Can an executor sell a house before probate is complete?

An executor or administrator generally cannot convey California real property on the strength of a will sitting in a drawer. Title companies look for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, and for the statutory power to sell.

Once Letters are issued, the personal representative may list and sell while the estate is still open. If the court granted full IAEA authority, many sales close without a confirmation hearing. If authority is limited, or a interested person objects, the sale may need court confirmation.

A living-trust property is a different path. A trustee with a power of sale in the instrument can often list without opening probate at all. Mixing those two files — a pour-over will and a funded (or unfunded) trust — is where families lose months. Have counsel confirm which hat the seller is wearing before the sign goes up.

Buyers, listing platforms, and escrow will still ask about court dates, overbids, and whether the sale is as-is. That is normal. A probate-specialist broker writes the listing and the purchase agreement so those conditions are disclosed up front instead of discovered at the confirmation hearing.

Do not spend estate money on a remodel “to get it ready” unless counsel and the numbers support it. Most probate property in Los Angeles sells as-is, with the buyer taking the condition and the estate taking a cleaner, faster close.