When a parent dies and the house has to be sold, most families are handling it for the first time. I work with executors, successor trustees, and heirs across the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys, usually alongside the family’s estate attorney. I’ve been licensed since 2009 and I’ve helped more than 300 families buy and sell.
Your attorney tells you what you’re allowed to do. I handle what happens to the house.
What makes a probate or trust sale different?
Three things, mostly. Who has the authority to sign matters before anything else happens, and that comes from the court or the trust document, not from me. The disclosure obligations are not the same as a standard owner sale, and your attorney will tell you which ones apply to your situation. And the timeline is usually longer, because the paperwork has to catch up with the decision.
The house also tends to sell in as-is condition. That is normal here, and it isn’t a problem as long as the price and the marketing match the condition.
Is a trust sale the same as a probate sale?
No, and the difference changes your timeline. A property held in a properly funded trust can usually be sold by the successor trustee without the court running the sale. A property that goes through probate may need court involvement, and in some cases the sale is confirmed in a courtroom.
Which one you’re in is a legal question, not a real estate one. Ask your attorney first, then call me, and I’ll build the plan around the answer.
What actually slows these sales down
Rarely the market. Usually the house.
Most of the properties I see have been lived in for decades. There are belongings to sort, deferred maintenance, and often several family members who each have an opinion and live in different states. That’s the real work, and it’s worth starting before the legal side is finished so the two finish together.
I’ll walk the property with you and tell you plainly which repairs are likely to come back in the sale price and which ones are not worth doing for an as-is buyer. Sometimes the answer is to clean it out and sell it exactly as it stands. I work in English and Spanish, which helps when the family does too.
When several heirs have to agree
This is the part nobody warns you about. Siblings often want different things, and one of them usually lives far away and feels out of the loop.
I keep everyone on the same information at the same time, in writing, so decisions get made on facts instead of on who spoke to whom last. Educating my clients is my favorite part of this job, and here it prevents most of the arguments.
What I need to get started
- The property address, and whether it is held in a trust or going through probate
- Your attorney’s name, if you have one already
- Whether anyone is currently living in the home
- Whatever authority documents your attorney or the title company asks for
If you don’t have an attorney yet, say so. That is the first referral I’ll make, and I’d rather you have one before we list.
Common questions
Do we have to clear out the house before we sell?
Not always. Some buyers of as-is property are fine with contents in place, and a full cleanout can cost more than it returns. We decide that after walking through it together, not before.
Can we start before probate is finished?
Often there are things we can do early, such as valuing the property, planning the cleanout, and preparing marketing. What we can sign, and when, is your attorney’s call.
How long does it take?
Longer than a standard sale, and the legal track usually sets the pace rather than the market. Once we know which process you’re in, I can give you a realistic window.
What is the house actually worth in this condition?
That is a walk-through, not an online estimate. You can start with a current value for the property and we’ll refine it in person.
Start with a phone call
If you’re an executor or a successor trustee and you’re not sure what happens next with the house, call or text me at (818) 605-1220. If the sale is part of a parent downsizing or moving into care rather than an estate, my senior real estate services page is the better place to start.
I am a real estate agent, not an attorney, and nothing on this page is legal or tax advice. Work with your own attorney on the legal side.
Marite Matassa, Pinnacle Estate Properties. California DRE #01867409. Serving the Santa Clarita Valley and San Fernando Valley from 24501 Town Center Dr #104, Valencia, CA 91355.
