Selling Real Estate in a San Francisco Probate

The short version

A personal representative can sell estate real estate in San Francisco. How the sale works depends on one question: did the court grant full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA)?

• Full authority: the sale can close like a typical sale, after a 15-day Notice of Proposed Action to beneficiaries, with no court confirmation hearing unless someone objects. ^{1, 2, 3}
• Limited authority or no IAEA authority: the accepted offer must meet a minimum price, be reported to the court, and be confirmed at a hearing where other buyers can overbid. ^{4, 5, 6}

Your letters show which kind of authority you have. ⁷

Full vs. limited authority, side by side

The court grants full authority unless someone shows good cause why only limited authority should be granted. ¹⁵

How a court-confirmed sale works in San Francisco

1. Appraisal

A probate referee appraises the property. ¹⁶ In San Francisco, a private sale cannot be confirmed unless an appraisal is on file, plus a reappraisal for sale purposes if the date of death was more than one year before the confirmation hearing. ¹²

2. Listing the property

The personal representative may sign a listing agreement with a licensed real estate broker. An exclusive right to sell is limited to 90 days at a time and needs the court's permission, which can be requested when the representative is appointed or later by ex parte application. ¹⁷ San Francisco's local rules say that application must name the agent and describe the agent's experience selling real property in the area of the property. ¹²

3. Published notice of sale

Unless the will gives a power of sale or directs a sale, a notice of intention to sell must be published in a San Francisco newspaper before offers can be accepted. ^{11, 12} Offers accepted and returned to court cannot vary from the terms in the published notice. ¹²

4. Accepting an offer

Offers on a private sale must be in writing. ¹⁸ The accepted offer must be at least 90% of the appraised value. ⁴ The representative then files a report of sale and petition for confirmation.

5. The confirmation hearing

Confirmation hearings in San Francisco are held at 9 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and are the first matters called. ¹² An attorney must appear for the estate on these hearings. ¹² At the hearing the court examines whether the sale was fairly conducted, whether the price is not disproportionate to the property's value, and the representative's efforts to obtain the highest price reasonably attainable. ^{6, 19}

6. Overbids

Any qualified buyer can come to the hearing and bid more. The first overbid must be at least 10% more on the first $10,000 of the original bid, plus 5% more on the rest. ⁵

Example: on an original accepted offer of $1,000,000, the minimum first overbid is $1,050,500 ($1,000 on the first $10,000, plus $49,500 on the remaining $990,000).

In San Francisco, a successful overbidder must hand over a certified or cashier's check for 10% of the initial overbid amount at the hearing. ¹²

7. Commissions

On a court-confirmed sale, the court sets the commission. ¹³ The San Francisco Probate Department will ordinarily allow total commissions of up to 5% of the sale price for improved property and up to 10% for unimproved property, and commissions are negotiable. ²⁰ If an overbidder represented by a different broker wins, the law splits the commission: the overbidder's broker receives half of the commission on the original bid plus all of the commission on the increase. ²¹

8. Closing

After the court signs the order confirming the sale, escrow closes and the deed is recorded. Title does not pass on a court-confirmed sale until the court confirms it. ⁶

Disclosures in a probate sale

California's Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement and Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement rules do not apply to sales ordered by a probate court or to sales by a fiduciary administering a decedent's estate. ^{22, 23} That does not mean "no disclosures." The same law notes that other disclosure requirements may still apply, and agents may provide required disclosures in a separate writing. ²³ A personal representative usually has not lived in the property, so buyers should expect limited seller knowledge and plan their own inspections.

Selling an inherited rental or apartment building

Many San Francisco estates hold a two-to-four unit building or a larger apartment building. That changes the sale in a few important ways.

• Rent control and eviction protections continue after death and after a sale. Many residential units built on or before June 13, 1979 have both rent control and eviction protection. ²⁴
• Tenant disclosures. San Francisco's Rent Ordinance requires written disclosures to tenants about their rights before and after the sale of rental units, including that tenants cannot be evicted solely because of the sale, and cannot have their rent increased above what the Rent Ordinance permits solely because of the sale. ²⁵
• Estoppel certificates. The same section says tenants are not required to sign estoppel certificates or estoppel agreements, except as required by law or their rental agreement. ²⁵
• Valuation. Buyers of income property usually look closely at the rent roll, operating expenses and the building's condition. Make sure the agent preparing the pricing analysis has experience with San Francisco rent-controlled buildings.
• Allowed rent increases. The annual allowable increase in San Francisco is 1.6% from March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, and rent can be increased once every 12 months. ²⁶
• Seismic retrofit status. San Francisco's mandatory soft story program covers certain wood-frame buildings with five or more residential units and two or more stories over a soft or weak story, permitted for construction before January 1, 1978. Buyers will ask about compliance. ²⁷

For tenant questions, the SF Rent Board offers free counseling. ²⁸

Choosing a real estate agent for a probate sale

Estate listing agreements are made with a licensed real estate broker, and San Francisco asks for the agent's local sales experience when the court is asked to approve an exclusive listing. ^{12, 17} Beyond the license, look for:

• Verifiable court-confirmed sales. Ask for addresses and outcomes you can check.
• Comfort with the confirmation hearing. Pricing for the 90% rule, preparing buyers for overbids, and coordinating with the estate attorney on timing.
• Experience with the property type. A Noe Valley single-family home and a 12-unit rent-controlled building are different sales.
• A clear plan for occupied or vacant property, including tenant communication.
• A current license. You can check any California agent on the Department of Real Estate's public license lookup. ²⁹

See our Featured Specialist for the San Francisco agent we recommend for probate and trust sales.

Sources

1. California Probate Code §10503leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
2. California Probate Code §10501leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
3. California Probate Code §10586leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
4. California Probate Code §10309leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
5. California Probate Code §10311leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
6. California Probate Code §10308 and §10313leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
7. California Probate Code §8405leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
8. California Probate Code §10403leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
9. Judicial Council form DE-165, Notice of Proposed Actioncourts.ca.gov
10. California Probate Code §10585leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
11. California Probate Code §10300leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
12. San Francisco Superior Court, Local Rules of Court, Rules 14.30 to 14.32 and probate hearing rules (revised July 1, 2026)sf.courts.ca.gov
13. California Probate Code §10161leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
14. California Probate Code §10589leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
15. California Probate Code §10452leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
16. California Probate Code §8902leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
17. California Probate Code §10150leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
18. California Probate Code §10306leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
19. California Probate Code §10310leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
20. San Francisco Superior Court, Local Rules of Court, Rule 14.33sf.courts.ca.gov
21. California Probate Code §10165leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
22. California Civil Code §1102.2leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
23. California Civil Code §1103.1leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
24. SF Rent Board, "Learn about San Francisco rental laws"sf.gov
25. San Francisco Rent Ordinance §37.9(k)sf.gov
26. SF Rent Board, "Learn about rent increases in San Francisco"sf.gov
27. City of San Francisco, Earthquake Safety Implementation Program, Soft Storysfgov.org
28. SF Rent Board, "Speak with a Rent Board counselor"sf.gov
29. California Department of Real Estate, Public License Lookupwww2.dre.ca.gov