How to sell an inherited house in California

If you've landed here, someone close to you has died and you're now responsible for a house. First — sorry. Second — you're not alone. San Diego County alone processes thousands of probate cases every year, and the questions you're asking are the ones every heir asks: Do I have to go through probate? How long does this take? Can I just sell the house? What about taxes?

This guide answers each of those, with the specific California rules that matter. It is not legal or tax advice — when the dollars get serious, you'll want a probate attorney and a CPA in your corner. But this should give you the lay of the land in about ten minutes.

Step one: figure out whether the house has to go through probate

This is the first fork in the road. Whether probate is required depends on how the property was titled when the owner died.

• Held in a living trust. The successor trustee can sell the house without going to court. Faster, cheaper, more private. If your loved one had a trust, find that document first — it's the key to everything.
• Held in joint tenancy or community property with right of survivorship. Title passes automatically to the surviving co-owner. You record an Affidavit of Death and a new deed; no probate needed.
• Held with a Transfer on Death (TOD) deed. California allows this. The named beneficiary takes title with a simple recording, no probate.
• Held in the deceased's name alone, no trust, no TOD deed. Probate is generally required if the gross estate exceeds $184,500 (the 2024 threshold; check current limits). Below that, a Small Estate Affidavit may suffice. In SoCal, almost every house is well above this number.

The California probate timeline (it's longer than you'd hope)

Probate in California is generally 9 to 18 months, depending on the county, complexity, and whether anyone contests the will. Here's the rough sequence:

1. Petition for probate filed with the county Superior Court (where the deceased lived). Filing fee is $435 in most counties.
2. Notice published in a local newspaper for three weeks; creditors notified.
3. First hearing typically 4–8 weeks after filing. The court appoints a Personal Representative (executor or administrator) and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration — the document that lets you actually do anything with estate property.
4. Inventory & appraisal filed within 4 months of Letters being issued. A court-appointed probate referee values the real property.
5. Creditor claim period runs four months from Letters.
6. Sale of the property can happen during this window — but the rules depend on whether you have full or limited authority (more below).
7. Final accounting and petition for distribution closes the estate, often 12+ months after filing.

Full authority vs. limited authority — this matters

When the court issues Letters, it grants either full authority or limited authority under California's Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA).

• Full authority: the Personal Representative can sell the property without court confirmation. You list it, accept an offer, close. Fast and clean.
• Limited authority: any sale requires court confirmation. The accepted offer is published, "overbidders" can show up at the confirmation hearing, and the sale price can be bumped up at court. This is slower and uncertain.

Most California probates run with full authority unless a beneficiary specifically requests limited (or unless the will requires it). When you're filing, request full authority. It saves months.

The taxes you actually need to know about

Inheriting a house in California has surprisingly favorable tax treatment, but there are a few things to understand.

Stepped-up basis (this is the big one)

When you inherit, the property's tax basis is "stepped up" to its fair market value on the date of death. So if Mom bought the house for $80,000 in 1978 and it's worth $850,000 when she dies, your basis is $850,000 — not $80,000. If you sell for $860,000 a few months later, your taxable gain is $10,000, not $780,000.

This is why many heirs sell quickly — the longer you hold, the more appreciation you'd owe taxes on, but anything sold near the date of death generates almost no taxable gain.

Property tax — Proposition 19 changed the game

Before February 16, 2021, California's Prop 13 let parents transfer their low property-tax base to children for any property. Proposition 19 dramatically narrowed that. Now, only a primary-residence transfer to a child who moves in within one year as their own primary residence keeps the parent's tax base — and even then, only the first $1M of value above the original base is protected.

For most SoCal heirs, this means: if you inherit a house and don't move in, the property gets reassessed at current market value. Property taxes can triple or quadruple. Holding becomes expensive fast.

No federal estate tax for most

The federal estate tax exemption is over $13.6M (2024). Unless the estate is enormous, no federal estate tax applies. California has no separate state estate tax.

Your real options for the house

Once you have authority to act (Letters in hand, or trustee status), here are the realistic paths.

Option 1: List with a real estate agent

Best when: the house is in good condition, you have time (60–90+ days), and the estate has cash to handle repairs and showings. You'll get the highest sale price. Agent fees in California average 5–6%, plus seller-paid closing costs (~1–2%). For a $700,000 house, you're paying $40k–$55k in fees.

Option 2: Sell to a cash buyer (as-is)

Best when: the house needs significant work, is full of belongings, has tenants, has title issues, or you simply need to move on. You'll get less than retail — typically 70–85% of after-repair value, minus repair costs — but you skip the staging, the showings, the financing risk, and you can close on your timeline (often 7–14 days). For an inherited house with deferred maintenance, the cash route often nets more after factoring in repair costs and carrying time.

Option 3: Rent the property

Best when: the heir intends to keep the property long-term. Cash flow rarely justifies it for most SoCal inheritances given Prop 19 reassessment, but it's a real option for some. Be aware of California's tenant-protection laws (AB 1482, just-cause eviction) before going down this road.

Option 4: Distribute the property to multiple heirs

Best when: all heirs agree on a long-term plan. Otherwise, this becomes a family argument that ends in a partition action a year later. If multiple heirs disagree on what to do, selling the house and dividing the proceeds is almost always the cleanest path.

What we see most often in San Diego County and the Inland Empire

In the families we work with, the most common scenario looks like this: the deceased parent lived in a 1950s or 60s tract home in El Cajon, Spring Valley, Chula Vista's west side, Bostonia, or Casa Blanca for thirty to fifty years. The house has decades of belongings, a roof on borrowed time, original wiring, and ten or twenty thousand dollars of deferred maintenance. The heirs live out of state or are too busy to manage it. Listing means cleaning out, fixing the obvious problems, staging, and three months of showings — none of which the family has the energy for.

That's the situation cash buyers exist for. We buy as-is, including everything the family doesn't want to deal with. We work alongside probate attorneys and can wait for Letters before closing. We don't pressure the family to make decisions on a calendar that isn't theirs.

One thing to do before you call anyone

Get a copy of the deed and confirm how the property was titled. That single piece of paper determines whether you can act tomorrow (trust, joint tenancy, TOD) or whether you need to file probate first. The county recorder's office in your area has the records. In SD County, that's the County Recorder at 1600 Pacific Highway. In Riverside County, it's the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder.