Most of the inherited houses we see belong to someone who lives in Florida, Connecticut, or two hours away, and is trying to figure out what to do with a house full of 40 years of stuff. Here's the order to do things in.
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September 22, 2026 · By Greg Valentgas
Don't start cleaning it out, don't sign with a realtor, and don't accept an offer from anyone until you know who legally owns it. That sounds obvious but people skip it all the time. If the house was only in your parent's name, it probably has to go through probate before anyone can sell it. If it was in a trust, or held jointly with a surviving spouse, it may not.
A quick call to a Massachusetts probate attorney will sort this out. Most will do a first conversation for free or close to it. Bring the deed if you can find it (or look it up at masslandrecords.com) and whatever will or trust paperwork exists.
While that's getting sorted, somebody needs to keep the house from getting worse. Keep the heat on through the winter so the pipes don't freeze. Keep the insurance paid, and call the insurance company to tell them the house is vacant, because a lot of policies stop covering a vacant house after 30 or 60 days. Keep paying the mortgage if there is one. Forward the mail.
If you're out of state, ask a neighbor or a friend to drive by once a week. A burst pipe in February can turn a $400,000 house into a $250,000 house in one weekend.
In Massachusetts, if the house has to go through probate, the personal representative (the executor) usually gets authority to sell within a few weeks of filing under informal probate. So probate doesn't mean you're stuck for a year. It means you need the court paperwork before you can sign a purchase agreement, and the closing attorney will want to see it.
We buy from estates regularly and we're used to working around this. We can walk the house and give you a written offer before probate is done, so you know your number, and then close once the paperwork is in hand. Some sellers find that easier than waiting to even start the conversation.
There are really only three choices. Keep it, which means someone in the family lives there or it becomes a rental you manage from wherever you live. Fix it up and list it, which makes sense if the house is in decent shape and you have the money and time to get it ready. Or sell it as-is to a cash buyer, which makes sense if the house needs work, it's full of stuff, there's a septic question, or you just want it done.
A lot of the inherited houses on the Cape and South Shore fall into that last category. Somebody lived there 40 years, the kitchen is from 1978, the septic hasn't been inspected, and the kids all live somewhere else. That's a lot of house to renovate from Connecticut.
This is the part people underestimate. Clearing out a full house takes a family two or three weekends minimum, plus a dumpster or two, plus the arguments about who gets the dining room table. If you sell to us, you take what you want and leave the rest. Furniture, the basement, the garage, the attic. We deal with it after closing. For an out-of-state family, that alone is often the reason they call.
One thing worth knowing: when you inherit a house, its value for tax purposes generally resets to what it was worth when the person died (the "stepped-up basis"). So if you sell it soon after for around that value, there's often little or no capital gains tax. If you hold it for years and it goes up, that changes. Ask a tax person about your situation.
Valentgas Properties buys inherited houses across Massachusetts, and a lot of them on Cape Cod and the South Shore where we live and work. We see the house, you get a written cash offer within 24 hours, and you pick the closing date. No commissions, no fees, no repairs, no cleanout. If listing it would net you more and you have the time, we'll tell you that. Call or text 508-789-2497.
This is general information from people who buy houses, not legal or financial advice. Probate, taxes, and estates get complicated, so talk to a Massachusetts attorney and a tax professional about your specific situation.
You can get an offer and sign an agreement once the personal representative has authority from the court, which under informal probate usually happens within a few weeks of filing. The closing happens once the paperwork is in order.
Not if you sell to a cash buyer. Take what you want and leave the rest. If you list it with an agent, yes, it will need to be emptied and cleaned for showings.
Everyone with an ownership interest has to sign off on a sale. Getting a written cash offer early gives everyone a real number to talk about instead of guessing, which tends to move things along.