By Nyx Sherwin, Founder of We Buy 502
Six Siblings, One Estate, and No Offers After Six Months
When the seller called me, she was tired. Not the kind of tired you fix with a day off. The kind that builds up over months of managing something you never planned for.
Her grandmother had passed away in March. She became the executrix of the estate, responsible for a 3-bedroom home in Louisville’s Shelby Park neighborhood. She had five siblings, all with a stake in the property. She was the one handling it.
The problem was, the seller lived about two and a half hours away. She was driving to Louisville every couple of days to check on the house, manage the estate, and keep things moving. She had done everything right. But months of back-and-forth with the estate had ground her down.
She had listed the property with a real estate agent back in June. Six months later, not a single legitimate offer. The house sat on the MLS while she kept making the drive, kept paying bills, kept waiting.
That is when she found We Buy 502 on Google and reached out.
The Property: A 1900s Home in Louisville’s Shelby Park Historic District
I met the seller at the house to get a firsthand look at the situation. The home sat in Shelby Park, one of Louisville’s historic neighborhoods near downtown. Built around 1900 to 1910, it had the character you would expect from a home that old: original hardwood floors, a carpeted staircase with a carved newel post, tall ceilings.
But it also had the problems.
The exterior siding was asbestos from decades ago. All of the soffit boards were flaking paint and rotting. Inside, walking down the hallway felt a bit like a funhouse, with the floors sloping enough that you noticed it. The kitchen cabinets were half painted, like someone started a project and never finished. Cracks ran across parts of the ceiling from water damage. The bathrooms were functional but dated, with old fixtures and worn tile.
This was not a house that a traditional buyer was going to finance. And that explained six months on the MLS with nothing to show for it.
What I Found Out When We Sat Down Together
When we sat down to talk, I learned just how much the seller had been carrying. She was not just managing the estate. She was covering the bills with her own money. Utilities, upkeep, the costs that come with an empty property that will not sell. Every month the house sat on the market was another month of expenses out of her pocket.
She had five siblings who all needed to agree on a sale. As executrix, the seller had made sure everyone was on the same page. That part was handled. But the probate court process in Kentucky required a court order to approve the sale. She could not just accept an offer and close.
I told her we were ready whenever the court was. I walked her through how our process works and put together a cash offer for the property in its current condition. No repairs. No staging. No waiting for a buyer who might back out after an inspection.
A Court-Ordered Sale and Learning to Be Patient Together
We had originally planned to close in December. But the court-ordered sale process moved at its own pace. Probate courts in Jefferson County do not rush, even when the executrix is ready.
She wanted to move faster. I understood that. Every extra week meant more bills, more driving, more stress. I told her, “We’re not going anywhere.” We stayed in communication, kept everything lined up on our end, and waited for the court to approve the sale.
That approval came in January.
The Day Before Closing: A Cold Snap and a Crawlspace
Then, the day before we were set to close, Louisville got hit with a cold snap.
Because nobody had been living at the property, the utilities had been turned off. That meant no heat, and temperatures were dropping. The concern was that pipes in the house may have frozen, and if they burst when the water came back on, it could delay closing and cause serious damage.
After everything the seller had been through, this was not going to be the thing that stopped us.
I did three things in the next 24 hours. First, I paid the prior balance on the electric bill that had led to the utilities being shut off. Second, I crawled underneath the house into a dark, dusty crawlspace to manually shut off the water main, just in case there were burst pipes waiting to flood the house when the utility company restored service. Third, I coordinated with local contractors to do an on-site inspection of the plumbing to verify there was no damage from the cold snap.
This is the kind of situation that stops most home sales from closing on time. But with a little effort and 24 hours, we resolved everything and kept the closing on track.
Closed in January: The Estate Settled
We closed through Limestone Title. All six siblings accounted for. The court order honored. The property transferred.
For the seller, that closing meant no more drives to Louisville. No more paying someone else’s utility bills. No more managing a property that had been draining her time and money for nearly a year.
She could finally close this chapter and move forward.
What the Seller Had to Say
If I could give 100 stars I would. He is wonderful and very knowledgeable and helpful through the whole process of buying the home that I was selling. I was selling my grandmother’s home who had passed away. I was very stressed and he helped a lot by being kind and super understanding. If I had to do this all over I would still choose him.
Seller, 5-star Google Review | YouTube Review
Read more seller experiences on our reviews page.
Property Details
| Neighborhood | Shelby Park (Historic District), Louisville, KY |
| Bedrooms | 3 |
| Bathrooms | 2 |
| Square Feet | 1,483 |
| Year Built | ~1900-1910 |
| Situation | Probate (inherited from grandmother, 6 heirs) |
| Listed on MLS | 6 months, no legitimate offers |
| How She Found Us | Google Search |
| Title Company | Limestone Title |
Selling a House in Probate in Kentucky?
This seller’s situation was complicated. Six heirs, a court-ordered sale, a house that needed serious work, and months of carrying costs with no end in sight. But we made it work by being patient, staying ready, and stepping in when it mattered.
If you’re the executor of an estate and have an inherited property you need to sell, give me a call. No pressure, no cost. Just a real conversation about what makes sense for you.
Call me at (502) 849-5950 or fill out our quick form. I’ll get back to you within a day.
