How to sell an inherited house in Washington
Yes, you can sell an inherited house in Washington once someone has the legal power to sign for it. Usually that's the personal representative the court appoints in probate. Some houses skip probate because they passed by a recorded transfer on death deed, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or a community property agreement.
It takes about a minute, there's no obligation, and your details are never sold.
or call Jason (425) 242-4673
Do I need probate to sell an inherited house in Washington?
Usually, yes. Only someone with the legal power to sign can sell a house, and for most inherited houses that power comes from a probate case. The exceptions are houses set up to pass outside probate: a transfer on death deed recorded before the death, a joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or a spouses' community property agreement.
Day 0
The owner dies
The house stays in the estate until probate or a non-probate transfer moves it.
RCW 11.62.010 checked Sep 27, 2026
After 40 days
A small-estate affidavit becomes possible
Only for a net probate estate of $100,000 or less, and only for debts and personal property. It can't transfer a house.
RCW 11.62.010 checked Sep 27, 2026
For the house
Probate or a non-probate transfer
A house needs probate or a non-probate transfer before it can be sold.
RCW 11.62.010 checked Sep 27, 2026
About 4 months, with a published notice
The creditor claim window closes
With a published notice to creditors, most claims must be presented within four months of the first publication; with no notice, creditors generally have 24 months from the date of death.
RCW 11.40.051 checked Oct 5, 2026
| Who signs the sale | Court order for the sale? | Washington source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probate with nonintervention powers | The personal representative | No. The personal representative can sell without an order or confirmation from the court. | RCW 11.68.090 |
| Probate without nonintervention powers | The personal representative, under the court's order | Yes. The court orders the sale and later confirms it. | RCW 11.56.010 and 11.56.100 |
| Small-estate affidavit | Nobody, for a house: the affidavit covers debts and personal property only | Not available for real estate | RCW 11.62.010 |
| Transfer on death deed | The named beneficiary, once the owner has died | No probate for the house, if the deed was recorded before the death | RCW 64.80.060 and 64.80.100 |
| Joint tenancy with right of survivorship | The surviving joint owner | No probate for the house, if the deed expressly declared a joint tenancy | RCW 64.28.010 |
| Community property agreement | Usually the surviving spouse or domestic partner, as the agreement provides | Depends on the agreement; ask the attorney who reviews it | RCW 26.16.120 |
Whether you need probate depends on how the house was titled on the day the owner died. If the owner held it alone and left no recorded transfer on death deed, the house is a probate asset, and someone has to be appointed personal representative before anyone can sign a sale. A will names who should serve, but the court still makes the appointment. If the deed named a surviving joint owner with right of survivorship, the survivor already owns the house. If the owner recorded a transfer on death deed with the county auditor before dying, the beneficiary takes the house without probate, along with any mortgage or lien on it. A spouse or domestic partner may take it under a community property agreement. The small-estate affidavit, which works after 40 days for estates of $100,000 or less, can't move a house at all. Pull the recorded deed first, then talk to a probate attorney about which path yours is on.
How much does an estate have to be worth to go to probate?
There's no dollar figure that lets a house skip probate. Washington's small-estate affidavit is for estates whose probate assets, less liens and debts against them, come to $100,000 or less, and it can be used only after 40 days have passed since the death. Even then it hands over bank balances, debts owed to the person who died and other personal property. The statute doesn't reach real estate, so a house of any value needs probate or one of the non-probate paths in the table (RCW 11.62.010).
Which path fits?
Answer the questions above and this points you to the part of the page that fits.
A guide to the page, not legal advice. Nothing you tap here is sent anywhere.
Nonintervention powers, in the statute's words
A personal representative with nonintervention powers has the power to "mortgage, encumber, lease, sell, exchange, convey" the estate's real property, and can use it "without an order of the court" and without the court's approval or confirmation (RCW 11.68.090(1)). The same section says that personal representative has no duty to follow the court-sale procedures in chapter 11.56.
The powers come with a duty: the personal representative must use them in good faith, with honest judgment, and in line with the will and the interests of the beneficiaries (RCW 11.68.090(2)(c)).
