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You inherited a house in Tulsa. Now what?
Usually it's a house three states away, full of somebody's whole life, with a roof that needed replacing five years ago. Cole and I buy these regularly. You don't have to clean it out, fix anything, or fly back here twice.
- ✓Leave everything in it. Take the photos and the keepsakes. The furniture, the garage, the shed — that's ours now.
- ✓You never have to come back. We can do the whole thing remotely. Plenty of our sellers never set foot in Tulsa.
- ✓Siblings in three states? We're used to it. We'll work with whoever's handling it and keep everyone in the loop.
- ✓No commission, no repairs, and we pay normal closing costs.
The tax thing everybody worries about
The most common question we get is some version of “am I going to get killed on taxes if I sell it?” For most inherited houses in the US the answer is: probably far less than you fear, because of something called the stepped-up basis.
In plain English: when you inherit a property, your cost basis generally resets to what the house was worth on the date the person died — not what they originally paid for it. So if they bought it in 1985 for $40,000 and it was worth $150,000 when they passed, your basis is generally the $150,000. If you sell it soon after for around that, there's often little or no gain to be taxed. We are not accountants. Everybody's situation is different and this is worth twenty minutes with a CPA before you sign anything.
We mention it because we've had sellers turn down a fair offer out of fear of a tax bill that, once they actually asked a CPA, turned out not to exist. Ask the question before you make the decision.
When the house needs to be sold but nobody agrees
Three siblings, one wants to keep it, one wants to rent it out, one wants it gone yesterday. This is the single most common reason inherited houses sit empty for two years while the taxes and insurance keep coming due.
We can't fix family dynamics. What we can do is put an actual number on the table so everyone is arguing about something real instead of a guess. A lot of the time that's what breaks the logjam — the sibling who wanted to keep it sees the figure and realises what their share actually is.
- An empty house costs money every month. Taxes, insurance (often at a higher vacant-property rate), utilities to keep the pipes from freezing, and somebody mowing it.
- Empty houses in Tulsa attract attention. Copper theft and break-ins are real, and an insurance claim on a vacant house is a fight you don't want.
- Nobody has to be the bad guy. We'll deal with whoever's designated and leave the rest of the family out of it.
“Cole and Jake were a pleasure to work with right from my first contact with them. Honest, fair, patient, and efficient as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how stress free the process was from start to closing. I can recommend them without hesitation.”
— Chuck Bohot, Google reviewStraight answers
Does it have to go through probate first?
Depends how the property was titled. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a transfer-on-death deed, or a trust can pass it outside probate. If it was in the deceased person's name alone, it usually goes through probate. A title company or attorney can tell you in one phone call, and we're happy to point you to one. If it is in probate, we have a page on that.
I live out of state. How does this work?
Remotely, start to finish. We look at the house, send you an offer, and closing gets handled by a local title company with a mobile notary or by mail. You don't need to fly in.
The house is full of my parents' belongings. Do I have to empty it?
No. Take what matters to you and leave the rest. We clear it out ourselves after closing. This is genuinely one of the biggest reasons people call us instead of listing it.
What if there's still a mortgage or a reverse mortgage?
A regular mortgage just gets paid off at closing. A reverse mortgage usually has a clock on it after the borrower passes, so tell us early — those have a real deadline and moving fast actually matters.
Can we sell if there are back taxes owed?
Yes. Back taxes and most liens come out of the proceeds at closing. It's normal. Just tell us up front so the number we quote is the number you actually net.
Jake & Cole — we're two guys in Tulsa who buy houses, not a call center and not a franchise. If you call the number on this page, one of us picks up. If we're not the right fit for what you're dealing with, we'll say so.
Other situations we handle
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One conversation, a real number, no obligation. Then you can go have the family discussion with facts instead of guesses.