You can list an inherited New York home at any time. It can close only when three things are done. Someone with legal authority signs the deed. The state estate tax lien is released. And the mortgage and any other liens on the home are paid. Most delayed estate closings come from starting one of these after the contract instead of before listing. This checklist applies across New York State, with notes where New York City and Westchester differ. For everything the title company requires, see buying or selling real estate from an estate in New York.
First question: who can sign?
Start with how the owner who died held title. That decides whether the estate is involved at all.
If the home passes outside the estate
Some homes go straight to the surviving owner at death. That happens with spouses who owned as tenants by the entirety, or anyone who owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship. No probate or letters are needed. The survivor sells in their own name, with a certified death certificate for the title company.
One difference matters for timing. No estate tax release (Form ET-117) is needed when the owner and surviving spouse were the only joint tenants (Tax Department guidance). Joint owners who were not married, such as a parent and child, still need the release.
If the home is part of the estate
If the owner held the home alone, or as a tenant in common with others, it passes through the estate. The executor or administrator signs the contract and deed. The Surrogate’s Court, which handles estates, appoints them and issues letters (letters testamentary or letters of administration). Being named executor in a will gives no authority by itself. The authority comes from the letters.
Before letters are issued, an heir or named executor can meet a broker and prepare the home. A binding contract is different: nobody yet has the power to transfer the property. A buyer’s attorney will either refuse or insist the contract depend on letters being issued. Confirm with the estate attorney before signing any listing agreement or contract for the estate.
If probate will take time, the named executor can ask the court for preliminary letters testamentary (state law on preliminary letters). A preliminary executor can sell real estate unless the will or the court says otherwise. A home the will leaves to a specific person can be sold only with that person’s written consent or a court order. The sale money cannot be paid out to the people inheriting until full letters are issued.
If there is no will and no one has been appointed, the heirs can sell together. Every heir signs, and the title company will require heirship affidavits (sworn statements listing all the heirs). The estate guide explains what that involves and why many buyers prefer a sale by an appointed executor or administrator.
What the listing agent should ask
- How was title held? Pull the last deed: on ACRIS (the city’s online records) in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx; at the county clerk on Staten Island and in Westchester.
- Is there a will, and does it leave this property to a specific person?
- Have letters been issued? If so, to whom, and do they contain any restriction?
- Who will sign the listing agreement, and in what role?
Documents to order now
Death certificates
Order several certified copies. The title company, the Tax Department (for the ET-117), the mortgage servicer and any co-op board will each want one.
| Where the death occurred | Fee | Order from |
|---|---|---|
| Five NYC boroughs | $15 per copy | NYC Health Department |
| Rest of New York State | $30 per copy by mail | NYS Department of Health or local registrar |
NYC says online orders take two to three weeks and mail orders about 12 weeks. The state Health Department warns of significant delays. Outside NYC, only certain people can get copies: a spouse, parent, child or sibling, or someone with a documented legal right or claim or a court order. An executor or administrator should be ready to show letters.
Letters and a current certificate of letters
The estate attorney gets the letters from the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the owner lived, which may not be where the home is. Letters can be revoked or restricted later, so title companies want a certificate of letters issued close to closing, commonly within six months. If the estate’s certificate is old, order a fresh one before closing.
Estate tax release (Form ET-117)
The ET-117 releases New York’s estate tax lien (a legal claim) from the property. It is needed for all dates of death, whatever the home’s value or the estate’s size. The one exception is the one above: the owner and surviving spouse were the only joint tenants.
The Tax Department reports average processing of three to four weeks for a complete application, plus seven to ten business days for mailing. It says not to schedule the closing until the stamped release arrives (Tax Department). A co-op apartment needs its own ET-117, separate from any house or land, even in the same county.
The application goes in with one of three supporting forms, depending on the estate (ET-30, ET-85 or ET-706). The estate guide explains which. The release takes a month or more. So it helps to file it as soon as there is a contract, or before listing if the estate attorney can.
The mortgage
Death does not cancel a mortgage. The loan is paid from the sale money like any seller’s loan, so contact the servicer early for a payoff statement.
Federal rules help. You may have inherited the home, or become owner as a surviving joint owner, spouse or relative. If so, you can ask the servicer to confirm you as a successor in interest, so it deals with you (federal mortgage servicing rule). Send a written request naming the borrower and the loan. The servicer must reply in writing listing the documents it needs to confirm your identity and ownership (federal rule on information requests). Expect requests for the death certificate, letters or proof of heirship, and the deed.
