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 the middle of Petworth.

The short answer: if you have inherited a house in Washington, DC, you can usually sell it, but whether you can sell it right away depends on how the title was held. If the home was in the decedent's name alone, it normally has to clear the DC probate court before it can be sold. If it passed through joint ownership, a trust, or a named beneficiary, you may be able to skip that step. Either way, the sale does not have to cost the heirs anything out of pocket, and a stepped-up cost basis often means little or no capital gains tax. Below is how the whole process works, and how we help the estate through it.

Marc Dosik has worked in DC real estate since 1998 and is the estate sale expert for the Washington, DC metro area, with more than 544 closed transactions behind him. He has helped hundreds of families work through probate and the sale of an inherited home, alongside a network of probate attorneys and contractors across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. His office is on Upshur Street in the middle of Petworth. The guide below is the same walkthrough we give families who sit down with us after a loss, covering the title and deed, coordinating probate with your attorney, valuing the home, and fronting repairs so the estate pays nothing up front.

Do you have to go through probate to sell an inherited house in DC?

It depends on how the title was held when the owner passed. In DC, if the property was owned in the decedent's name alone, it generally has to go through probate before the home can be legally sold. Probate is the court-supervised process that confirms the will (or applies DC's intestacy rules when there is no will), appoints someone to act for the estate, and clears the title so a buyer's lender and title company will close.

Probate can often be avoided, though, and many families have already avoided it without realizing. A property usually passes outside probate when it was held in joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety with right of survivorship (common between spouses), placed in a living trust, or transferred with a named beneficiary. In those cases the home moves to the survivor or beneficiary directly, and you may be able to sell without opening a full probate case.

If you are not sure how the title reads, that is the first thing to find out, because it changes the entire timeline. We can pull the deed and walk through it with you, and we coordinate with a probate attorney when the situation calls for one.

What is the probate process in DC, and how long does it take?

DC probate runs through the Probate Division of the DC Superior Court, overseen by the Register of Wills. Even a straightforward estate generally takes at least eight months, and often closer to a year, largely because creditors get a six-month window to file claims; a contested estate can take longer. At a high level, the process opens the estate, appoints someone to manage it, and authorizes the sale of estate property.

The basic steps look like this:

• File to open the estate with the Probate Division and submit the will, if there is one.
• The court appoints a personal representative (called an executor when named in a will) to act for the estate.
• The personal representative inventories the assets, notifies creditors, and settles valid debts and taxes.
• Once authorized, the personal representative can list and sell the home, signing on behalf of the estate.
• Proceeds are distributed to the heirs after costs and debts are paid.

Timelines vary with the estate's complexity, whether there is a valid will, and whether the heirs agree. Those are the factors that separate an estate that closes quickly from one that drags on. We work alongside your attorney so the property side (valuation, repairs, marketing, and the sale) is ready the moment the court gives the green light, instead of starting from zero.

What is DC's small estate process, and does it apply to a house?

DC offers a simplified small estate process for smaller estates, and effective March 2025 the threshold rose to $80,000 in assets, up from the previous $40,000. Small estate administration is faster and lighter on paperwork than the full process.

Here is the catch for most homeowners: a typical DC house is worth far more than $80,000, so the home by itself usually pushes the estate over the small estate cap. That means most inherited houses in DC still go through the standard large estate process. The higher threshold matters, because it now sweeps in more cash-and-personal-property estates, but it rarely covers an estate whose main asset is a house. We will tell you honestly which track your situation is likely to fall under, and bring in a probate attorney to confirm it.

What taxes do you pay when you sell an inherited house in DC?

For most families, the tax on selling an inherited home is smaller than they expect, and the reason is the stepped-up basis. When you inherit a house, its cost basis for tax purposes is reset (stepped up) to its fair market value on the date of the owner's death, rather than what the original owner paid for it decades ago.

