Sell Your Probate House Fast for Cash — No Repairs, No Cleanout, No Waiting on the Market
We buy houses in probate across Northern Illinois as-is, on the estate’s timeline
Probate already takes months. The house doesn’t have to add to it. Get a written cash offer the executor can take to the attorney, skip the repairs and the showings, and close when the estate is ready — not when the market is.
Enter your address to get your cash offer
Sell a probate house in 3 simple steps
One written number for the estate file, one private walkthrough, one closing scheduled around the court — not the other way around.
Share the address and where probate stands
Call, text, or use the short form. Tell us whether letters of office have been issued yet and who the executor or administrator is. If you’re an heir and not the executor, that’s fine — we’ll explain what the executor will need.
We walk the house as it sits and put a number in writing
One visit, usually within a few days. Furniture, paperwork, a lifetime of belongings still inside — none of it changes the answer. You get a written offer the executor can hand to the attorney, usually within 24 hours of the walkthrough.
We wait for the court if the court needs to be waited for
Once the executor has authority to sell, we open title and set a closing date that fits the estate. Proceeds go to the estate account at closing; the attorney and title company handle distribution to heirs.
A probate house is a different kind of sale — and most buyers won’t wait for it
Financed buyers need appraisals and clean timelines. Agents need a house that shows well. A probate house usually has neither: it’s full, it’s dated, and the closing date depends on a court calendar. We built our process around exactly that.
- We work inside the probate process, not around it — We’ve closed on estate properties under independent administration and with court involvement. We coordinate directly with the estate’s attorney and never ask an executor to sign anything they don’t yet have authority to sign.
- Nothing has to be cleaned out first — Take the photos and the keepsakes. Leave the rest — furniture, appliances, paperwork, the garage. We buy the house with everything still in it.
- As-is means as-is — Deferred maintenance, a roof past its life, a basement that took on water, original 1970s everything. We price the house honestly for its condition and never come back with a repair list.
- A closing date the court can live with — If letters of office are weeks away, we wait. If the estate needs to close before a hearing or a tax deadline, we move. Cash means no lender clock.
- One number every heir can see — A written cash offer removes the “what is it really worth” argument between siblings. Everyone sees the same number, the same terms, and the same closing statement.
Questions executors and heirs ask about selling a probate house
Plain answers. Your probate attorney has the final word on the legal steps for your estate.
Where is the estate in the process?
We can help at any point. The earlier you get a number in writing, the fewer months the house sits costing the estate money.
A parent has passed and the house is sitting
Nobody has authority to sell yet, but the bills haven’t stopped. This is the time to get a written offer so the executor knows the house is handled before the first hearing.
- Offer in writing before letters of office
- We can secure and winterize a vacant house
- No commitment until the executor has authority
Letters of office issued, estate being administered
The executor can act. If the house is the estate’s biggest asset and the creditor window is running, a cash sale now converts it into funds the attorney can work with.
- We coordinate directly with the estate attorney
- No repairs, no cleanout, no showings
- Close in weeks, or hold for a hearing date
Probate is dragging, or the listing isn’t selling
The house has been on the market, or the family can’t agree, or the estate has been open a year and the heirs are done. One written cash number ends it.
- We buy houses agents couldn’t sell
- One number all heirs can see
- Closing scheduled around the estate, not the market
Cash buyer vs. listing the estate’s house vs. holding it
Executors have a duty to act reasonably for the estate. Here’s how the three paths usually compare on a probate house that needs work.
| Easy Exit (Cash Buyer) | List With an Agent | Hold the House | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to a closed sale | Weeks, or timed to the court | 3–6 months, plus prep time | Indefinite |
| Cleanout & repairs | None — we take it as it sits | Usually required to list | Deferred, and getting worse |
| Fees & commissions | $0 | 5–6% + closing costs | Taxes, insurance, utilities continue |
| Financing risk | None — cash | Appraisal and loan contingencies | N/A |
| Heirs need to agree on | One written number | List price, every offer, every repair request | Everything, indefinitely |
| Court timeline | We wait or move as the estate needs | Buyers rarely wait for a hearing | N/A |
| Best for | Estates that need it done, as-is | Updated house, patient heirs, no rush | Only if an heir plans to keep it |
A Huntley ranch inherited from a brother: a well-built 1965 home, never updated, with decades of cigarette smoke in every room. She got a written offer within days, made zero repairs, did zero cleanout, and closed on the date she chose.
A Lakemoor cottage inherited mid-renovation: gutted to the studs with foundation problems no lender would finance. We bought it from the family as-is within days, exactly as it stood.
Not sure probate even applies? If the house was in a trust or held jointly, the sale often doesn’t go through probate at all — see can you sell a house without probate in Illinois. If you’ve already inherited and title is in your name, start at selling an inherited house. If a parent is still living and moving to care, that’s a senior transition sale instead.
Further reading: How long does probate take in Illinois? · Can an executor sell a house in Illinois? · The probate house sale process, simplified · Taxes when you sell an inherited house · Estate cleanout: what to do with everything
We buy probate houses across Northern Illinois
We’re a family-owned business based in Crystal Lake, fifteen minutes from the McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock. We know the local probate attorneys and title companies because we close with them.
McHenry County
Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, Huntley, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Cary, Fox River Grove, Richmond, Marengo
Kane County
Elgin, South Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Aurora, North Aurora
Lake County
Barrington, Wauconda, Round Lake, Grayslake, Mundelein, Libertyville, Fox Lake, Antioch, Zion, Waukegan
Don’t see your city? We buy estate properties throughout Northern Illinois. If the house is within about an hour of Crystal Lake, we can likely help — and executors living out of state can handle the entire sale remotely.
Ready to take the house off the estate’s plate?
Get a no-obligation written cash offer the executor can bring to the attorney. No repairs, no cleanout, and a closing scheduled around the estate.