The Situation: Out-of-State Executor, 60-Year-Old Home, Lifetime of Belongings
The homeowner, a retired school teacher, had lived in the same Silver Spring, Maryland home for over 40 years. When she passed away in late 2024, her two adult children, both living out of state (one in Texas, one in Oregon), were named co-executors of the estate.
The property was a 1962 split-level in the Woodmoor neighborhood, a well-established residential area in central Silver Spring. The home had not been significantly updated since the late 1990s. The kitchen had original laminate counters and aging appliances. Two bathrooms had vintage tile and fixtures. The HVAC system was a 25-year-old gas furnace with window air conditioning units. The house was filled with decades of personal belongings, furniture, clothing, books, and the accumulated contents of a 40-year residence.
The executors faced every common estate sale challenge at once: they lived 1,500+ miles away, they needed to manage probate through the Montgomery County Register of Wills in Rockville, they had a house full of belongings to clear, and they needed to coordinate the sale between two co-executors with different schedules and different opinions about the right approach.
Deal at a Glance
How Capitol Cash Offer Helped
One of the executors found Capitol Cash Offer through a Google search for cash home buyers in Silver Spring, Maryland. Gavin spoke with both co-executors by phone, walked through our process, and scheduled a property assessment for the following week.
After assessing the property, Gavin provided a written cash offer with a full comparable market analysis showing recent Silver Spring sales at various condition levels. The offer documentation included the renovation cost estimates that informed the gap between as-is value and renovated value, giving both executors the data they needed to make an informed fiduciary decision.
The executors accepted the offer and we opened title through a Montgomery County settlement company. The estate had already been opened through the Montgomery County Register of Wills (50 Maryland Ave, Suite 322, Rockville MD 20850, (240) 777-9696), and letters of administration had been issued, so the legal authority to sell was already in place.
We closed 21 days after offer acceptance. The home was purchased as-is with all remaining contents. The executors did not need to coordinate a cleanout, hire a junk removal company, or manage any aspect of the property after closing. They handled the entire transaction remotely from Texas and Oregon without ever visiting the property.
The Renovation vs. Cash Sale Decision
The executors initially considered renovating the property before selling. A local real estate agent estimated the home would sell for approximately $580,000 in fully renovated condition. The estimated renovation cost, including kitchen ($45,000), two bathrooms ($30,000), HVAC ($12,000), windows ($18,000), flooring ($15,000), and paint and cosmetic work ($8,000), totaled approximately $128,000.
After subtracting the renovation cost ($128,000), real estate agent commissions at 5% ($29,000), Montgomery County recordation tax at 1% ($5,800), carrying costs during renovation and listing (~$16,000 for 6 months of taxes, insurance, utilities, and lawn care), and closing costs, the estimated net from a renovation-and-list strategy was approximately $395,000.
Our cash offer was competitive with that net, without the risk, time, remote management burden, or uncertainty of a renovation project managed from 1,500 miles away. When the executors saw the comparison on paper, the decision was clear.
Montgomery County Estate Resources
- Montgomery County Register of Wills: 50 Maryland Ave, Suite 322, Rockville MD 20850, (240) 777-9696
- Montgomery County Circuit Court: 50 Maryland Ave, Rockville MD 20850, (240) 777-9400
- Montgomery County Finance (Taxes): montgomerycountymd.gov/finance, (240) 777-0311
- Maryland State Bar Association Lawyer Referral: msba.org/referral
- Maryland Legal Aid: mdlab.org