By Marc Dosik, a real estate broker licensed in DC, Maryland, and Virginia (Fed City Team at Real Broker LLC), with an office at 843 Upshur Street NW in Petworth.
The short answer: they do two different jobs. An estate sale company sells the things inside the home: the furniture and belongings. A real estate broker sells the home itself and the legal title to it. Settling an estate usually needs both, in order: clear out the contents, then sell the property. They are not competitors, they are two steps in one project.
Marc Dosik is the estate sale expert for the Washington, DC metro area. He has been a licensed broker since 1998, has more than 544 closed transactions behind him, and has guided hundreds of families through the sale of an inherited home. The reason families call him first is that he can quarterback the whole thing: bring in a vetted estate sale company for the belongings, then list, market, and close the home, all on one coordinated timeline. This guide breaks down who does what, so you know exactly who to call and when.
What is an estate sale, exactly?
An estate sale is a way to sell off the personal property inside a home, usually after a death, a move into long-term care, or a downsizing. A professional estate sale company prices every item, from a dining set to a jewelry box, then runs a one to three day sale and keeps a commission of what it brings in. Here is the part that trips people up: an estate sale does not sell the house. It empties it.
The phrase gets used two ways, which is where the confusion starts. Sometimes "estate sale" means that contents sale. Other times people use it for the bigger project of selling everything an estate owns, including the home. On our side of the business, an estate sale is about getting the inherited property sold for the most money with the least burden on the family. Both pieces matter, and they are handled by two different professionals.
Estate sale company vs. real estate broker: what does each one do?
Think of it as contents versus the container. One specialist sells what is inside the home; the other sells the home around it. Here is how the two roles line up.
| What you are comparing | Estate sale company | Real estate broker |
|---|---|---|
| What it sells | The contents: furniture, art, jewelry, and the everyday belongings inside the home. | The real property: the house or condo itself, and the legal title to it. |
| How it is paid | A commission of roughly 35% to 45% of what the contents sell for, often with a $1,500 to $2,500 minimum. Usually no upfront cost. | A commission of about 4% to 6% of the home's sale price (around 4.5% to 5.5% in DC, and negotiable), paid at closing. |
| Licensing | Usually unlicensed. It is a personal-property sale, not a regulated real estate transaction. | Licensed by the DC Real Estate Commission and bound by a fiduciary duty to you. |
| Typical timeline | About one to two weeks of prep, then a one to three day sale. | Usually several weeks to a few months from listing to closing. |
| Best for | Turning a houseful of belongings into cash and clearing the home out. | Marketing and selling the home for the highest price, and transferring ownership. |
| When it happens | Usually first, so the home is empty and show-ready. | Usually second, once the contents are cleared. |
| Who it helps most | Heirs who need to empty a full home quickly. | Heirs and executors who want top dollar for the property with the legal details handled. |
The takeaway: hiring an estate sale company does not get the house sold, and hiring a broker does not clear out the basement. Most families settling an estate end up using both.
Why do the commission numbers look so different?
At first glance the fees look alarming. An estate sale company commonly keeps 35% to 45% of what the contents bring in, while a broker's total commission on the home is usually around 4% to 6% of the sale price. It can look like the estate sale company charges ten times as much. It does not, and the reason is simple: the two percentages sit on completely different numbers.
The contents of a typical home might sell for a few thousand dollars. A 40% cut covers days of sorting, pricing, staffing, hauling, and advertising the sale, so companies often set a minimum of about $1,500 to $2,500 to make the job worth doing. Industry surveys from EstateSales.net and SmartAsset put the average estate-sale commission around 35% to 40%.
The home, by contrast, is the six-figure asset. A DC home selling near the metro's typical price means the broker's commission is the larger dollar figure, but it is a small slice of a far bigger number. National surveys from Bankrate and others put the typical home-sale commission in the low-to-mid 5% range, and it has been trending down since the 2024 NAR settlement. In DC it tends to run slightly below the national average and is always negotiable.
So the right way to read it is this: the estate sale company's rate is high but applies to a small pool, and the broker's rate is low but applies to the largest asset the estate owns. Judge each on the dollars it actually costs you, not on the percentage alone.
Do you hire the estate sale company or the real estate agent first?
