Can I Sell My Share of My Mother’s House? An Odessa Story

I’m Raul Bolufe. My company buys the shares of individual heirs in inherited houses across Texas. People call me and say, I want to sell my share of my mother’s house and my sisters will not talk to me. This is the story of one house in Odessa, three sisters who had not spoken in ten years, and how all three of them got paid in six weeks. I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. It is what happened.

Ten years of silence

When their mother died, she left a house in Odessa and a will that said if the house ever sold, the money would be split three ways between her daughters.

One of the daughters, I’ll call her Tina, did what a lot of people do. She moved into the house. She caught up the taxes out of her own pocket. She tried to make it work.

It lasted six months. Her two sisters made living there impossible. She moved out, and that was the last time she saw the house or spoke to either of them. A family friend moved in. Ten years went by.

Tina never stopped owning a third of that house. She just had no way to do anything with it. No realtor would list one third of a house. No bank would lend on it. Her sisters were not going to buy her out. And she was 300 miles away in Fort Worth with no idea what the place even looked like anymore.

“I need to sell my share of my mother’s house”

Tina reached out to us in early July. She was in the hospital in Fort Worth, and what she wanted came down to one line. Sell my share of my mother’s house and be done with it. Rachel on my team sent me her situation the same day with the note “very very hot lead” and, underneath it, the room number at Medical City Fort Worth so a notary could go to her.

That is how she signed. In a hospital room, with a mobile notary, for her third of a house she had not seen in a decade. No sisters involved, no permission needed, no probate. Her share was hers to sell, so she sold it.

She was paid within days of the deed recording. A couple of days after that she left us a review that I still think about:

“I was able to sell the house at the most needed time. It had become such a weight on me from my past, causing nothing but grief. So glad to be rid of it.”

What happened with the sisters

Here is what people always ask. What about the other two?

The moment Tina’s deed recorded, we owned one third of the house and her two sisters owned the other two thirds. We were now their co-owners whether they liked it or not. So we did what we always do. We reached out and made them the same kind of offer we made Tina.

They did not jump. Two sisters who had spent ten years keeping their own sister out of the house were not excited to hear from a company that now owned her piece. Our attorney sent a letter explaining where things stood.

Two weeks after Tina signed, both sisters signed. Rachel’s message to the team that day was “100 percent locked up,” with a lot of exclamation points.

One of the sisters, I’ll call her Becky, left her own review three days later:

“I was genuinely impressed with every step of the process and with everyone involved in my experience with this company. They were super nice and super accommodating.”

Read that again. The sister who was on the other side of a ten year family feud reviewed us five stars after selling. That is what this looks like when it is done right. Nobody got punished. Everybody got paid. Nobody had to sit in a room together.

The family friend in the house

There was still someone living there. The family friend had been in the house for years.

We did not file an eviction. We offered cash for keys, which means we paid them to move out on a schedule that worked for them. They took it. The house was empty, we cleaned it out, and we sold it. From Tina’s first message to the house being sold: about six weeks.

What this deal shows

“Nobody will buy my share of my mother’s house.” Somebody did. Tina signed alone, without her sisters agreeing. Her sisters found out afterward.
You do not have to be near the house. Tina was 300 miles away, in a hospital bed. The notary came to her.
The holdouts usually sell too. Once we own a piece, the other heirs get the same offer. Most take it within a few weeks.
The person living there is our problem, not yours. We handled the occupant after we owned the house.
It does not have to be a war. Both sides of this family left us five star reviews.

“What do I do with my share of my mother’s house?”

Maybe you moved in, paid the taxes, and got pushed out. Maybe you are the one still in the house and your brother wants out. Maybe nobody has spoken since the funeral. It does not matter which one you are. Your share is yours.

Call or text me at 936-380-6384, or fill out the form. Tell me the address, who passed away, and how many brothers and sisters there are. I will tell you what your share is worth within a day, and if it works for you, the notary comes to you.

About the author

Raul Bolufe has bought and sold real estate since 2012, closed more than 800 deals, and paid more than 100 heirs for their share of inherited property across Texas and Florida. He hosts the Flipping Miami Podcast. More at raulbolufe.com.