The court grants nonintervention powers to a personal representative who asks when the estate is solvent and one of the statute's conditions is met, for example when the petitioner is the person the will named. A will can also tell the court not to grant them (RCW 11.68.011).
A sale the court has to confirm
Without nonintervention powers, no estate property is sold except under a court order, unless another law provides otherwise (RCW 11.56.010). The order describes the property and the terms, and says whether it sells at a public sale, a private sale or by negotiation (RCW 11.56.050).
A private sale or a sale by negotiation can't be confirmed unless the price is at least 90% of the appraised value, and the appraisal has to be less than a year old (RCW 11.56.090).
After the sale, the personal representative files a verified return of sale with the clerk no later than ten days afterward. For a sale by negotiation, a notice runs once in a legal newspaper, and the court can confirm the sale once ten days have passed (RCW 11.56.100).
Transfer on death deeds, joint tenancy and community property agreements
A transfer on death deed has to state that the transfer happens at the owner's death, and it has to be recorded with the auditor of the county where the house sits before the owner dies (RCW 64.80.060). At death the house passes to the named beneficiary, who has to outlive the owner, and it comes with every mortgage, lien and other interest recorded against it (RCW 64.80.100).
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship lets property pass to the surviving owner "without the cost or delay of probate proceedings." It exists only when a written instrument expressly declares it (RCW 64.28.010).
Spouses or domestic partners can sign a written agreement about their community property that takes effect when either one dies. It has to be witnessed and acknowledged the way a deed is, and it can't defeat the rights of creditors (RCW 26.16.120).
How do I sell an inherited house in Washington?
To sell an inherited house in Washington, find out who has the power to sign, get that person's papers in order, protect the house while the estate is open, then choose how to sell it and close through a title company. Most of the waiting is paperwork, so the steps below run in that order.
Find out who can sign
Get a copy of the recorded deed from the county or a title company and see how the house was titled. That tells you which path in the table above applies.
On the first call I ask who is signing, because that sets every date that follows.
Get the signing papers
In probate, the court appoints the personal representative and issues letters, which are the papers a title company asks to see. For a transfer on death deed or a joint tenancy, the title company tells you what it needs, often a death certificate and the recorded deed.
I can work around the court's schedule. Nothing gets signed until the person with authority has the papers.
Protect the house
Call the insurer, keep the utilities on so pipes don't freeze, forward the mail and keep paying the mortgage if there is one. An empty house can lose coverage if nobody tells the insurer it's vacant.
If you live far away, I can meet a neighbor or a relative at the door for the walkthrough.
Take what the family wants
Pull out photos, papers, heirlooms and anything a relative has asked for. Look for the owner's files on the house, such as the property tax statement and any old repair bills.
For a cash sale, anything you leave behind stays with the house, so you don't have to hire a crew to empty it.
Decide how to sell
Compare what a listing would leave the estate after repairs, commission and months of carrying costs with a cash offer on the house as it is. The personal representative decides, with the beneficiaries' interests in mind.
I'll price it both ways, as a cash sale and as a listing with me, and put the numbers in writing. Jason Bryant is a licensed broker with Windermere Real Estate (license 101377).
Close through escrow
The personal representative, or the surviving owner or beneficiary, signs at the title company. The loan payoff, any liens, the excise tax and the closing costs come out of the sale, and the rest goes to the estate.
We walk you through the settlement statement line by line before anyone signs.
How soon can I sell a house that I inherited?
You can sell as soon as the person with authority to sign has it. In probate that's the day the court issues letters to the personal representative; with nonintervention powers, the sale needs no further court step. A surviving joint owner or a transfer on death beneficiary can usually sell once the title company accepts the paperwork.
What sets the pace is the paperwork. Someone has to find the will if there is one, file it, and petition the court, and the court's calendar varies by county. When there's no will, or the person the will names can't serve, the statute sets an order of who may be appointed, starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner and then the children (RCW 11.28.120).
