Selling an Inherited House in Richmond: Your Complete Probate Guide

You can sell an inherited house in Richmond, Virginia as soon as the person with authority — the executor under a power of sale, or the heirs themselves — can sign the deed, and that is often within the first month or two after the death, long before probate closes. This guide walks through the whole process: whether probate is even required, how to qualify as executor or administrator, who can sign, the Virginia timeline and the executor's responsibilities along the way, the tax picture, and how to sell the house as-is without emptying or repairing it.

Step 1: Find out how the house was titled

Everything depends on the deed. It's recorded at the Circuit Court clerk's office for the city or county where the house sits (Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, or Chesterfield), and a settlement agent or attorney can pull it in minutes.

• Joint tenants with right of survivorship, or tenants by the entirety (married couples): the survivor owns the house automatically. No probate needed for the house — record a death certificate and sell.
• Transfer-on-death deed under Virginia's Real Property Transfer on Death Act: the named beneficiary owns the house at death. Record the death certificate and an affidavit, then sell.
• Revocable living trust: the successor trustee sells under the trust's terms. No court.
• The deceased's name alone, or tenants in common: probate is needed. This is most inherited houses.

Step 2: Qualify as executor or administrator

Probate in Virginia is administered by the Circuit Court clerk, not a judge, and it starts with an appointment at the probate office:

• Richmond: John Marshall Courts Building, 400 N. 9th Street
• Henrico: Henrico County Courts Building, 4309 E. Parham Road
• Hanover: Hanover Courthouse complex, 7530 County Complex Road
• Chesterfield: Chesterfield Circuit Court, 9500 Courthouse Road

Bring the original will (if there is one), a certified death certificate, a rough estimate of the estate's value, and identification. If there's a will, the named executor is appointed; if not, a family member qualifies as administrator, generally in the order of priority Virginia law sets out (spouse, then other heirs). You'll receive a certificate of qualification — the document banks, title companies, and buyers will want to see — and may need to post a surety bond unless the will waives it. Non-residents usually need a bond and a Virginia resident agent.

You'll pay Virginia's probate tax at qualification: $0.10 per $100 of the probate estate's value, plus up to a third of that for the locality.

Step 3: Determine who can sign the deed

This is the step that surprises families. In Virginia, real estate vests in the heirs or devisees at the moment of death — not in the estate. The executor controls the bank accounts; the house belongs to whoever inherits it, subject to the estate's debts.

The will says…	Who signs the deed
Executor has a power of sale	The executor, once qualified
House goes to named people, no power of sale	All of those devisees
There is no will	All heirs under Va. Code § 64.2-200 (spouse; or children equally if no spouse; and so on)

Most attorney-drafted wills include a power of sale. Form wills and handwritten wills often don't. If multiple heirs must sign, every one of them signs — a holdout means negotiating or, as a last resort, a partition suit in the Circuit Court.

Step 4: The executor's responsibilities while the house is for sale

Being executor is a real job with real deadlines, all supervised by the Commissioner of Accounts for your Circuit Court:

• Within 30 days of qualifying: file the list of heirs; send written notice of probate to heirs and beneficiaries.
• Immediately: keep the house insured (call the insurer — most policies stop covering a house vacant for 30–60 days, and a vacant-property policy may be needed), keep the utilities on to prevent frozen pipes and mold, keep the grass cut to avoid city and county code complaints, and keep paying the mortgage if there is one.
• Within 4 months: file the inventory, listing the house at its date-of-death value (a broker's opinion or appraisal works).
• Ongoing: collect the estate's assets, pay valid debts in the statutory order, file the final income tax returns.
• Within 16 months: file the first accounting, which will show the house sale.
• Close the estate after the final accounting is approved — usually 12–18 months for a simple estate.

The house does not have to wait for any of this. Selling it early usually helps — it stops the carrying costs, turns an illiquid asset into cash for paying debts and distributing, and removes the executor's biggest maintenance headache.

Step 5: Decide how to sell

You have the same three choices any seller has, with a probate twist on each:

List with an agent. Best when the house is in good shape and the heirs aren't in a hurry. Expect to clear out the contents first, handle repairs the buyer's inspection turns up, and carry the house two to four months. The executor should document the listing price and any price reductions for the accounting.

Sell to a cash buyer. Best when the house needs work, the family is out of town, the contents are overwhelming, or the carrying costs are eating the estate. No repairs, no cleanout, no showings, closing within weeks or on the estate's schedule. A written offer with a plain explanation of the reasoning gives the executor a defensible record of fair value. Details on our inherited house and probate pages.

Have an heir buy it. Common when one sibling wants to keep the family home. The others are paid their share at an agreed value, often using a lender's refinance.

Step 6: The one-year creditor rule (and why it's not a problem)

Virginia law gives the estate's creditors a way to reach real estate that heirs sell within one year of the death, if the estate's other assets can't cover the debts. Title insurers manage this every day with standard tools: the qualified executor joining in the deed, an indemnity from the heirs, or a small holdback until the year passes. A good settlement agent will raise it early and pick the tool that fits. It should never be a reason to leave a house empty for a year.

Step 7: Closing

The settlement agent runs a title search, confirms the will and qualification paperwork, orders the payoff on any mortgage (a regular mortgage is simply paid from proceeds; a reverse mortgage becomes due after death but the servicer typically allows six months plus extensions to sell), and prepares the deed with the right signers. Out-of-state heirs sign with a mobile notary wherever they live. The deed records with the Circuit Court clerk, and the proceeds go to the estate account or directly to the heirs as the paperwork directs.

Taxes on the sale

• No Virginia inheritance or estate tax.
• Federal estate tax applies only to estates above roughly $13 million.
• Capital gains: the house's basis is stepped up to its fair market value on the date of death. Sell near that value and there's little or no gain. Hold it as a rental for years and gains accrue from the date-of-death value forward.
• Property taxes keep running until the sale and are prorated at closing.

Have a CPA confirm the specifics, but for most Richmond families the sale of an inherited house is close to tax-free.

What this looks like in practice

A typical sequence for a Richmond-area family: a parent passes; the executor qualifies at the clerk's office within a couple of weeks and calls the insurer; the house is full of decades of belongings and needs real work; the siblings agree they don't want to spend a summer clearing it out or fund a renovation. They get a cash offer with a plain explanation of the reasoning, share it with the family and the estate's attorney, and accept. Title work takes a week or two; the settlement agent has the executor sign under the power of sale and handles the one-year creditor rule with an executor's indemnity. Closing happens within weeks of the decision, with the family keeping what matters and leaving the rest. The proceeds go to the estate account, and the executor's inventory and accounting show a clean, documented sale.

Where to start

If you've inherited a house in Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, or Chesterfield and you're not sure what to do first, call or text us at (804) 331-8443. We'll ask a few questions about the will and where probate stands — you don't need to know the answers yet — and we'll tell you honestly whether a cash sale, a listing, or simply waiting makes the most sense. There's no charge and no obligation for the conversation or the offer.