You are probably dealing with this for the first time. The house belonged to someone you just lost. Now there is a court process between you and the sale, and you need to know whether you have the authority to act, how long it takes, and what happens if another heir objects.
TL;DR
In Tennessee, an executor can sell a house during probate if the will grants that authority — no court auction required. Without that language, you need court approval before closing. Cash offers close on the date you pick, with no financing contingency that expires while you wait for court dates. We can make an offer within 24 hours and close in 7 to 14 days. If the estate has time, no debts, and the house is in good condition, a conventional listing will net more money — we say so below, directly.
Does the executor have authority to sell the house?
It depends on what the will says.
Tennessee Code Annotated § 30-2-601 allows an executor to sell real property when the will expressly grants that authority. If your will includes that language — and most wills drafted by an attorney do — you can proceed under your Letters Testamentary without going back to the probate court to ask permission. You do not need a court auction. You do not need all heirs to co-sign the listing agreement.
If the will does not include that authority, or if there is no will at all, you need a separate court order to sell. That means filing a petition, waiting for a hearing, and following whatever the judge approves. The sale price must meet a court-set minimum, and notice has to be published — so other parties have a window to make competing bids. This adds months.
Does every heir have to agree?
Not automatically — but it depends on how the will structured the estate.
If the will names you as executor with authority to sell, you can move forward. The other beneficiaries receive notice and can object, but an objection alone does not block the sale in Tennessee. The court weighs whether the proposed sale serves the estate’s interests.
Where things genuinely stall: intestate estates (no will), or houses that passed to multiple heirs in equal shares. If three siblings each inherited a third of the property, all three must agree to sell. One who refuses can hold the process for months or years. A partition lawsuit — asking the court to force the sale — is the legal remedy, but it is expensive, slow, and hard on the family dynamics around an already difficult situation.
If that is where you are, a concrete cash offer can sometimes move a reluctant heir in a way that abstract negotiation cannot. It gives everyone a real number to react to.
How long does Tennessee probate take before you can close?
In most cases, six to nine months.
Tennessee has two administration tracks: supervised and unsupervised. Unsupervised is more common and faster. After the estate opens, there is a mandatory four-month creditor claim period, starting from the date of the first publication of notice. Straightforward estates with a clear will and no disputes typically close within six to nine months of the death. Contested estates run longer.
You can list the house and accept an offer during that window. Closing is typically set once the court confirms your authority to transfer title — but the date is flexible. A cash buyer with no financing contingency can close whenever the probate process allows.
The problem with traditional buyers: a mortgage approval has a 60- or 90-day expiration window. It cannot wait for a probate court schedule. Lenders requalify when closing slips. That is one of the most common ways probate property sales fall apart — the buyer’s financing expires before the court catches up.
Florida is different. Florida probate is a judicial process and typically runs nine to eighteen months, sometimes longer for contested estates. A seller who cannot carry the property that long — paying taxes, insurance, and utilities on a house generating no income — is often better served by a cash offer than by a conventional listing.
What a cash offer actually changes in a probate sale
Two things collapse probate sales more than anything else: financing and condition.
Financing: cash buyers do not have mortgage approvals to expire. We close when the estate is ready — whatever date works. No lender requalification, no rate-lock clock, no “we need to close by Friday or the loan dies.”
Condition: probate properties are often deferred-maintenance houses. The person who owned it may have been elderly, ill, or simply could not keep up with repairs. Estates generally cannot fund pre-sale repairs — the money is tied up. Traditional buyers negotiate repairs at inspection or walk. We buy as-is. A roof that needs replacing, foundation issues, decades of deferred maintenance — we buy it that way, and you pay nothing out of the estate to prepare it.
If the house has fire or water damage as part of the picture, the same dynamic applies — see how we handle fire-damaged properties for specifics on buying in that condition.
For properties that have been sitting in an estate and accumulating carrying costs — property taxes, insurance, utilities — our guide on as-is sales covers what the math actually looks like when you net out monthly expenses against a lower offer price.
When you should not sell to us
If the estate has no financial pressure, the house is in good condition, and you have the time to run a standard listing, you will net more money with an agent.
An agent sale in a healthy market will almost always produce a higher gross number than a cash offer. Our offer is below open-market value — that is the trade-off for speed and certainty. The agent’s commission comes out of that higher gross (typically 5 to 6 percent), but the starting number is high enough that the agent route wins in the math when:
- The house is in solid condition
- The estate has no debts accruing interest or fees during a listing
- There is no urgency among the heirs for their distributions
- The property can pass a standard buyer inspection without major repairs
Those conditions do not always exist. When they do, use an agent.
Straight answers
Can you sell during probate, or only after it closes?
You can accept an offer and prepare to close during probate. In Tennessee, you cannot transfer title until you have the authority — Letters Testamentary if the will grants it, or a court order if it does not. Cash buyers close on the date you specify; there is no financing contingency counting down in the background.
Does the house have to go through probate at all?
Not always. Property held jointly with right of survivorship passes directly to the surviving owner, outside probate. Property held in a living trust also avoids probate. If neither of those structures applies, probate is the path.
The house still has a mortgage — what happens to it?
The mortgage stays with the property, not the person. The estate is responsible for payments during probate. If the estate cannot carry those payments, a quick sale becomes urgent — a cash buyer closes in 7 to 14 days, which stops the carrying costs before the lender loses patience.
If you have inherited a property and are still working out the basics of what comes next, our guide for heirs who did not expect to own the house covers probate options and what to realistically expect from the process.
Cash offer vs. listing: the honest comparison
| Cash offer | Agent listing | |
|---|---|---|
| Offer timeline | 24 hours | Days to weeks on market |
| Closing timeline | 7–14 days, date you pick | 30–60 days after a buyer is found |
| Financing risk | None — cash | Buyer’s mortgage can fall through |
| Repairs required | None — bought as-is | Negotiated at inspection |
| Commission | None | Typically 5–6% of sale price |
| Net proceeds | Lower gross | Higher gross (if house is in good shape) |
For Nashville and Tennessee estates, call us at (615) 780-7349 or submit the address on this site. We give you a number within 24 hours. We buy in Nashville and across Tennessee, and we buy in Florida, Texas, Minnesota, and the rest of the country.
If you want to know what the open market would pay before making any decision, talk to a local agent first. That is the right call for estates where it applies.