Selling an inherited house in Richmond, VA

First question: does this house even need probate?

Some inherited houses skip probate entirely. Before you do anything else, find out how your parent or relative held title — the deed is on file with the Circuit Court clerk in the city or county where the house sits, and a settlement agent or attorney can pull it in minutes.

No probate needed for the house if:

• It was held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety with a surviving spouse. The survivor already owns it outright and can sell immediately with a copy of the death certificate.
• There is a transfer-on-death deed under Virginia's Real Property Transfer on Death Act naming a beneficiary. The named person owns it at death and can sell after recording the death certificate and an affidavit.
• The house was held in a revocable living trust. The successor trustee sells under the trust's terms, no court involved.

Probate is needed if the house was in the deceased's name alone (or as tenants in common with someone else) and none of the above apply. That's the majority of the inherited houses we buy in Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, and Chesterfield. It's a process, not a crisis, and our probate house sale page walks through it step by step.

Who can sign the deed

This is the part that trips up families, because Virginia handles real estate differently from bank accounts and cars.

In Virginia, real estate vests in the heirs or devisees immediately at death, subject to the estate's administration. The executor doesn't automatically control the house the way they control the bank account. What that means in practice:

• If there's a will with a power of sale, the executor can sign the deed once they've qualified with the Circuit Court clerk and hold a certificate of qualification. Most attorney-drafted wills include this power. This is the simplest path.
• If there's a will without a power of sale, the people the will leaves the house to (the devisees) sign — all of them.
• If there's no will, Virginia's intestacy rules (Code § 64.2-200) decide who inherits — typically the surviving spouse, or the children in equal shares if there's no spouse — and every one of those heirs signs. An administrator still needs to qualify to handle the estate's debts, but the heirs are the ones who convey the house.

We'll figure out which situation you're in from the will and the deed, and our settlement agent confirms it before anyone signs anything.

The Virginia timeline, realistically

• Days to a couple of weeks after death: the executor or administrator qualifies at the Circuit Court clerk's probate office — Richmond's at the John Marshall Courts Building, Henrico's on Parham Road, Hanover's at the county complex, Chesterfield's on Iron Bridge Road. They receive letters (a certificate of qualification) and, if required, post a bond.
• Within 30 days of qualifying: the fiduciary files a list of heirs and sends notice to the beneficiaries.
• Within four months: an inventory of the estate's assets goes to the Commissioner of Accounts.
• The house can be sold at any point once the right people can sign. Many families sell the house within a couple of months of the death because the family wants the carrying costs to stop.
• Within about 16 months: the first accounting is due, and the estate winds down after debts and taxes are paid.

One wrinkle to know about: Virginia law allows creditors of the estate to reach real estate sold by the heirs within a year of the death if the estate can't otherwise pay its debts. Title insurers handle this in a few standard ways — an executor's involvement, an indemnity, or holding a small reserve — and it rarely delays a closing. It's a routine step for the settlement agent.

Taxes on an inherited house in Virginia

The tax picture is usually better than families fear:

• No Virginia inheritance tax, no Virginia estate tax. Neither exists.
• Federal estate tax applies only to estates well above $13 million. It won't apply to a house.
• Capital gains are calculated from a stepped-up basis: the house's value on the date of death, not what your parents paid in 1978. Sell for near that value and there's little or no gain. Hold it as a rental for years first and the gain accrues from the date-of-death value.
• Virginia probate tax is small — $0.10 per $100 of the estate's value at the state level, and localities may add up to a third of that.
• Property taxes keep accruing while the house sits. Richmond's rate is $1.20 per $100 of assessed value; the counties are lower. Unpaid taxes are simply settled from the proceeds at closing.

Talk to a CPA about your specific situation, but "we'll owe a fortune in taxes" is almost never true for an inherited Richmond house.

Practical problems we solve

Inherited houses come with a particular set of headaches, and we plan for them:

• The house is full. Fifty years of belongings. We buy it as-is with the contents; you take what matters and we handle the rest after closing.
• Nobody lives nearby. We can do video walkthroughs and lockbox visits, we coordinate with the settlement agent for remote signing with a mobile notary in your state, and you never have to fly in.
• It hasn't been updated since the 1970s. Original kitchen, original furnace, roof at the end of its life, maybe some knob-and-tube. None of it matters to us; it just goes into the repair estimate. See selling as-is.
• It's been empty for a while. Vacant houses have insurance problems (most homeowner policies stop covering a house that's been empty 30–60 days), frozen pipes, and code complaints. Selling quickly stops the bleeding.
• There's a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or liens. All paid at closing from the proceeds. Reverse mortgages have a timeline; tell us early.
• The heirs disagree. A specific written offer with a specific proposed split often resolves what months of family phone calls couldn't.

How selling to Blue Sky works

You tell us about the house or call (804) 331-8443. We'll ask about the will, who's qualified, and where things stand — no legal knowledge required on your end. We look at the house (in person or by video), and we call you with a written cash offer and a plain explanation of the reasoning. If it works, our Virginia settlement agent confirms who signs, orders the title work, and coordinates with your attorney if you have one. You pick the closing date to match the estate's schedule. At settlement the mortgage and any liens are paid, and the proceeds go to the estate or the heirs as the paperwork directs.

No commission, no repairs, no cleanout, and no obligation for the offer. If the house is in good shape and the family has time, we'll tell you a listing may net more — and mean it.

For a deeper walkthrough of the process, read our complete Richmond probate guide.