Inherited property · San Diego & South Bay
Sell an inherited house in San Diego — without cleaning it out, managing repairs, or flying back and forth.
Inheriting a South Bay home often means inheriting decades of belongings, deferred maintenance, a property-tax bill that may jump under Proposition 19, and paperwork — sometimes shared with siblings, sometimes from another state. Here's what's involved in selling it, and how we make it simple.
Authority to sell
Who can sign, and what has to happen first
General information for California homeowners, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs — confirm with a California attorney, escrow or title company, or tax professional.
The house was in a living trust
The successor trustee can typically sell without court involvement after recording an affidavit of death of trustee and a certification of trust. This is the fastest path and the reason many California families use trusts.
There's a will but no trust
A will generally must go through probate in San Diego County Superior Court. Under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, the personal representative can usually sell with a Notice of Proposed Action to heirs rather than a court confirmation hearing — but probate still takes months.
No will and no trust
The court appoints an administrator and California intestate succession decides the heirs. Same probate process, plus a heirship determination.
Smaller estates and primary residences
California has simplified procedures for estates under a statutory value threshold, and recent law allows a decedent's primary residence under a set value to pass by a court petition without full probate. Whether your situation qualifies is a question for a probate attorney.
Proposition 19
The property-tax surprise most heirs don't expect
Before 2021, a parent could pass a home to a child without a property-tax reassessment. Proposition 19 changed that: for deaths on or after February 16, 2021, the parent-child exclusion generally applies only if the child moves in and claims the home as their own primary residence, and even then only up to a limit above the old assessed value. An inherited home you don't live in is usually reassessed to current market value — which in San Diego can mean a property-tax bill several times what your parents paid.
This is often the deciding factor between keeping and selling. If the plan was to rent it out or hold it, run the new tax number first. The San Diego County Assessor administers the exclusion claims.
Multiple heirs
Selling when the house is shared
When several heirs own a house together, all of them generally need to agree and sign to sell. That works fine when everyone is aligned. When one heir lives in the house, one wants to keep it, or one can't be reached, the sale can stall. Options include one heir buying out the others, a written agreement on how to divide proceeds, or — as a last resort — a partition action in court.
We regularly close with multiple sellers in different states. Documents can be signed remotely with a mobile notary, and escrow splits proceeds according to ownership.
Money
Carrying costs, capital gains, and what's left
- Property taxes — likely reassessed under Prop 19 if no heir moves in; supplemental bills can arrive months later
- Insurance — vacant-home policies cost more, and standard policies may lapse if the house sits empty
- Mortgage payments if there's a loan; federal rules generally let an heir take over an existing mortgage, but payments continue
- Federal capital gains — inherited property generally gets a stepped-up basis to date-of-death value, so a prompt sale often has little gain; California taxes gains as ordinary income, but the step-up applies there too
- Utilities, upkeep, and security — vacant South Bay houses attract break-ins and squatters
How we help
What selling an inherited house to us looks like
Leave the contents
Take the keepsakes; we handle everything else after closing. No estate sale or cleanout required.
No repairs, no updates
Decades of deferred maintenance is normal for an inherited home. We buy it as-is.
Remote closing
Trustees and heirs out of state sign with a mobile notary. You don't need to travel.
Escrow that knows estates
We work with San Diego escrow and title companies that handle trust and probate transfers regularly and can tell you early exactly what documents are needed.
How it works
How selling to us works
- 1
Tell us about the house
Enter the address and answer a few quick questions — or just talk to us. You don't need to know anything about the market.
- 2
We look and we talk
We review comparable sales, do one walkthrough, and may ask a few questions. No pressure, no obligation.
- 3
Get a written offer and pick your date
If the house fits what we buy, you get a clear cash offer with the math behind it. Accept it or not — and if you do, close on your timeline.
FAQ
Questions San Diego homeowners ask
Can I sell before probate is finished?
Generally the personal representative needs court-issued letters before closing, but you can get an offer, sign a contract subject to that authority, and line everything up so closing happens as soon as the court allows. Trust sales usually don't need to wait.
One sibling won't respond. Can we still sell?
All owners typically need to sign. A probate attorney can advise on options, including partition. We can wait while that's resolved and hold our offer open within reason.
Will the property taxes really go up if I keep it?
Under Prop 19, usually yes, unless an eligible child moves in and files the exclusion claim on time. The County Assessor's office can confirm the rules for your situation.
Do you buy houses from out-of-state heirs?
Yes, routinely. The whole process can be handled by phone, email, and a notary who comes to you.
Free tools
Run your own numbers
Go deeper
Guides for this situation
- Probate and trusts in San Diego
Trust vs. probate, IAEA sales, small-estate shortcuts, Prop 19, and how to sell an inherited house.
- San Diego property taxes
Prop 13 base and cap, reassessment triggers, Prop 19 for heirs and seniors, supplemental bills, Mello-Roos, and tax default.
- Selling with liens
Types of liens, how title finds them, priority, payoff at closing, and what to do when liens exceed value.
Related
Other situations we help with
- Hoarder house
How to sell a home full of belongings without cleaning it out, and what to expect from the process.
- Vacant house
What an empty house costs and risks, what the city expects of vacant-property owners, and how to sell it without going back to fix it.
- Behind on property taxes
How San Diego County tax delinquency, redemption, and tax sales work, and how a sale clears it.
- Sell house as-is
What “as-is” means in California, what you still have to disclose, and what condition really does to the price.
See what we could pay for your San Diego house.
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