What you should know
First, who can actually sign?
This is the question that stalls most inherited sales, and it's worth settling before you talk price with anyone. If there's a will, it usually names an executor, and once Dallas County's probate court issues letters testamentary, that person can sign. If there's no will, Texas law decides who the heirs are, and the family typically records an Affidavit of Heirship in the county deed records — two people who knew the deceased but don't inherit swear to the family tree — after which the heirs sign together.
If the Dallas Central Appraisal District still lists the owner as "EST OF" or "HEIRS OF" someone, that's the sign nothing has been filed yet. It isn't a problem; it's just the next step. We can introduce you to Dallas probate attorneys who handle straightforward estates for a flat fee, and we'll wait while it's done.
When there's more than one of you
Every heir signs, or the sale doesn't happen — Texas doesn't let three of four siblings sell the fourth one's share. In practice the hard part isn't the signing, it's the logistics: one heir in Houston, one in Oregon, one who's been living in the house rent-free and isn't sure they want to leave.
We've closed with heirs signing in three states on the same day with a mobile notary at each of them. For the sibling living in the house, we can write in a move-out window after closing so nobody is being pushed out the week the deal signs. And if one heir wants to keep the property, we'll price a buyout so the others can be paid from the sale and that person keeps the house — as long as everyone agrees.
The house full of things
You don't have to empty it. Walk through, take the photographs, the papers, the ring, the recipe box — whatever the family wants. Leave the furniture, the garage, the attic. Our cleanout crews go through everything after closing, and anything that looks like a document, a photo, or jewelry gets set aside and returned to you. We've mailed families things they didn't know were in the house.
Money questions people are embarrassed to ask
Do we owe tax on the sale? Usually little or none. Inherited property gets a stepped-up basis to its value at the date of death, so if you sell for roughly what it was worth then, there's no gain to tax. Confirm with a CPA, but it's almost always good news.
What about the mortgage? It gets paid at closing from the sale price, through the title company. Same for a reverse mortgage, which often has a deadline to sell or refinance — one more reason not to let the house sit.
What about the property taxes? The homestead exemption ended with the owner, so next year's bill will be higher. Selling before that bill lands is one of the quieter reasons families move quickly.