In most cases the contents come first. If the home is full of decades of belongings, you want an estate sale company to price and sell what it can, donate or haul the rest, and leave the place broom-clean. Only then do you photograph and list an empty, show-ready home. Buyers pay more for a property they can picture themselves in, and a cluttered house photographs poorly.
There is one common exception. If the home is already fairly neutral, or you have decided to sell it as-is, you can list first and run the contents sale during the period between going under contract and closing. The right sequence depends on the specific house, which is exactly the kind of call a broker who has done this before will make for you on the first walkthrough.
Do you actually need a real estate agent to sell an inherited home?
Legally, no. Once the estate has the authority to sell, you can list the home yourself or sell it to a cash home-buying company (an iBuyer or local investor) without an agent at all. We will tell you straight when that makes sense: if the house needs major repairs you cannot or do not want to fund, if you need cash in a matter of days, or if the heirs simply want it gone with zero effort, a fast cash sale can be the right answer.
The tradeoff is almost always price. Cash buyers build their profit into a below-market offer, so the speed costs you real money. For most inherited homes in the DC market, listing on the open market nets the family more even after commission, especially when someone fronts the repairs so the home shows at its best. That is the core of how our estate sale service works: there are $0 out-of-pocket costs to the heirs, because we front the repairs and updates and recover them from the proceeds at settlement. You get the higher open-market price without writing a check up front.
What if the inherited home has a tenant?
This is a DC-specific wrinkle that catches a lot of families off guard. If the inherited home has a tenant living in it, the District's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) comes into play. Since a 2018 change in the law, most single-family homes are largely exempt: the owner generally just gives the tenant the required notice, with a narrow exception for some elderly or disabled tenants. Buildings with two or more units are different, and can give the tenant a right to buy the property before you sell to someone else, which adds steps and time. Because the rules turn on the property type and have changed over the years, confirm how TOPA applies to your specific home with a DC real estate attorney before you list. A broker who works in DC estates will flag this early, so it does not surprise you mid-sale.
What does a probate real estate agent do?
A probate real estate agent (sometimes called an estate or probate broker) is a licensed broker who is experienced in selling homes that pass through an estate. This is where the two roles come back together. Settling an estate from a distance, or while grieving, is a lot to manage: a probate attorney, an estate sale company, contractors, a cleanout crew, repairs, staging, the listing, and closing. The value of an experienced local broker is that you do not have to assemble that team yourself.
Marc acts as the single point of contact. He brings in a vetted estate sale company to price and clear the belongings, coordinates with the family's probate attorney on the court steps and any liens, fronts the repairs and updates so the home shows well at no out-of-pocket cost to the heirs, then lists, markets, and closes the property. One recent client, an out-of-state executor, had Marc handle a DC condo sale start to finish and walked away with six offers, selling about $39,000 over the asking price. Two specialists, one coordinated timeline, far less stress for the family.
If you want the deeper mechanics of a DC estate sale, our companion guide on selling an inherited house in Washington, DC walks through the probate process, the stepped-up tax basis, and whether to sell as-is or fix the home up first. This article is about who does what; that one is about how the sale itself works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an estate sale and selling the house?
How much does an estate sale company charge?
What happens to items that don't sell at the estate sale?
Do I need a real estate agent to sell an inherited house in DC?
Who can legally sell a deceased person's house in Washington, DC?
Should the estate sale happen before or after I list the home?
Can one person coordinate both the contents sale and the home sale?
About the author
Marc Dosik, Fed City Team at Real Broker LLC
Marc is the Associate Broker and primary decision-maker for Fed City Team, and the estate sale expert for the Washington, DC metro area. He has lived in the DC area his whole life, has been a licensed broker since 1998, and has more than 544 closed transactions behind him. He has helped hundreds of families through the sale of an inherited home, working alongside a network of probate attorneys and contractors across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. His office is on Upshur Street in the middle of Petworth.
Settling an estate and not sure where to start? See how our estate sale service works, or reach the team at (202) 543-7283 or [email protected].
Learn more: Estate Sales · Sell Your Home · Selling an Inherited House in DC.
Disclaimer: Estate sale and real estate commissions are negotiable and vary by company, property, and situation. Probate procedures, tax rules including stepped-up basis, and DC's TOPA requirements change over time and depend on the specifics of each estate. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm current figures, authority to sell, and applicable rules with a DC probate attorney, a CPA, or the relevant DC agency before making any decisions.
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