Creditors are the other clock. When the personal representative publishes and gives notice to creditors, most claims have to be presented no later than four months after the first publication. If no notice is given, creditors generally have 24 months from the date of death (RCW 11.40.051). A sale can close while that window is open. Many estates plan when to pay out the proceeds around it, and the estate's attorney is the person to ask how that works for yours.
Once the house is under contract, the rest is the ordinary work of a closing: the title company orders the payoff from the lender, clears any liens and records the deed. A cash sale skips the buyer's loan approval and appraisal, which is where many listed sales lose time.
Can the executor sell a house that is in probate?
Yes. Washington calls the executor the personal representative, and that person signs the sale papers for the estate, usually with the estate's lawyer advising on each step. With nonintervention powers the personal representative can sell without asking the court. Without them, the court orders the sale and then confirms it after the fact.
So, if a house is in probate, can it be sold? It can, and plenty are. The personal representative isn't free to do anything they like with it, though. The law requires good faith, honest judgment and attention to the interests of the beneficiaries, and when heirs disagree about price or timing, that disagreement belongs with the estate's attorney before anything is signed (RCW 11.68.090(2)(c)).
A sale by a personal representative is one of the sales the statute exempts from Form 17, the seller disclosure statement (RCW 64.06.010). The person selling an estate house often never lived there and can't say what's behind the walls, which is part of the reason. Buyers of estate houses usually plan their own inspection with that in mind.
How long does an executor have to sell a house? No statute gives a single deadline for the sale itself. The practical limits are the estate's costs, the creditor timelines above, and what the beneficiaries need, and the estate's attorney can tell you whether your county or your case adds any.
Do I have to pay taxes if I sell an inherited house in Washington?
Washington has no inheritance tax on heirs. The state estate tax is owed by the estate, and only when the estate is above the filing threshold, which is $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026. Washington's capital gains tax exempts real estate, and the federal rules on a gain are a question for a tax professional.
- The estate tax is a tax on the right to transfer property at death. For deaths from January 1 to June 30, 2026, the threshold was $3,076,000. The return and any payment are due nine months after the date of death (Department of Revenue).
- The state capital gains tax lists real estate among its exemptions, so selling the house doesn't trigger it.
- For federal income tax, the IRS says the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death, so any gain is usually figured from that date-of-death value. What the owner paid decades ago generally drops out of the math.
- The real estate excise tax applies to the sale like any other, and Washington law makes it the seller's obligation (RCW 82.45.080). In an estate sale it's paid from the proceeds at closing.
For example, at King County's typical home value
For example, King County's typical home value was $835,385 in August 2026 (Zillow Home Value Index). On a sale at that price, the state excise tax comes to about $9,750 under the Department of Revenue's graduated rates, and a local rate of 0.5% adds about $4,180 more where the city charges it. Both lines show up on the settlement statement, and the estate owes them whether the house sells for cash or on the open market.
None of this is tax advice. Bring the date of death, a value for the house as of that date, and the closing statement to a tax professional. The personal representative will need the same papers for the estate's own returns.
Why is it so hard to sell a house when you inherit it?
It's hard because the house comes with everything else at once: grief, a court process, rooms full of belongings, repairs nobody kept up with, relatives who don't agree, and often a drive of several hours each way. Each problem is manageable alone, but together they stall a sale for months while the bills keep coming.
- Distance
- Heirs often live in another city or state. Every contractor visit, showing and inspection means someone has to be there to open the door.
- Belongings
- A lifetime of furniture, papers and keepsakes has to be sorted before a listing can be photographed. Families put that off because it's painful, and the house sits.
- Several heirs
- Siblings may want different things: one wants to move in, one needs the money now, one wants to wait for a better market. The personal representative has to act for all of them.
- Deferred repairs
- Older owners often stop keeping up with a roof, a furnace or a sewer line. Buyers with loans may need some of that fixed before their lender will fund.
- Carrying costs
- Property tax, insurance, utilities and any mortgage keep running every month the house stays in the estate.
None of that has to be solved in a weekend. Deciding the order helps more than anything: who signs, what the family keeps, then how the house sells. The guide on selling a house as-is covers the repair side in more detail.
Can I sell an inherited house if I live out of state?
