Selling a house before probate
Updated 20 August 2026 · 5 minute read
The house is often the estate's biggest asset and biggest cost — rates, insurance, a garden going feral. Executors constantly ask: can we start selling before the grant arrives? Mostly yes. Can we finish? No.
What you can do at each stage
Before the grant: prepare and market
Cleaning, repairs, styling, appraisals, listing, opens — all fine. The executor named in the will has authority from death; the grant just proves it.
Before the grant: exchange contracts — carefully
Possible in most states with a special condition making completion conditional on the grant issuing. Competent agents and conveyancers know the clause; without it, delays put the deposit and the deal at risk.
Only after the grant: settle
No titles office will register a transfer from a deceased sole owner without probate or administration. Settlement dates must respect the registry's timeline, not the agent's optimism.
Check current grant times for your state and add the transmission step before agreeing a settlement date. A blown settlement can cost the estate penalty interest or the sale itself.
Before you list at all
- Confirm how the title is held — a joint tenancy bypasses all of this via survivorship
- Check the will: is the house specifically gifted to someone? A beneficiary entitled to the house itself must agree before you sell it
- Insurance: tell the insurer the property is unoccupied — unoccupancy voids cover under many policies after 60 days
- Watch the CGT two-year clock for the main residence exemption — details here
- In no-will estates, a surviving partner may have a right to elect to take the home — don't list before checking
Property sale driving the timeline?
Fixed-fee firms quote grant + transmission + conveyance as one package and keep all three clocks aligned.
Get fixed-fee probate quotesCan we accept an offer before probate?
Yes — acceptance and exchange with the probate condition are routine. Sophisticated buyers in deceased-estate markets expect it.
Who signs the contract?
The executor(s), described as executor of the estate. After transmission, the title shows them as legal personal representative.
Can family live in it until it sells?
The executor can allow it — document the arrangement and any rent, because occupants who are also beneficiaries create fertile dispute ground.
Sources
- State land registries — transmission before transfer
- REI standard conditions — sales subject to grant