house was held in a revocable living trust, the successor trustee usually sells it with no probate case at all.
The trustee's power to sell comes from the trust document itself. That power comes with a fiduciary role, meaning the trustee acts for the beneficiaries, the people the trust names to receive its property, and not for themselves. The trustee follows the trust's terms and California's rules on trustee duties, so a sale price and its terms have to be ones the trustee can defend to the beneficiaries.
Before closing, a title company typically asks for proof that this person now holds the trustee's power. That usually means a recorded affidavit of death of the trustee, filed with the county recorder, along with the relevant pages of the trust or a certification of it. The title officer handling the sale can say which documents that company will accept.
A successor trustee can list with an agent, sell FSBO or accept a direct offer, the same as any owner, always within those duties. For a trustee managing this from another city, the paperwork can feel like the heaviest part. Where co-trustees disagree or beneficiaries dispute a sale, the matter is a contested one for a trust litigation attorney.
Disclosures a Seller Owes — and What the Probate and Trust Exemptions Actually Cover
California's main seller-disclosure rules sit in an article of the Civil Code, usually satisfied with a Transfer Disclosure Statement. Under Civil Code section 1102, that article applies to transfers by sale and certain options, leases and contracts of single-family residential property, except as section 1102.2 provides, and any waiver of it is void.
Two exemptions in Civil Code section 1102.2 matter most for inherited homes. Subdivision (b) exempts sales under court order, including sales ordered by a probate court in administering an estate. Subdivision (d) exempts sales by a fiduciary in administering a trust, guardianship, conservatorship or decedent's estate, but that exemption does not apply if the trustee is a natural person who is trustee of a revocable trust and is a former owner of the property or was an occupant in possession within the preceding year. The section lists other exemptions too, including sales between co-owners and sales to a spouse or blood relative of a seller.
These exemptions reach this article only. Other disclosure duties, such as a natural hazard disclosure, may still apply to the same sale, and an estate's or trust's attorney can say which ones do. "As-is" describes the condition the buyer accepts; it does not erase a duty the law imposes. More on condition and disclosure is in selling a house that needs repairs.
Basis, Capital Gains, and the Stepped-Up Basis Rule
The tax question most heirs ask turns on basis, the figure used to measure gain when property is sold.
Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of property acquired from a decedent is, except as that section otherwise provides, one of four values: the fair market value at the date of death; the value at the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it under 26 U.S.C. § 2032; the value set under a special-use valuation election under section 2032A; or, to the extent the exclusion in section 2031(c) applies, the decedent's own basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 2032, the executor may elect the alternate date, generally six months after death, only when the election decreases both the gross estate and the estate tax.
In plain words, the starting point is generally reset to what the house was worth at death, not what the parent paid decades ago. Gain on a sale is measured from that reset figure, so a sale near the date-of-death value may produce little gain. Whether a particular sale produces gain or tax depends on the facts, which a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews.
California Property Tax and Proposition 19
California generally reassesses property to current market value when ownership changes, which can raise the tax bill sharply.
Proposition 19 narrowed the parent-child exclusion from reassessment. For transfers on and after February 16, 2021, the rule is Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2. It covers a transfer of the parent's principal residence to a child, or to a grandchild when all of the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died, and requires that the home become the child's principal residence within one year and that the child file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. The exclusion protects value only up to a limit the statute sets and adjusts; the county assessor's office publishes the current figure.
An heir who sells instead of moving in generally does not keep the exclusion. A claim is filed with the assessor within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before the eligible heir stops living there, whichever is earlier; it is also timely within six months after a supplemental or escape assessment notice. A later claim, if the property has not gone to a third party, applies only from the lien date of the year filed. The county assessor's office handles reassessment and exclusion questions.
Selling with Multiple Heirs: Co-Ownership, Agreement, and Partition
Siblings who inherit together often hold title as tenants in common, meaning each owns an undivided share of the whole house rather than a particular room or acre.
A voluntary sale of the whole property takes every co-owner's signature. That is where families feel the strain most, especially when one heir lives in the house or another lives far away. When co-owners cannot agree, California law provides a partition action, a court proceeding in which a co-owner asks the court to divide the property or order it sold. An attorney handles a partition action, and a dispute between heirs is a contested matter for an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
When everyone does agree, co-owners can list, sell FSBO or take a direct offer exactly as a single owner could. Where an heir or a property is in another state, that state's law may apply.
Steps to Sell Without a Realtor in California
The sequence below follows a sale from authority to closing. Each step depends on how the property passed.
Confirm authority. A personal representative obtains letters; a successor trustee reviews the trust, and documents proving authority are typically recorded with the county recorder.
Find out which court step applies. For an estate, that means a notice of proposed action under full authority or a confirmation hearing, as described above; for a trust, whether its terms authorize the sale.
Establish condition and value. An appraisal or broker price opinion helps set a realistic price and documents the date-of-death value used for basis.
Prepare disclosures. Which ones apply depends on the sale type and the seller's role, including the exemptions above.
Market the house or ask for offers. FSBO sellers use flat-fee listing services, online platforms, signs and word of mouth; direct sellers request written offers from buyers.
Compare offers. Net proceeds, not headline price, is the measure.
Open escrow and close. An escrow or title company typically prepares the settlement statement and coordinates recording the deed.
A buyer may accept the house in its present condition; clearing or selling its contents is separate work estate-sale companies do. For a home in one county, see inherited property in San Diego County.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if you inherit a house and then sell it?
The person with authority, an heir holding title, a personal representative with letters or a successor trustee, signs the sale, subject to any probate court step and disclosure duty. For tax purposes, basis is generally the value at death under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), so gain is measured from that date. A CPA reviews whether a sale produces tax.
What is it called when you sell a house without a realtor?
It is usually called a for-sale-by-owner sale, or FSBO. A direct sale to a buyer who takes the house as it is, often for cash, is a related but separate category, with no listing on the open market. Both are open to an authorized seller of inherited property.
Is it risky to sell a house without a realtor?
It shifts work to the seller: pricing, marketing, offers, disclosures and paperwork. Mistakes in a disclosure or contract can create legal exposure, and a personal representative or trustee also answers to the beneficiaries. An escrow or title company still handles closing. Whether the tradeoff fits depends on the seller's situation.
How do I avoid taxes when selling an inherited house?
There is no single rule, but the basis reset under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a) generally measures gain from the value at death, so a sale near that value may produce little gain. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews the tax picture for a specific estate or sale.
Does selling an inherited house require going through probate?
It depends on how title was held. Trust property passes to the successor trustee, and a transfer on death deed passes to the beneficiary. Property in the decedent's name alone typically needs probate, unless a simplified procedure fits, such as the petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence under Probate Code section 13151 or the affidavit for real property of small value under Probate Code section 13200.
Do I have to disclose defects when selling an inherited house in California?
It depends on the sale. Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts probate-court-ordered sales and most fiduciary sales from the Civil Code disclosure article, but not a revocable trust's individual trustee who formerly owned or recently occupied the home. Other disclosure duties may still apply, and the estate's or trust's attorney can say which.
Can siblings force a sale of inherited property in California?
A voluntary sale needs every co-owner to agree. When co-owners cannot agree, California law provides a partition action, in which a co-owner asks the court to divide the property or order it sold. An attorney handles a partition action.
What is the stepped-up basis on inherited property?
It is the rule in 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a) that generally sets an heir's basis at the property's fair market value at the date of death rather than the price the decedent paid. The statute also allows an alternate valuation date and special-use valuation in the cases its text describes. A CPA or tax attorney applies it to a specific estate.