Yes. You don't have to live in Washington to inherit a house here or to sell it. The probate case is opened in the county where the estate is administered, and most of the work happens by phone, email and signed papers, so an heir or personal representative in another state can often finish a sale with few trips back.
- Ask the estate's attorney early whether you can serve as personal representative from where you live, and what the court asks of a representative who lives out of state.
- Ask the title company how it handles a seller who lives elsewhere. Remote and mail-away signings are common, and the title company tells you which ones it accepts.
- Line up one local person with a key: a neighbor, a relative or a friend who can let in an insurer, an appraiser or a buyer.
- Keep the insurer informed that the house is empty, and ask what its policy requires for a vacant house.
- Forward the mail to yourself so property tax statements, utility bills and court notices don't pile up unread.
When the heirs are spread across several states, a cash sale can mean one walkthrough and one signing instead of months of showings nobody can attend. It trades some price for that, which is why it's worth comparing with a listing before you decide.
Where a sale fits
Selling is one choice among several. Families keep inherited houses, rent them out, list them, or sell them as they are for cash, and some split the decision among the heirs. Which one fits depends on the house, the estate's bills and what the beneficiaries need.
- Hold on to it
- An heir who wants to live there can sometimes buy out the others. The estate's attorney can explain how that works with the other beneficiaries' shares and any mortgage.
- Rent it
- Renting brings in income but makes someone a landlord, with Washington's landlord-tenant rules and a tenant in place if you sell later.
- List it
- A move-in-ready house in a strong neighborhood often nets more listed on the open market. I can list it as the estate's broker, and I'll tell you when that's the better number. Jason Bryant is a licensed broker with Windermere Real Estate (license 101377).
- Sell it as-is for cash
- An estate with a house full of belongings, deferred repairs, several heirs or heirs who live far away often picks a cash sale for the single walkthrough and a fixed closing date. It usually means a lower price than a fixed-up listing.
- Get advice first
- When the title is unclear, the heirs disagree, or the estate may owe more than it holds, a probate attorney is the first call, before any buyer.
The comparison of a cash sale and a listing, with the costs of each, is on its own page, and liens or unpaid property tax on an estate house are covered in the guide on selling a house with a lien.
Where probate happens in the counties I work in
Probate is filed in the superior court of the county where the estate is opened. I work with sellers across much of Washington, including King, Snohomish, Pierce, Skagit and Thurston counties, and each of those courts is listed below with a link to its own directory page, so you can check the address and the clerk's hours before you go.
If you need to sell an inherited house in Seattle, or anywhere else in King County, the estate's attorney chooses where to open the case. King County Superior Court hears probate matters at its Ex Parte and Probate department in the King County Courthouse at 516 3rd Ave in Seattle and at the Maleng Regional Justice Center at 401 4th Ave N in Kent. Snohomish County's superior court is at 3000 Rockefeller Ave in Everett, Pierce County's is in the County-City Building at 930 Tacoma Ave S in Tacoma, Skagit County's is at 205 W Kincaid St in Mount Vernon, and Thurston County's is at 2000 Lakeridge Dr SW, Building 2, in Olympia.
County offices you may deal with in King County
Probate
King County Superior Court, Ex Parte and Probate
King County Courthouse, 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, or the Maleng Regional Justice Center, 401 4th Ave N, Kent.
County offices you may deal with in Snohomish County
County offices you may deal with in Pierce County
Probate
County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave S, Tacoma (Clerk, Room 110).
County offices you may deal with in Skagit County
County offices you may deal with in Thurston County
Questions sellers ask
Can I sell my deceased parent's house without probate?
Only if the house passed outside probate. That happens when your parent recorded a transfer on death deed naming you, held the house in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or had a community property agreement with a spouse. Otherwise a personal representative has to be appointed first.
Do all wills have to go through probate in Washington?
A will on its own doesn't move a house. It names who inherits and who should serve as personal representative, but a house that was titled in the owner's name alone still needs a probate case before it can be sold, unless it passed by one of the non-probate paths.
What assets are exempt from probate in Washington?