Why that matters: capital gains tax is generally owed on the gain above your basis. With a stepped-up basis, you are generally taxed only on appreciation between the owner's date of death and the date you sell it. If you sell soon after inheriting, that gain is often small or close to zero. As a rough illustration, a home the original owner bought for $90,000 in the 1980s that is worth $700,000 at death starts your basis at roughly $700,000, not $90,000.

Tax rules are specific to your situation, and there can be other factors (the estate's own filings, how long you hold the home, and whether you live in it). This is general information, not tax advice, so confirm the details with a CPA or tax attorney. The practical point for planning: do not assume a large tax bill before you have run the numbers, because the step-up usually changes the math in your favor.

What does it cost to sell an inherited home, and who pays?

With Fed City Team, hiring us costs the heirs $0 out of pocket. Professional commissions, attorney fees, and closing costs are paid from the proceeds of the sale at settlement, not by you along the way. The estate covers its costs out of what the home sells for, so the family is not writing checks during an already hard time.

There is more to the cost picture than fee timing. A vacant inherited home keeps costing money every month it sits: property taxes, insurance, utilities, and basic upkeep. Those carrying costs are one of the biggest hidden expenses of an inherited property, and they are a major reason families choose to sell rather than hold. Getting the home to market efficiently is part of protecting the estate's value.

Our estate sale work is built around that reality. We front the cost of repairs and beautification to bring the home its highest sale price, so the heirs pay nothing up front for the work and we recover it at settlement. You can read the full approach on our estate sales page.

Should you sell an inherited house as-is or fix it up first?

Both can work. The right answer depends on the home's condition, how fast the estate needs to close, and whether the heirs want any money tied up in repairs. Selling as-is is the fastest, simplest path, and we have a marketing strategy designed to draw the strongest offer on an as-is home. Fixing the home up first can lift the final price, sometimes by more than the cost of the work.

The usual obstacle is that repairs cost money the estate may not have on hand, especially with several heirs and a vacant house. That is the gap our program closes. We can front the beautification and repairs so none of the heirs pay out of pocket, then recover that cost from the sale. The decision then becomes a clear-eyed comparison: the likely lift in sale price against the cost and time of the work, with no personal financial risk to the family. We will run that comparison with you on the actual house, not in the abstract.

How do Marc and the team help the estate through the sale?

We manage the entire property side of an estate sale, so the family is not juggling contractors, court paperwork, and showings during a difficult stretch. That includes valuing the home, clearing out belongings, handling repairs, marketing the property, and getting it to closing, while we coordinate with your probate attorney on the court steps and any liens that need to clear before title can transfer.

Marc Dosik has done this for DC-area families since 1998, working with a network of probate attorneys and contractors across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The aim is straightforward: the maximum equity the home can bring, with every legal detail handled by local professionals, and no out-of-pocket cost to the heirs.

If you have inherited a home and are not sure where to start, that is exactly the conversation we are built for. You can see how we work on our estate sales page, learn about listing on our sell with us page, and reach the team directly using the details below.

Frequently asked questions about selling an inherited house in DC

About the author

Marc Dosik, Fed City Team at Real Broker LLC

Marc is the Associate Broker who leads Fed City Team, and the estate sale expert for the Washington, DC metro area. He has lived in the DC metro his whole life, has been a licensed broker since 1998, and has guided many families through probate and the sale of an inherited home. He works with a network of probate attorneys and contractors across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, from his office on Upshur Street in the middle of Petworth.

Inherited a home in DC, Maryland, or Virginia? Start with our estate sales team, or reach Marc at (202) 543-7283 or [email protected].

Explore more: Estate Sales · Sell With Us · Petworth. Buying instead? See our Petworth buyer's guide.

Disclaimer: Probate rules, small estate thresholds, tax treatment including stepped-up basis, public programs, and the costs of selling an inherited home change over time and vary by estate and by address. This article is general information, not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Confirm current rules, thresholds, eligibility, and your specific situation with the DC Superior Court Probate Division, a probate attorney, or a tax professional before making any decisions.