This is the single most common situation people call me about in Memphis. A house came to you that you did not plan for, it is full of somebody else's belongings, and it costs money every month while you work out what to do. You do not have to empty it and you do not have to repair it.
You Do Not Have To Empty It
Clearing out a parent's house is the part people dread, and it is the part that stalls these sales for months. You do not have to do it. Take what matters to you and leave everything else exactly where it is. Furniture, clothes, paperwork, a garage nobody has opened in fifteen years. It stays, and it becomes my cost rather than yours.
You also do not repair anything, clean anything, or get it inspected.
How Probate In Shelby County Affects The Timing
If the estate is still working through probate, that is ordinary and it does not stop me talking. It changes the timing rather than the outcome.
What matters is who has authority to sell. Usually that is the personal representative or executor once the court has appointed them. If the court has not reached that point, I can still agree terms and work to a closing date that lines up with the estate.
If several heirs inherited together, everyone on the deed has to agree. Establish that early. A deal that has not been discussed with a sibling in another state is the one that falls apart late.
None of this is legal advice, and an estate attorney is worth having. It is simply how these deals usually run.
Estates often move slowly, and the house is sitting empty the whole time the court is working. What that costs you month by month is set out under a Memphis house that has been sitting empty.
If The House Is Somewhere Else
If the property sits outside the city line, that changes nothing here. The full picture of what I buy right across Shelby County is on the county page.
I do this in both markets. The Birmingham version of this page is an inherited Birmingham house.
What Listing Actually Nets You
Listing usually produces a higher gross price than a direct sale. Whether it produces a higher number in your account is a different question, and it is the one worth answering before you decide anything. Put your own figures in.
Commission is figured at 6 percent and seller closing costs at 2 percent, which are common but not universal. Carrying cost means taxes, insurance, utilities and upkeep. This is an illustration using your numbers, not an offer or an appraisal, and it deliberately assumes the listing sells at the price you entered.
The Numbers Behind That
| Line | Typical |
|---|---|
| Property taxes | Keep running regardless |
| Vacant house insurance | Often higher than an occupied policy |
| Utilities kept on | Every month it sits |
| Lawn and basic upkeep | Or a code citation |
| Risk of break-in | Higher on an obviously empty house |
| Agent commission at 6% | If you list it instead |
An inherited house is rarely free to hold. None of this is a reason to rush. It is a reason to know the number so you are deciding with real information rather than guessing.
Who you are dealing with
Hi, I am Torian. I buy residential property with my own capital in Memphis and across Shelby County, through TOPSICO LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company.
I am not an agent and not a broker. Nothing here is a listing and I am not representing you in a sale. If you want your house exposed to the open market, an agent will usually get you a higher price, and I will tell you that rather than talk you out of it.