Wholesaling Probate Properties in Florida

The short answer

Can you wholesale a probate property in Florida?

Yes, if the person signing has authority to sell and you disclose in writing that you are assigning a contract. In most formal administrations that person is the personal representative named in letters of administration.

Florida has no wholesaling statute, so the risk is acting like an unlicensed broker under Chapter 475. Market your contract rights, not the house, and never advertise a property before you have a signed contract: a 2024 law made listing or advertising a home without the owner’s authority a felony. In probate, also confirm authority from the estate file. Our guide on license rules for wholesaling covers the brokerage line.

The opportunity

Why Florida estate houses make strong wholesale deals

Many Florida estate homes were bought decades ago by retirees whose children now live in other states. Those heirs rarely want to manage insurance, HOA dues and a dated house from far away.

Lead sources

Where to find probate leads in Florida

• Clerk of court dockets. Every Florida county clerk keeps the probate docket, and big counties such as Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval have online case searches. Look for recent petitions for administration.
• Notices to creditors. Personal representatives publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. Those notices name the estate and the representative.
• Petitions to determine homestead. These filings point straight at a house. They show the house was the owner’s residence.
• Property appraiser records. Search the county property appraiser site. A homestead exemption still in the decedent’s name, or a mailing address in another state, suggests the house is sitting empty.
• Probate attorneys. Estate lawyers need buyers who close as-is and on time. Our probate leads guide has letter and outreach ideas.

Your exit

Who buys Florida estate houses

Flippers want the 1970s block house in an established neighborhood, and landlords want the smaller home they can rent after paint, flooring and a roof. In Florida, ask every buyer about roof age and insurability first.

Be honest about timing. If the will gives no power of sale, the personal representative needs a court order, and creditor claims usually run for three months after the notice is first published. Build that into your closing date so your assignment does not fall apart.

Step by step

How to start wholesaling probate properties in Florida

1. Read the estate file. Confirm who was appointed, whether letters of administration were issued and whether the will grants a power of sale.
2. Check homestead status. Find out whether the house was protected homestead and who survived the owner, since that can change who signs.
3. Contact the representative. Write to the personal representative or their attorney with sympathy first.
4. Run title early. Ask an investor-friendly title company to look for mortgages, liens, unpaid taxes and missing heirs.
5. Price it with care. Pull sold comps, then use the ARV calculator and the MAO calculator, adding insurance and roof costs.
6. Sign with the right party. The representative signs in that capacity, and you give the written disclosure that you intend to assign.
7. Assign and close. Sign the assignment with your buyer and close through the title agent or estate attorney.

A retired couple’s son was named personal representative of his mother’s Jacksonville estate. He lives in Ohio, and the 1960s block house sat empty with a roof the insurer would no longer cover.

You read the file, confirmed the will gave him power to sell and checked that no spouse or minor child survived, so the homestead could pass without restriction. You priced the roof and updates at about $48,000 and signed at $158,000 with a written assignment disclosure.

A local rehabber paid $171,000 for the contract. The estate covered taxes and doc stamps at closing, and the son signed remotely with a mobile notary.

Florida rules to know

Homestead and summary administration change who signs

Florida homestead is protected by the state constitution, and it often passes outside the normal estate. When the owner leaves a surviving spouse or a minor child, the owner generally could not freely give the home away by will, so title may vest in the spouse and descendants instead. Title companies usually want a court order determining homestead, and every new owner may need to sign. See our heirs’ property guide.

Small estates can use summary administration when the estate is worth $75,000 or less, not counting exempt property, or when the owner died more than two years ago. There is no personal representative in that process, so the beneficiaries sign under the court’s order. Confirm which path the estate is on before you promise a closing date.

Learn it with a mentor

Get your first estate deal reviewed

Florida probate deals reward patience and clean paperwork. Mentorship students send us the court file and their offer before they sign anything.

FAQ

Probate Properties in Florida: common questions

Keep going

More Florida wholesaling guides

Read the full Florida wholesaling guide or pick another situation below.

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