How to Sell Inherited Land in Maryland

You can sell land you inherited in Maryland without moving here, without waiting for the estate to close, and in most families without going to court.

Who signs the deed comes down to one question: is the land still in the estate, or has it already passed to the heirs? Here is how each case works, with the Maryland law behind each step.

Step 1: Find out whether the land is still in the estate

Land titled in the owner’s name alone passes through their estate. The estate is opened with the Register of Wills in the county where the owner lived, and a personal representative is appointed to run it. If there is a will, the person it names comes first. If there is no will, the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and the children are next in line, followed by other relatives (Estates and Trusts Article, §5-104).

While the estate is open, the land is sold by the personal representative, not by each heir separately. Maryland law lets a personal representative sell estate property without asking the court for permission, unless the will or a court order says otherwise (§7-401). In practice that means that in most estates the personal representative can sign the deed once appointed, and you do not have to wait for probate to finish before you sell.

What the title company will ask for

The document that proves the appointment is called letters of administration, issued by the Register of Wills (§6-104). Maryland uses that one name whether or not there was a will. Have a copy ready, because the title company needs to see who has authority to sign before it can schedule settlement.

Smaller estates move faster

If the property going through probate is worth $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the only heir, the estate can use Maryland’s simpler small estate process (§5-601). A personal representative is still appointed and still receives letters of administration (§5-603), so the land can be sold the same way.

Step 2: Work out who actually owns the land

If there was no will

Maryland’s intestacy rules decide who inherits. If the owner left no spouse or registered domestic partner, the estate is divided equally among the children, and a child who died first has their share passed down to their own children (§3-103). With no spouse and no descendants, it goes to the owner’s parents, and if neither parent is living, to the owner’s brothers and sisters and their descendants (§3-104).

Heirs own it together, as tenants in common

When land passes to several people, Maryland does not treat them as joint tenants unless the deed or will expressly says so (Real Property Article, §2-117). Each of you owns an undivided fractional share of the whole parcel. Any one of you can sell your own share, but nobody can sell the whole parcel unless every owner signs.

This is why the first question matters so much. While the estate is open, the personal representative can sell the parcel as one piece. Once the land has been deeded out to five cousins, you need five signatures.

What if the heirs disagree about selling?

This is the most common hold-up we run into, and Maryland rewrote the rules in 2022. Any co-owner can ask a court to partition the land. Since October 1, 2022, those cases follow Maryland’s version of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Real Property Article, §§14-701 to 14-713), and it applies to every partition of real property unless all the co-owners agree otherwise in writing (§14-702). Here is the order things happen in:

1. The court sets a value first, normally by appointing a licensed appraiser (§14-707).
2. The others get a chance to buy out the seller. If a co-owner asked for a sale, the rest have 45 days after the court’s notice to elect to buy that person’s share, priced at the appraised value times their fraction (§14-708).
3. Dividing the land is preferred over selling it. If nobody buys out the seller, the court splits the land into separate parcels unless that would cause great prejudice to the owners as a group. It weighs factors such as how long the family has held the land and who has been paying the taxes (§§14-709 and 14-710).
4. A sale goes to the open market. If the court orders a sale, the default is a listing with a licensed broker at no less than the court’s value (§14-711).

The law protects the relative who wants to keep the land. It is also slow, and everyone pays along the way: lawyers, an appraisal, and a broker’s commission on any sale. On a vacant lot worth less than the legal bill, agreeing on a buyout price or on one sale is almost always cheaper.

Want to know what the family’s parcel would sell for? Send us the county and the parcel for a written cash offer, with no obligation to accept it.

Or call us at 240-245-2466

Taxes on inherited Maryland land

• Inheritance tax. Spouses, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings are exempt. Nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends generally pay 10 percent (Tax-General Article, §7-204), collected by the Register of Wills.
• Estate tax. This is a separate tax on the estate as a whole, and the Maryland exclusion is $5,000,000 for deaths on or after January 1, 2019 (§7-309). An estate whose main asset is a vacant lot is nowhere near it.
• Capital gains. For federal income tax, your basis in inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death (Internal Revenue Code, §1014), not what the owner originally paid. Sell for close to that value and there is little or no gain. Ask your tax preparer.
• Withholding if you live out of state. As our Maryland page explains, nonresident sellers generally have Maryland tax withheld at settlement, a prepayment against your Maryland return rather than an extra tax.

If the property taxes stopped getting paid

The bill often keeps going to the address of someone who has died. Unpaid taxes put the parcel into the county’s annual tax sale. Six months after that sale, the certificate holder can file to foreclose the right of redemption (Tax-Property Article, §14-833), and the owner can redeem until that foreclosure is final (§14-827). A sale that closes before then pays the taxes, interest, and costs out of the proceeds.

Selling from out of state

You do not need to come to Maryland. Heirs spread across several states sign remotely with a notary, and the title company handles recording. Most closings run 60 to 90 days, driven mainly by how fast title clears, and an estate that already has a personal representative appointed is usually at the quick end of that.

When selling to a cash buyer is the wrong move

We buy land for a living, so weigh this accordingly.

If someone in the family wants to keep it, a buyout at a fair value keeps the land in the family and costs nobody a discount. If the lot is buildable and you have time, list it: a parcel on a paved road with public sewer or a passing perc will usually do better on the open market than with any cash buyer, including us. If the estate itself is in dispute, a challenged will needs a lawyer, not a buyer.

A direct sale wins on the parcel that will not sell any other way: a rural lot that will not perc, land with no road access, a lot inside the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, or a parcel owned by heirs in four states who just want it handled. Those are the ones we buy.

Where we buy in Maryland

We are based in Germantown and buy in six Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Charles, and St. Mary’s. The full picture is on our sell your Maryland land page, and more guides are on the blog.

Common questions

Can I sell inherited land in Maryland before probate is finished?

Usually, yes. Once the Register of Wills appoints a personal representative, that person can in most estates sign the deed and sell the land while the estate is still open.

Do all the heirs have to agree to sell?

While the estate is open, the personal representative signs. Once the land is deeded to the heirs, every owner signs, or a co-owner asks a court for partition.

Do I owe tax when I inherit land in Maryland?

Children, siblings, and other close family owe no Maryland inheritance tax. Nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends generally pay 10 percent.

I live out of state. Do I have to travel to Maryland to sell?

No. You sign remotely with a notary and the title company records the deed.

We are land buyers, not lawyers, and this is general information about Maryland law, not legal or tax advice. Statutes cited are from the Maryland Code and the Internal Revenue Code. Your estate attorney or the county Register of Wills can tell you exactly where an estate stands.