For a house, the usual ways around probate are a transfer on death deed recorded before the death, joint tenancy with right of survivorship declared in writing, and a community property agreement between spouses or domestic partners. A probate attorney can tell you whether other assets in the estate pass outside it.
What happens if there's no will?
The court still appoints a personal representative. Washington sets an order of who may serve, starting with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then the children, then the parents and siblings, and that person signs the sale.
What is the 2 year rule for inherited property?
People usually mean the federal home-sale exclusion, which lets an owner leave out up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 on a joint return, on a main home they owned and lived in for two of the last five years. Whether it can apply to an inherited house depends on how you used it, so ask a tax professional.
How do I avoid capital gains tax when selling an inherited house?
Federal basis for inherited property is generally the fair market value on the date of death, so a house sold soon after the death at about that value often shows little gain. Washington's capital gains tax exempts real estate. This is general information from the IRS and the Department of Revenue, not tax advice.
Can I sell my half of an inherited property?
Co-owners can sell their own share, though few buyers want half a house. When co-owners can't agree, Washington law lets one of them ask a court to partition the property, or to order it sold when it can't be divided fairly. That is a question for a real estate attorney.
Does the estate have to fill out a seller disclosure?
A sale by a personal representative is exempt from Washington's Form 17 seller disclosure statement. Share what the family does know about the house anyway, since a buyer will ask and it heads off disputes after closing.
Who pays the mortgage while the house is in probate?
The loan doesn't go away when the owner dies, and a beneficiary under a transfer on death deed takes the house subject to it. Estates often keep paying from estate funds until the sale, and the loan is paid off at closing. The estate's attorney decides how bills get paid.
Do we have to clean out the house before selling?
For a cash sale, no. Take what the family wants and leave the rest. If you list the house, a buyer expects it empty and clean for photos and showings, which usually means an estate sale, a hauler or both.
Sources
- RCW 11.68.090, powers of a personal representative with nonintervention powerschecked
- RCW 11.68.011, when the court grants nonintervention powerschecked
- RCW 11.56.010, estate sales need a court order unless the law provides otherwisechecked
- RCW 11.56.050, the court's order directing a salechecked
- RCW 11.56.090, minimum price for a private sale or sale by negotiationchecked
- RCW 11.56.100, the return of sale and the court's confirmationchecked
- RCW 11.62.010, small estate affidavitchecked
- RCW 11.40.051, time limits for creditor claimschecked
- RCW 11.28.120, who is entitled to be appointed when there is no willchecked
- RCW 64.80.060, requirements of a transfer on death deedchecked
- RCW 64.80.100, effect of a transfer on death deed at the owner's deathchecked
- RCW 64.28.010, joint tenancy with right of survivorshipchecked
- RCW 26.16.120, community property agreements that take effect at deathchecked
- RCW 7.52.010, partition actions between co-ownerschecked
- RCW 64.06.010, sales exempt from the seller disclosurechecked
- RCW 82.45.080, the excise tax is the seller's obligationchecked
- Washington Department of Revenue, estate tax (filing threshold and due date)checked
- Washington Department of Revenue, capital gains tax (real estate is exempt)checked
- IRS, gifts and inheritances: basis of inherited propertychecked
- IRS Topic no. 701, sale of your homechecked
- Washington Department of Revenue, real estate excise taxchecked
- Washington Department of Revenue, local REET rates effective January 1, 2026 (form 84-0013)checked
- Zillow Home Value Index, county series (typical home value, August 2026)checked
- Washington Courts, court directory: King County Superior Courtchecked
- King County Superior Court, Ex Parte and Probate procedureschecked
- Washington Courts, court directory: Snohomish County Superior Courtchecked
- Snohomish County, probatechecked
- Washington Courts, court directory: Pierce County Superior Courtchecked
- Washington Courts, court directory: Skagit County Superior Courtchecked
- Washington Courts, court directory: Thurston County Superior Courtchecked
Talk it through before the estate decides
Tell me who's signing and where the paperwork stands. We'll walk the house as it is, belongings and all, and put an offer in writing for the personal representative to weigh.
It takes about a minute, there's no obligation, and your details are never sold.
or call Jason (425) 242-4673