The estate is open, the house sits empty, and the bills keep coming while you wait on a court calendar you do not control.
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Probate is a waiting game with a monthly bill attached. The estate owns a house in Orlando, the personal representative has duties but limited cash, and every month the property sits there it consumes taxes, insurance, utilities, and lawn care that come straight out of what the beneficiaries eventually receive. Meanwhile you are waiting on filings, notices, and hearing dates in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which handles probate for Orange and Osceola counties.
The good news is that a house in probate can usually be sold, and often earlier in the process than families assume. Florida law gives a personal representative real authority to sell estate property, and buyers who understand probate are comfortable signing a contract while the estate is still open. What matters is understanding which type of administration your estate is in, what authority the personal representative already has, and what the title company will require before it insures the deed. This page explains all three in plain terms, then lays out your options honestly, including the situations where listing with an agent will net the estate more money than any cash offer.
Everything below is general information about how probate real estate works in Orange County. It is not legal advice, and we are not attorneys. Florida probate is procedural and unforgiving of shortcuts, and the right answer for your estate depends on the will, the family, the creditors, and the judge. Work with a Florida probate attorney. We will coordinate with yours at no cost to you.
Probate for Orange County is filed with the Orange County Clerk of Courts and heard in the probate division of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, which covers Orange and Osceola counties. Filings are electronic. Case information is publicly searchable, which is how title companies verify that the person signing the deed actually has authority to sign it.
This is the shortened path. It is generally available when the value of the estate subject to administration in Florida, excluding exempt property such as protected homestead, does not exceed the statutory threshold, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Summary administration does not normally appoint a personal representative. Instead the court enters an Order of Summary Administration that identifies who receives which assets. For real estate, that order is the document the title company relies on, and the beneficiaries named in it sign the deed.
This is the standard path for larger estates or estates with active creditors. The court appoints a personal representative and issues Letters of Administration. Those letters are the personal representative's proof of authority. Notice to creditors is published, and creditors generally have three months from first publication to file claims, with separate service rules for known creditors. That creditor window is the single biggest reason formal administration takes months rather than weeks.
A narrow procedure for very small estates with no real property to transfer. It rarely helps when there is a house involved, but your attorney may raise it.
It depends on the will. Many Florida wills grant the personal representative express power to sell real property, in which case a separate court order is often unnecessary. Where the will is silent, or there is no will, the personal representative may need to petition the court for authority to sell. Some estates proceed with a court order confirming the sale even when it is not strictly required, simply because it makes the title company comfortable. Ask your attorney which of these applies before you sign a contract, because it determines your realistic closing date.
Florida constitutional homestead is not ordinary estate property. When the decedent's Orlando house was protected homestead, it generally passes outside the reach of most estate creditors and descends under specific constitutional rules, which are restrictive when there is a surviving spouse or a minor child. Courts often enter an order determining homestead status. That order matters enormously to a buyer, because it tells the title company who owns the property and whether estate creditors can reach it. Do not assume homestead status. Have your attorney confirm it and, if appropriate, obtain the order.
Assemble these early. Nothing delays a probate closing more than waiting on a certified copy that could have been ordered from the Clerk weeks earlier.
If the house shows well, the estate can afford the carrying costs, and beneficiaries are patient, the open market usually produces the highest gross price. Understand the friction. Probate sales require disclosure of the estate's authority, financed buyers need an appraisal and an insurable roof, and inspection repair demands land on an estate that may not have cash to pay for them. Budget for commission, seller closing costs, and additional months of taxes and insurance.
The estate trades price for certainty. No repairs, no cleanout, no financing contingency, no appraisal, and a closing date that flexes to match the court calendar rather than fighting it. This is the sensible route when the house needs real work, when beneficiaries are spread across the country, when the estate has no cash to carry the property, or when a creditor or mortgage is pressing.
Sometimes the cleanest answer is to deed the property out of the estate and let the heirs sort out a sale, a buyout, or a rental afterward. This works when beneficiaries get along and at least one of them lives locally. It works badly when they do not, since disagreements after distribution can turn into a partition action in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Rarely the right move while an estate is open, because it creates ongoing management duties and tax reporting for the estate. It is a decision better made by the beneficiaries after distribution.
Every one of these is manageable if you find it in week one instead of week ten. Order the title search early, even if you have not chosen a buyer yet.
Our purchase agreement is built for probate. The closing date moves with the estate, so a continued hearing or a delayed order does not cost you the buyer or the deposit.
Give us your attorney's contact information and we handle the document flow with them and the title company, including certified letters, orders, and the homestead determination if one is needed.
No repairs, no cleanout, no inspection repair demands against an estate with no cash. Beneficiaries take what they want and we handle everything left behind after closing.
Usually yes. Many Florida wills grant the personal representative express power to sell real property, and where they do, a separate court order is often unnecessary. If the will is silent or there is no will, your attorney may need to petition the Ninth Judicial Circuit for authority to sell. Either way, you can generally sign a contract now and close once authority is documented. The title company will want certified Letters of Administration before it insures the deed.
It varies widely. Summary administration can conclude in a matter of weeks when the paperwork is clean and no one objects. Formal administration typically runs several months at minimum, in large part because creditors generally have three months from first publication of the notice to creditors to file claims. Contested estates, missing heirs, or homestead disputes extend that considerably. Ask your attorney for a realistic estimate based on your specific filings rather than a general rule.
Not necessarily. When a personal representative holds power of sale under the will or a court order, that representative can convey the property. Beneficiaries have the right to be informed and to object to the court, so a prudent personal representative documents that the price was reasonable and communicates openly. In a summary administration, the people named in the Order of Summary Administration typically sign the deed themselves, so their agreement is required.
This is extremely common and it is one of the strongest reasons to sell early. A cash sale converts an asset that costs money every month into cash the estate can use to pay valid claims and distribute to beneficiaries. We buy as-is, so the estate does not have to fund repairs, and we can often cover routine seller closing costs. Ask your attorney about the order in which estate expenses and creditor claims must be paid.
Deeds are recorded with the Orange County Comptroller and consideration is generally visible, so yes, the price becomes public. A personal representative owes a fiduciary duty, so document your process. Get more than one value opinion, note the property's condition, and keep the offers you received. A price that reflects real condition and a fast as-is closing is defensible. A price with no supporting file behind it is what draws beneficiary objections.
Often yes, but the path is different. Protected homestead generally passes outside the estate to the constitutionally designated heirs rather than through the personal representative, so the people who inherit it are the ones who sign. Many Orange County closings in this situation rely on a court order determining homestead status. Have your probate attorney address homestead early, because discovering the issue during the title search is what turns a three week closing into a three month one.
We would rather you check our numbers than take our word for it. These are the official records for your property.
Look up your property's assessed value, ownership history, and exemptions. Use this to sanity-check any offer you receive, including ours.
Search foreclosure filings, lis pendens records, and civil case history tied to a property.
The probate court for Orange and Osceola counties. Start here if you inherited a home and need to understand the estate process.
Official record of deeds, mortgages, liens, and judgments recorded against a property.
Check open code violations and accrued daily fines before you sell. Unresolved violations follow the property, not the owner.
Verify whether past work, such as a garage conversion or an addition, was permitted and closed out.
Check delinquent property taxes, tax certificates, and pending tax deed applications.
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