Inherited a house in the Florida Keys? We buy probate and inherited houses as-is — before the estate is opened or while the case is underway — and we work alongside the estate’s attorney. No repairs, no clean-out. Hablamos español.
Yes — you can sell an inherited house in the Florida Keys, and you can start before probate is even opened. Prop Hunters is a cash home buyer based in Miami Lakes: we talk with the heirs early, put a written as-is offer on the table, and close through a title company once someone has legal authority to sell, coordinating with the estate’s attorney. Call or text 305-812-9445 — hablamos español.
Call, text or use the form. Tell us who passed, where the house is, whether probate has been opened and who the heirs are. One heir can start the conversation. No cost and no obligation.
We look at the house and the Monroe County public records, then send a written as-is offer that the family and the estate’s attorney can read before anyone signs.
A title company handles the closing. We work with the estate’s probate attorney on timing — after the personal representative has authority, and after court approval of the sale if it is required.
Most buyers wait until a personal representative is appointed. We don’t have to. We are glad to talk with heirs before probate is opened — while the family is still figuring out who does what — and explain the options in plain language: keep, rent, list with an agent or sell as-is. If the family decides to sell to us, we can sign an agreement the attorney is comfortable with that closes once someone has authority. We also buy during probate, at whatever stage the case is in.
Inherited houses are rarely simple, and that is the kind of house we buy:
Every call and every document walkthrough can be in Spanish. We buy single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and lots. We don’t buy condos.
Probate for Monroe County properties is handled in the 16th Judicial Circuit, the circuit for the Florida Keys. The circuit holds court in three places: the Freeman Justice Center, 302 Fleming Street, Key West; the Marathon Courthouse, 3117 Overseas Highway, Marathon; and the Plantation Key Government Center, 88770 Overseas Highway, Tavernier. The Clerk’s probate office is at 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, with branch offices in Marathon and Plantation Key.
The estate is opened in the county where the person lived. Some Keys houses belonged to owners who lived somewhere else and used the house part of the year; in that case your attorney may need a separate Florida proceeding for the Keys house in addition to the case in the owner’s home state.
Before you call anyone, look the house up on the Monroe County Property Appraiser site. The record shows the parcel number, the owner of record and whether a homestead exemption was on the property — a useful clue (not a legal answer) to whether Florida’s homestead rules may apply. If there are several owners on the deed, that matters too.
The Keys work differently from the mainland. Much of Monroe County is in FEMA flood zones, flood and windstorm insurance are expensive, and new homes are limited by building-permit allocation systems such as ROGO. That makes the details of an inherited Keys house matter a lot: whether downstairs enclosures were permitted, whether the house is ground-level and would need elevating in a major renovation, the condition of the seawall and dock, and whether units are lawfully established. We look at those before we price it — see our Monroe County / Keys page for more.
Florida has two main kinds of probate. In formal administration, the court appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration, and that person manages the estate, including any sale of the house. Summary administration is a shorter process with no personal representative: the court enters an order that distributes the assets. It is available when the will doesn’t require formal administration and either the Florida estate subject to administration, not counting property exempt from creditors, is worth no more than $150,000, or the person died more than two years ago (Fla. Stat. § 735.201). That limit was raised from $75,000 by a 2026 law effective July 1, 2026, so older articles may show the old number.
In formal administration, the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors. Most claims must be filed within 3 months after the first publication of that notice (or 30 days after a creditor who had to be served is served, if later) (Fla. Stat. § 733.702). That deadline does not stop a lender from enforcing a mortgage or other lien on the house.
If the will gives the personal representative a power to sell real estate, the personal representative can usually sell without asking the court. If there is no will, or the will gives no usable power of sale, the personal representative can still sell, but title doesn’t pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale (Fla. Stat. § 733.613). A person named in the will has no authority until the court appoints them.
