Guide / Don't sign the cash offer yet
Don't sign that “cash for the house” offer in Georgia probate yet.
Within days of a probate filing in Georgia, the family starts getting calls. Texts. Letters with handwritten-looking addresses. Each one offers cash, today, no repairs, no commissions. Some are honest. Most are 30–50% below market value and rely on you signing before you know better.
How they found you.
Probate filings are public record in Georgia. The petition, the names of the heirs, the address of the property — all of it. Within a week of filing, every cash-buyer mailing list in Atlanta has the address. Many of the calls come from companies whose entire business is scraping these filings daily.
They aren't doing anything illegal. They're working from public information. But you should know the speed they're working at — the first offer letter often arrives before the heirs have read the will.
The four pressure tactics to watch for.
- 1
“We'll close in 7 days.”
They can't. Title companies will not insure a sale until Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are issued by the probate court — typically 3–8 weeks minimum. Anyone promising a 7-day close before Letters is either uninformed or planning to lock you into a contract you can't legally close on.
- 2
“This offer expires in 24 hours.”
No real buyer with cash to deploy walks away over a one-day decision. The deadline exists to push you past your ability to compare. The legitimate buyers in our network leave offers open for at least a week.
- 3
“We'll handle the probate side too.”
Some cash buyers bundle “help” with the probate process into the cash offer. The help is real, but the price you pay for it is hidden in a below-market sale. You're paying 20% of the home's value to skip what an attorney could handle for $2,500–$5,000.
- 4
“Sign this letter of intent — it's non-binding.”
Sometimes it is. Sometimes the “non-binding LOI” contains a clause giving them exclusive negotiating rights for 30, 60, or 90 days. During that window you can't accept other offers, which costs you leverage — and sometimes the entire deal.
If you already signed something.
First: don't sign anything else. Second: pull the document and read every clause — pay attention to exclusivity windows, earnest-money forfeit terms, and memorandum-of-agreement language. Third: talk to a Georgia probate attorney before responding to the buyer. Sometimes there's a legitimate way out; sometimes the cost of getting out is less than the cost of going forward.
The four questions to ask before you sign.
- What is the house actually worth on the open market? Get a real comparative market analysis from a licensed Georgia REALTOR® first. Not a Zillow estimate.
- Is this offer at least 80% of that number? A fair cash discount runs 10–20% below market in exchange for speed and no repairs. Below 80% of market, the buyer is profiting on your urgency.
- Do I legally have authority to sign? Until Letters issue, no single heir can sign on behalf of the estate.
- What does the contract obligate me to? Read it. Or have an attorney read it. Read it twice if there's an LOI plus a separate purchase agreement.
If you do want to sell — legitimately.
Some families do want a fast cash sale, and that's a fine choice once you've got the real number to compare against. After probate clears, our Georgia network includes investor buyers who pay fair-discount prices and don't use the pressure tactics above. We can also introduce you to a licensed Georgia agent if you'd rather list on the open market.
The point is: you make the decision with full information, not under the deadline a stranger invented.
We'll read the offer with you on the call.
Have the cash-offer letter in front of you. The 15-minute consultation is free. We'll walk through the terms, tell you what to push back on, and introduce you to a Georgia probate attorney if the buyer's trying to lock you in.
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