You inherited a house. Now what?
You're the executor. You probably live somewhere else, your siblings each have an opinion, and the house is full of forty years of somebody's life. Somewhere in the middle of all that, you're supposed to figure out what it's worth and what to do with it. So here's the short version: you have more time and more options than anyone's telling you, and the house almost never has to be perfect to sell well. What it needs is an honest number on as-is versus cleaned out, and someone to carry the parts you can't do from three states away. I'm sorry you're dealing with this at all. Here's how it actually works.
What actually makes this hard.
You're doing this from somewhere else
Most executors I work with don't live here. You can't take four trips to meet a cleanout crew, a lawn guy, and a contractor. So I do it. I walk the house and send you video, line up the vendors, handle the keys and the showings, and keep it moving while you get on with your life.
Nobody agrees on the number
One sibling read a Zestimate. One heard what the neighbor got. One thinks it needs a new kitchen. I put a real number on it, built on live comps for that street, with the condition honestly priced in. One page, in writing, so the family is arguing about nothing instead of arguing about numbers.
The house needs something, and nobody knows what
Forty years of a life inside, dated everything, and a list of maybes. I come from three generations of German carpenters, so I walk it the way my grandfather would and tell you what actually returns money, what's a waste, and when as-is is genuinely the smarter play. That read is free, and it usually saves the estate more than it makes me.
As-is, or cleaned out? Run the total.
This is the decision the whole thing turns on, and most executors get talked into an answer before anyone prices it. So price it. What does the house bring as-is, today, with the contents still in it? What does it bring cleaned out and lightly prepped? And what does the gap look like after you subtract the cleanout, the work, and the extra months?
Sometimes prepping nets the estate real money and it's worth every week. Sometimes it costs the estate money and buys nothing but delay, and the honest answer is sell it as-is and be done. I've got no stake in which one you pick. I just want the family looking at both numbers before anybody decides.
And every month the house sits, the estate is paying the taxes, the insurance, the utilities, and the lawn on a home nobody lives in. That's the quiet cost nobody puts on the whiteboard. It's the reason pricing it right the first time beats testing a number and finding out in week six. For scale: central Ohio homes averaged 29 days on market this May, with the median sale price at $350,000 and about two months of inventory available (Columbus REALTORS, May 2026). Buyers here are active, so a well-priced estate home moves. But they have enough choice now that they'll skip a house that's guessing, and an estate is the one seller that can least afford to find that out slowly.
Who carries all of it? I do.
The promise on an estate sale is the same one I make on every sale, and it matters more here: a fair number, you do almost nothing, and I tell you when it's finished. That means the cleanout crew, the estate-sale people, the cleaners, the lawn, the locks, the contractors, the photographer, the showings, and the closing. You're already carrying enough.
One line I'll always be straight about: I'm a REALTOR, not an attorney. Your probate attorney handles the estate's authority to sell and whatever the court needs. I handle the house. I'm used to working alongside a court timeline, and I won't rush you through one.
And if you don't have an attorney yet, say the word. I'll connect you with an excellent probate attorney. It costs you nothing, it's usually the call that turns this from a fog into a checklist, and you still get to pick your own agent. That last part matters more than it sounds.
What's the first step, and what does it cost?
Nothing. Send me the address and I'll get you three things in writing: what the house is worth as-is today, what it would bring cleaned out and lightly prepped, and the honest difference between them once the work and the waiting are subtracted. That's the number the family actually decides on, and right now nobody has it. If the answer is "do nothing for a few months," I'll tell you that. There's no version of this where I push you.
Prefer to just talk? Call or text 937-239-2919. Most executors I work with live out of state, phone works fine.
The questions executors actually ask.
Do I have to clean out an inherited house before selling it?
No. Plenty of estate homes sell as-is, and sometimes that's the right call. The real question is what the house brings as-is versus cleaned out and lightly prepped, and whether the difference is worth the work and the time. That's a math problem, not a rule, and it's the first thing I'll price out for you. Sometimes cleaning out nets the estate real money. Sometimes it just costs the estate money and months.
Can I sell an inherited house if I live out of state?
Yes, and most of the executors I work with do. You don't need to fly in repeatedly. I can be your eyes and hands on the ground: walk the house and send you video, coordinate the cleanout crew, cleaners, lawn, lock changes, and contractors, handle showings, and drive the deal to closing while you handle everything else from where you live.
How do I know what an inherited house is actually worth?
From live comparable sales for that specific street, not an automated estimate and not a sibling's guess. Estate homes are usually older and less updated than the comps around them, so the number has to account for real condition. I'll give you the as-is number and the prepped number in writing, so everyone involved is looking at the same page instead of three different opinions.
Do I need a probate attorney to sell the house?
For the court side, yes, and if you don't have one I'll connect you with an excellent probate attorney. That introduction costs you nothing and it's usually the call that turns this from a fog into a checklist. I'm a REALTOR, not an attorney. Your attorney handles the estate's legal authority to sell and whatever the court requires. I handle the house: the value, the prep decisions, the marketing, and the sale. The two jobs run alongside each other, and I'm used to working around a court timeline.