If the house was the owner’s Florida homestead, special rules apply, and this is where families most often need a probate attorney. If the owner left a spouse or a minor child, the homestead generally can’t be left to someone else by will (it can go to the spouse if there is no minor child) (Fla. Stat. § 732.4015). When it isn’t validly left by will, it passes by law: for example, if the owner left a spouse and descendants, the spouse receives a life estate and the descendants the remainder — or the spouse can elect, within 6 months of the death, to take a one-half interest instead (Fla. Stat. § 732.401). Homestead is often handled through a separate court determination, and who has to sign the deed can be different from an ordinary estate sale. Please talk to a Florida probate attorney before anyone signs a contract on a homestead house.
It is common for heirs to disagree about selling, or for one heir to be living in the house. A personal representative with authority may be able to sell even if not every heir is happy, depending on the will and the court. Once heirs own the house together as co-owners, any co-owner can ask the court to divide or sell it in a partition action under Florida’s partition law, which also includes the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act — with extra protections, such as a chance for the other co-owners to buy out the one who asked for a sale (Fla. Stat. ch. 64). Partition is slow and expensive; a written offer everyone can look at often settles the question sooner.
It varies with the estate, the court’s calendar and whether anyone disagrees; often several months or more. The Florida Bar notes that even a simple estate has to stay open at least through the 3-month creditor period and that a simple estate can reasonably be expected to take about five or six months (The Florida Bar — Consumer pamphlet: Probate in Florida). Your attorney can give you a better estimate for your case in Monroe County (Florida Keys).
You can start. Heirs can get an offer, agree on terms and plan the sale before the case is filed. Closing, though, needs someone with legal authority — usually a personal representative appointed by the probate court in the 16th Judicial Circuit — unless the house passed outside probate, for example through a trust, a life estate (“Lady Bird”) deed or joint ownership with right of survivorship. Your attorney decides when a contract can be signed.
Yes. Once the court issues letters of administration, the personal representative can sell. If the will gives a power of sale, court approval usually isn’t needed; if not, the court has to authorize or confirm the sale before title passes (Fla. Stat. § 733.613). We schedule the closing around that, and a title company handles it.
That happens a lot. We put our offer in writing so every heir can review it with the attorney, and we don’t take sides. Depending on the will and the court, a personal representative may be able to sell without every heir agreeing. If heirs end up owning the house together, any co-owner can ask the court for a partition under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes — usually the slowest and most expensive route.
Yes. A reverse mortgage usually becomes due after the last borrower dies, and the loan servicer will send letters with deadlines. The payoff comes out of the sale proceeds at closing. Contact the servicer early, tell them the estate plans to sell, and send us the letters so we can plan the closing around their timeline.
Not necessarily. Florida foreclosures go through the court, and the probate creditor deadline doesn’t stop a lender from enforcing its mortgage. A sale that pays off the loan before the foreclosure sale date may still be possible. Talk to the estate’s attorney right away and send us the case number so we can look at the timeline. We can’t promise a result.
Florida protects homestead in special ways. If the owner left a spouse or minor child, the homestead generally can’t be left to someone else by will, and when it passes by law a spouse may receive a life estate or a one-half share (Fla. Stat. §§ 732.4015 and 732.401). Homestead is often decided in a separate court step. Ask a probate attorney who needs to sign before you sign anything.
It’s very common. Documents can usually be signed remotely, and the title company arranges the notarization. If the owner lived outside Florida but owned the house here, your attorney may need a separate Florida proceeding for the house. We can talk with family members in English or Spanish.
No. Take what you want to keep and leave the rest — furniture, clothes, paperwork, the garage full of tools. We buy the house as-is, contents included, and we don’t ask for repairs.
Prop Hunters is a home buyer, not a law firm, and this page is general information, not legal advice. Probate, homestead and title questions depend on your family’s facts — talk to a Florida probate attorney before you sign anything. Court addresses and procedures change; confirm them on the official sites above. Last checked October 2026.