Yes. A California probate property can be sold in its present condition to a buyer who accepts it as-is. Only the personal representative the court appointed can sell it, and only within the authority the court granted. Selling as-is changes what the buyer takes on. It does not change probate's notice rules, its court-confirmation rules or its disclosure rules.
California property guideUpdated October 17, 2026General information, not legal or tax advice
Most people looking up how to sell a probate house as-is are holding a property they did not choose. It may be a parent's home with years of deferred repairs, or a house in another part of California they have barely seen. They are often still grieving, and they may have siblings asking when it will sell and for how much. The questions underneath are practical ones. Who is allowed to sign? Does a judge have to approve the sale? What does the estate owe a buyer? How do the ways of selling compare once the house is not going to be fixed up first? This page takes those questions in the order they usually come up.
Who Has Authority to Sell Probate Property in California
The person who signs a probate sale is the personal representative. That is the person a court appoints to represent the estate, collect the decedent's property, pay the bills and distribute what remains to the heirs or beneficiaries, as the California Courts' Guide to property after someone dies describes the role.
A personal representative has one of two titles:
Executor. This is the person named in the will to be in charge.
Administrator. This is the person appointed when there is no will, or when the named person cannot act. The guide lists an order of priority for that appointment. It begins with a surviving spouse or domestic partner, then a child, and the list continues.
Being named in a will is not the same as being able to sell. Under Probate Code section 8400, no one has power to administer the estate until the court appoints them and letters are issued. Letters are the court document that makes the appointment effective. Before then, a named executor may only pay funeral expenses and take necessary measures to maintain and preserve the estate.
The court also decides how much the personal representative can do without its supervision, under the Independent Administration of Estates Act:
Full authority. Probate Code section 10511 gives a personal representative with full authority the power to sell or exchange estate real property.
Limited authority. The Judicial Council's DE-165 Notice of Proposed Action form states that limited authority carries no power to sell real property without court supervision.
Do all heirs have to agree? No. The power to sell rests with the personal representative and the court, not with a family vote. Heirs do have the right to receive notice and to object, which the next section explains.
A house held in a living trust is a separate matter. The trustee or successor trustee usually sells it under the trust document rather than under probate letters. A probate personal representative and a trustee hold different authority.
When Court Confirmation Is Required — and When It Is Not
Court confirmation means a judge approves the sale at a hearing before the buyer takes title. For a family, the question of whether a hearing is needed often shapes the whole schedule.
The general rule is in Probate Code section 10308. Except as Probate Code section 10503 provides, every sale of estate real property must be reported to the court and confirmed by it before title passes to the purchaser. That is true whether the sale is private or at public auction, and even if the will directs or authorizes the sale.
The exception applies when the personal representative has full authority. A personal representative with full authority gives a notice of proposed action to the persons entitled to receive it. That notice describes the sale's material terms, including the price and any commission. The DE-165 form states three things about how it works:
A person who wants to object must send a written objection, or obtain a court order, before the date stated in the notice or before the action is taken, whichever is later.
If no one objects in writing or obtains an order, they are treated as having consented.
If someone does object, the personal representative may take the action only under court supervision.
Under Probate Code section 10503, the court-confirmation requirements, such as publication of 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 necessity for and advantage of the sale, do not apply to a sale made with that authority.
When the sale does go to court, the hearing is open to competing buyers. Under Probate Code section 10311, the court generally must accept a written offer made at the hearing if three conditions are met, and if more than one offer meets them, it must accept the highest:
The offer is at least 10 percent more on the first $10,000 of the original bid and 5 percent more on the part of the original bid over $10,000.
It comes from a responsible person.
It complies with the law.
The same section lets the court decline the offer and order a new sale, and it says that agents' commissions are left out when the bids are compared. Under Probate Code section 10308, if the personal representative does not file the report of sale within 30 days after the sale, the purchaser may file it. The property's appraisal is the value set by a probate referee, one of the appraisers the State Controller appoints. For a private sale the court confirms, the property generally must have been appraised within one year before the hearing, so an older appraisal has to be redone, and the sale is reported to the court on the Judicial Council's DE-260 Report of Sale form.
None of this depends on who the buyer is. A cash buyer and an as-is buyer go through the same authority, the same notice and the same hearing. For the full sequence of a probate sale, see selling during probate in California.
