No repairs. No cleanout. No commissions. We buy inherited and probate properties across Central Virginia.
If you have inherited a house in Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield or anywhere in Central Virginia, you are probably being told you have to wait for probate to finish before you can do anything with it. In Virginia, that is usually not true.
In Virginia, the house is already yours
Virginia treats real estate differently from everything else in an estate. Bank accounts, cars and personal belongings pass to the personal representative, who distributes them. Real estate passes directly to the heirs or the people named in the will at the moment of death. Title does not sit and wait for the estate to be settled.
That means you may be able to sell the house months before the estate is closed. Most people are surprised by this, and a lot of families sit on an empty house paying taxes, insurance and utilities because nobody told them.
There are real conditions attached, and they matter:
- If there was a will, it still needs to be filed with the Circuit Court in the city or county where the person lived, so a title company can trace ownership.
- If there was no will, a List of Heirs gets filed with the same court to establish who inherited.
- Every heir who inherited a share has to sign the deed. One holdout stops the sale.
- If the estate does not have enough cash to cover its debts, creditors can reach the real estate. That has to be sorted before or at closing.
What actually has to happen before you can close
The paperwork is lighter than most people expect. Qualifying as executor or administrator at the Circuit Court typically takes two to four weeks, and it is often a single appointment with the probate clerk. You will generally need the death certificate, the original will if there is one, and identification.
Full administration of an estate in Virginia commonly runs six to eighteen months. The sale of the house usually does not have to wait that long.
When probate genuinely does slow things down
- The will does not give the executor a power of sale, and the court needs to authorize it.
- The heirs disagree about whether to sell, or one cannot be located.
- The estate owes more than its personal property can cover.
- There is a dispute over the will itself.
If any of those apply to you, tell us early. We work around them regularly and we would rather know up front than find out at the closing table.
The tax picture is usually better than people fear
Virginia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Federally, inherited property gets a stepped-up basis, meaning the cost basis resets to the market value on the date of death. If you sell close to that date, the taxable gain is often very small or nothing at all.
That is general information, not tax advice. Talk to a CPA about your own situation before you make a decision based on it.
Your three options, honestly compared
| Sell to James River Homes | List with an agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | You pick the date, as fast as 7 days | Typically 60 to 90 days once listed |
| Repairs | None. We buy as-is | Usually required before listing |
| Cleanout | Leave whatever you do not want | House must be emptied and staged |
| Commissions | $0 | 5 to 6 percent of the sale price |
| Showings | None | Ongoing, often on short notice |
| Certainty | Cash, no financing to fall through | Buyer financing can collapse late |
Listing with an agent will usually get you a higher headline number. If the house is in good shape, you live nearby, and you are not in a hurry, that is often the right move and we will tell you so. The trade is time, repair money and hassle.
Why families call us for inherited houses
Probate and estate property is a large part of what we do. These are not unusual transactions for us, and we are used to working alongside executors, attorneys and title companies to keep a sale moving.
- You can be out of state. A lot of the heirs we work with have not lived in Virginia for years. Everything can be handled remotely.
- Leave the contents. Furniture, boxes in the attic, a garage nobody has opened since 1990. Take what matters to you and leave the rest.
- No repairs and no cleaning. We have bought houses with roof damage, hoarding situations and decades of deferred maintenance.
- We will wait on the court. If you still need to qualify or record a List of Heirs, we can hold the offer and close when the paperwork is ready.
Get a cash offer on the property
Tell us the address and a little about the situation. There is no obligation and no pressure, and if selling to us is not your best option we will say that.
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This page is general information about Virginia law and is not legal or tax advice. James River Homes is a real estate investment company, not a law firm or a licensed real estate brokerage. For advice about your specific estate, speak with a Virginia attorney or CPA.
Areas we serve
We buy inherited and probate property across Central Virginia, including Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Midlothian, Mechanicsville, Chester, Glen Allen, Hanover, Ashland, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Powhatan, Goochland and Prince George.
