Inherited a house with problems? We buy exactly those.

Back taxes, tax certificates, and liens

Unpaid Florida property taxes are sold as tax certificates each June. Two years after a certificate is issued, its holder can apply for a tax deed, and the house is auctioned by the clerk — that is how heirs lose inherited houses outright, often while probate is stalled. Code-enforcement fines for an unmowed yard or a green pool accrue daily and become liens. Mortgages keep accruing interest and late fees. None of these stop because the owner died.

We buy houses with all of them. The liens are paid from the purchase price at closing by the title company; if a tax deed sale has already been scheduled, we can pay the redemption before closing to stop it. If the debts exceed the value of the house, we will tell you honestly whether a short sale is possible or whether walking away is the right call.

A reverse mortgage

A reverse mortgage (HECM) becomes due and payable when the last borrower dies. The servicer sends the estate a due-and-payable notice and gives heirs 30 days to respond with a plan: pay the loan, sell the house, or sign a deed in lieu (24 C.F.R. § 206.125). Under HUD’s rules the servicer must start foreclosure within six months of the death unless HUD approves extensions; two 90-day extensions are available while heirs are actively marketing the house or arranging the payoff, so a year is common in practice, but it is not a guarantee. Because the loan is non-recourse, heirs can generally satisfy it — whether they sell or keep the house — for the lesser of the loan balance or 95% of the current appraised value, and owe nothing more even if the balance is higher; confirm the exact figure with the servicer.

The trap is time: probate takes months, the servicer’s deadlines arrive, and the lender begins foreclosure. We can sign the day you call, open probate within 24 hours, coordinate with the servicer on the payoff and extensions, and close inside the window.

Medicaid estate recovery and nursing-home claims

If your parent received Medicaid after age 55 (long-term care, especially), Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration can file a claim in the probate estate for what it paid (§ 409.9101). Protected homestead passing to heirs is outside the reach of that claim (§ 409.9101(7)) — see inherited homestead — while a rental or second home is not. The claim is not enforced at all if the person left a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child. Nursing homes and hospitals file ordinary creditor claims, subject to the three-month claim period. The attorney handles all of it inside the probate, and it does not change whether we can buy the house.

Short version: if you want the house sold, we pay for the probate and get the attorney working within 24 hours — call or text (727) 353-6206, or use the form.

Someone living there who won’t leave

A sibling who moved in to “take care of Dad” and stayed. A tenant with no lease who stopped paying. Squatters who found an empty house. We have dealt with each of these, respectfully and legally. Florida’s squatter law gives owners a fast removal process when the occupant has no claim at all — Tampa Bay 28 rode along with Alex and St. Petersburg Police the day it took effect. Family members and tenants are handled through the ordinary eviction process. You do not need the house empty before you sell it to us.

Hoarding, mold, hurricane and fire damage, unpermitted work

We buy as-is and we mean it: houses full to the ceiling, houses with a tarp for a roof, houses flooded in the last hurricane and never dried out, houses with additions no one permitted. Our offer accounts for the repairs so you don’t have to do any of them — and you don’t have to clean, haul, or be there for the walkthrough if you’d rather not. Alex’s work on abandoned “zombie houses” in St. Petersburg — including one whose owner was undiscovered for years and which has since been fully renovated — is what Tampa Bay 28 featured.

If the house flooded, be aware of the FEMA 50% rule in coastal counties: if repair costs exceed half the structure’s value, the house generally must be brought up to current flood code (often elevated). That changes what the house is worth and what anyone can do with it. We know how the rule is applied in the counties we work in.

A house full of belongings

Take your time with the things that matter. Photographs, letters, jewelry, military records, the kitchen table everyone grew up at. Leave the rest — furniture, clothes, the garage, the shed. We clear the house after closing. If you live far away, tell us what to look for and we will.

A house that’s been empty for years

Insurance long cancelled, taxes behind, utilities off, neighbors complaining. These are often the estates where no one knew what to do after a death years ago. After two years, creditor claims are barred and summary administration becomes available at any value (and under $150,000 it is available immediately), so the probate is simpler than you’d expect — see if the death was more than two years ago. The urgent thing is the tax deed clock, so call before the house is auctioned out from under you.

Questions people ask