What 'As-Is' Means in a Probate Sale
"As-is" describes the condition the buyer agrees to accept. The buyer takes the house with its worn roof, its old plumbing or its cluttered garage, and does not ask the estate to fix them. A house can be sold in its present condition. Whether a particular repair or installation is required before a particular sale is a separate question, and the estate's attorney answers it based on the property.
Disclosure is a different subject from condition. Civil Code section 1102 applies the Civil Code's seller-disclosure article to sales of single-family residential property, except as Civil Code section 1102.2 provides. It also makes any waiver of that article void.
Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts two kinds of sale that matter here:
Sales under court order, including sales ordered by a probate court in administering an estate.
Sales by a fiduciary in administering a trust, guardianship, conservatorship or decedent's estate. This exemption does not apply when 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 of it within the preceding year.
Civil Code section 1103.1 contains a parallel exemption from the natural-hazard disclosure article. It adds that sales outside that article may still be subject to other disclosure requirements, including certain Government Code and Public Resources Code provisions. An exemption from one form is not a release from every duty, and the estate's attorney can say which duties apply.
What the estate discloses is also different from what a buyer finds. A buyer's own inspection may turn up problems the family never knew about, and an as-is buyer usually prices that risk into the offer.
The referee's appraised value is not a sale price. It is the inventory value the court works from. The price a buyer offers reflects the house's condition and the buyer's own costs, and that price may be above or below the appraisal. For more on condition-driven choices, see an inherited house needing repairs.
Three Ways to Sell: Listing, Owner Sale, and Direct Sale Compared
Each way of selling asks something different of the personal representative. Each also carries the same probate authority, notice and confirmation rules.
Listing with a licensed agent. An agent prices the house, markets it, holds showings and negotiates with buyers. Exposure to the open market tends to bring competing offers, but it usually means preparing the house, keeping it presentable and paying a commission. Buyers who need loans may also require repairs or appraisals. The California Department of Real Estate's update, Looking for Tips on How to Choose a Real Estate Agent?, says to verify an agent's license on the DRE website before hiring them.
Sale by the owner without an agent. The personal representative handles pricing, marketing, showings and paperwork. That avoids a listing commission, but it puts the work, and the job of finding a buyer, on someone who may live far away and has an estate to administer.
Direct sale to a buyer who pays cash. A buyer purchases the house as it stands. The tradeoff is real. A direct offer is often lower than what the same house might bring on the open market, because the buyer is absorbing the cost of repairs, the risk of what the walls hide, and the expense of reselling. In return, the estate usually does less preparation, has fewer showings and depends less on a buyer qualifying for a loan. The notice of proposed action, any confirmation hearing and any overbids at that hearing still apply.
The way families tell these paths apart is to put written offers side by side and estimate net proceeds for each. Net proceeds are the price less commissions, repairs, carrying costs such as taxes, insurance and utilities, loan payoffs and closing costs. The highest price and the highest net figure are not always the same offer. For a side-by-side look, see cash offers versus listing.
Property Tax and Basis Considerations When Selling Inherited Property
Two tax questions come up in almost every sale of an inherited house. One is income tax on the gain from the sale. The other is the property tax the house will carry. Both are information here, not advice. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews income tax and basis questions, and the county assessor's office handles reassessment and exclusion claims.
Basis is the value from which gain or loss on a sale is measured. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis of property acquired from a decedent is generally its fair market value at the date of death. The statute also gives alternatives:
a value at an alternate valuation date, if the estate elects one;
a value under a special-use valuation election;
the decedent's own basis, to the extent a particular exclusion applies.
That statute also treats property in a revocable trust the decedent could revoke as acquired from the decedent. This is why the date-of-death value and the probate referee's appraisal often matter when the house sells.
Property tax reassessment is a separate system. Under Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2, for transfers on and after February 16, 2021, a transfer of a parent's principal residence to a child, or of a grandparent's to a grandchild whose parents who are the grandparent's children are deceased, is excluded from reassessment if a claim is filed. The exclusion has conditions:
The house must become the transferee's principal residence within one year.
The transferee must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year of the transfer.
The exclusion may be limited by the house's value.