A separate federal law also helps. A lender cannot demand full repayment because the home passed to a relative at the borrower’s death, or to a surviving joint owner or spouse (federal due-on-sale law). It covers homes with fewer than five units, including co-op share loans. It helps heirs who need time or want to keep the home. It does not let the loan carry over to a buyer; it is still paid off at closing.
If the estate can, keep payments current, because interest and late charges reduce what the heirs receive. If the title search finds an old mortgage that was paid but never cleared from the records, see clearing an old or unsatisfied mortgage.
Co-op apartments
A co-op owner holds shares in the building’s corporation plus a proprietary lease, not real estate in the usual sense. Before listing, find the original stock certificate and proprietary lease. If they are lost, ask the managing agent early about the building’s lost-certificate procedure. It often requires a sworn statement and may require a bond.
The board approves the buyer. The managing agent will also want proof of the estate’s authority, typically the certificate of letters and the death certificate. Ask for the building’s sale package, transfer fee and any flip tax (a fee some co-ops charge on a sale) as soon as the apartment is listed. Some buildings let a family member inherit and live in the apartment with approval. Selling to an outside buyer goes through the normal purchase application.
The empty house: insurance, utilities and bills
Inherited homes are often empty. Confirm the homeowner’s policy is still in force. Tell the insurer the owner has died and the home is unoccupied, because many policies limit coverage for vacant homes.
Keep heat, electricity and water on through the winter to avoid frozen pipes. Keep property taxes and water and sewer charges current so they do not become liens. The title company will search for these charges, and unpaid amounts are collected from the seller at closing.
The seller’s disclosure form
New York’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) is a form about the home’s condition that sellers of a one- to four-family house give the buyer. It does not apply to a sale by an executor or administrator while handling the estate (state disclosure exemptions).
Heirs selling a one- to four-family house in their own names, to an outside buyer, are not exempt. They must fill out the PCDS and give it to the buyer or the buyer’s agent before the buyer signs a binding contract (state disclosure law). Since March 20, 2024, sellers can no longer give a $500 credit at closing instead (2023 change to the law). The PCDS does not cover condo units or co-op apartments (state definitions).
Open permits and violations
Older inherited homes often have permits that were never closed, or work done without one. These can delay a closing or lower the price, so search before listing rather than after the buyer’s title report.
- New York City: see checking NYC property violations and permits before contract and NYC property violations at closing.
- Westchester: see open permits and certificates of occupancy in Westchester.
Pre-listing checklist
| Item | Who gets it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Last recorded deed | Agent or attorney | Shows how title was held |
| Will and probate status | Estate attorney | Who can sign |
| Letters (or preliminary letters) | Estate attorney | Authority to sign the contract and deed |
| Current certificate of letters | Estate attorney | Title wants a recent one |
| Certified death certificates | Executor or heirs | Title, tax, lender, co-op |
| ET-117 application | Attorney or accountant | Releases estate tax lien |
| Mortgage payoff statement | Seller’s attorney | Loan paid at closing |
| Successor in interest request | Executor or heirs | Lets you deal with the servicer |
| Tax, water and sewer status | Seller’s attorney | Avoid liens at closing |
| Insurance and utilities | Executor | Protect an empty home |
| Permit and violation search | Agent or attorney | Avoid closing delays |
| PCDS, if heirs sell a house | Heirs and attorney | Due before contract |
| Co-op stock and lease | Executor | Needed for transfer |
| Co-op sale package and fees | Agent | Board approval timing |
Details for attorneys and title professionals
- Federal due-on-sale law. This is the Garn-St Germain Act. The two exemptions used here are a transfer to a relative resulting from the borrower’s death and a transfer on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety. The fewer-than-five-unit limit includes loans secured by co-op stock.
- Disclosure credit. The $500 credit was removed by Chapter 484 of the Laws of 2023, effective March 20, 2024 (linked above through the New York State Bar Association’s summary).
Official sources
- SCPA 1412, preliminary letters testamentary
- NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, release of lien of estate tax
- NYC Health Department, birth and death records
- NYS Department of Health, death certificates
- 12 CFR 1024.31, successor in interest definitions
- 12 CFR 1024.36, requests for information
- 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3, Garn-St Germain due-on-sale exemptions
- Real Property Law § 461, definitions, § 462, disclosure statement and § 463, disclosure exemptions
- NYSBA, Chapter 484 of the Laws of 2023 (PCDS $500 credit removed)