The claim is generally due within three years after the transfer, before a transfer to a third party, or when an eligible transferee no longer occupies the residence, whichever is earlier. Alternatively, it is timely if filed within six months after a notice of supplemental or escape assessment is mailed. When heirs sell to an outside buyer rather than move in, the exclusion is usually not the deciding factor. The assessor's office answers how it applies to a given house.
How Long Probate Takes — and What Affects the Timeline
No statute sets how long a probate house will take to sell. The time depends on several things:
whether a simplified procedure fits the estate;
whether the court grants full or limited authority;
whether a notice of proposed action draws an objection;
whether a confirmation hearing is held and draws overbids;
whether any issue in the estate is contested.
Some estates qualify for a shorter procedure, and each one has its own waiting period:
Petition to determine succession to the decedent's primary residence. Under Probate Code section 13151, a successor may file this petition once 40 days have passed since the death, if the residence's gross value is within a limit the statute adjusts periodically. The successor must deliver notice to each heir and devisee named in the petition within five business days of filing.
Affidavit for real property of small value. Under Probate Code section 13200, this may be filed no sooner than six months after the death, with a probate referee's inventory and appraisal attached. The applicable limit, for a death on or after April 1, 2022, is the adjusted amount in effect on the date of death.
The estate's attorney can confirm the current limit for either procedure. The affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property covers personal property, not a house. A house that passes by a transfer on death deed goes to the named beneficiary. Under Probate Code section 5652, multiple beneficiaries take it as tenants in common in equal shares, subject to recorded liens.
In a full probate, the clock starts only when letters issue, and every step from there builds on that one. A contested matter, such as heirs disputing the will or a conflict with the executor, is a different subject handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases.
When Heirs Disagree About Selling
Disagreement among siblings is one of the hardest parts of an inherited sale, and it often has more to do with the house's meaning than its price. In law, though, the question during probate has a clear answer. As the authority section above explains, the personal representative holds the power to sell, and heirs who object use the notice-and-objection process, which sends the sale to court supervision.
After distribution the picture changes. If heirs come to own the house together as co-owners, no personal representative remains to sign for them. A sale then generally needs every owner's signature. California's partition statutes provide a court process by which a co-owner can ask a court to divide the property or order it sold. That describes what the law provides. It is not a plan for any family.
When the disagreement becomes a dispute, such as a challenge to the will, a demand to remove the executor or a claim of misconduct, it is a contested matter. It is handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases, and it falls outside a guide to selling.
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If you’re dealing with selling probate property as is, we’re here to talk it through.
Every inherited property is different. Call or send us a message, and we’ll listen. A direct offer is often lower than what the open market might bring, and asking for one does not commit you to selling.
Yes. The personal representative can sell once letters are issued and within the authority the court granted. With full authority and no objection to the notice of proposed action, no confirmation hearing is needed. With limited authority, or after an objection, the sale goes to court.
What does as-is mean when selling a probate property?
It means the buyer accepts the house's present condition. Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts estate sales by a fiduciary and court-ordered probate sales from the seller-disclosure article. Other disclosure requirements may still apply, as Civil Code section 1103.1 notes.
What happens if a property is sold for more than its probate value?
A price above the referee's appraisal is generally possible. Because basis is generally the date-of-death value under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), a higher sale price may produce a gain. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews whether that gain is taxable.
How long does a house sit in probate?
No fixed period applies. The time depends on the authority granted, any objection, any confirmation hearing and overbids, and any contested issues. The simplified procedures have their own waiting periods: 40 days for the primary-residence petition and six months for the small-value real property affidavit.
Do all heirs have to agree to sell a probate property?
No. Authority rests with the personal representative. A person entitled to notice of the proposed action may object in writing or obtain a court order, and then the personal representative may sell only under court supervision.
Who owns a house during probate?
The house is part of the decedent's estate. The personal representative manages it, may sell it under court-granted authority, and distributes what remains to the heirs or beneficiaries. A house in a trust is handled by the trustee under the trust document instead.
Can an executor sell a house without probate?
A named executor has no power to sell estate real property until letters issue under Probate Code section 8400. Some estates qualify for a simplified procedure, such as the primary-residence petition, depending on the property's value and how it passed. The estate's attorney can say whether one fits.
Does selling probate property as-is avoid the court confirmation process?
No. Whether confirmation is needed depends on the authority granted and on whether anyone objects to the notice of proposed action. It does not depend on the buyer or on the house's condition.
