Do you have to go through probate to sell an inherited house in Washington?
Usually the house has to clear probate (or a small-estate/affidavit shortcut, or a trust or transfer-on-death deed) before you can pass clean title to a buyer. The exact threshold and the shortcut available depend on Washington law and how the estate was set up, so confirm your path with the Washington probate court or an estate attorney before you list.
Will you owe capital gains tax when you sell?
Usually very little. An inherited home gets a stepped-up basis to its fair-market value on the date of death (IRC §1014), so if you sell near that value there is almost no taxable gain. This is federal and applies in Washington like everywhere else — one of the few rules that makes selling an inherited house simpler than people fear.
What does the house cost you while probate runs?
Every month the estate is open, the home keeps costing money: Washington property taxes (about 1.03%/yr on the value), insurance on a often-vacant house, utilities, and upkeep. Those carrying costs are the real bleed, and they land whether or not anyone is living there.
The honest math on an inherited Washington house
Because the stepped-up basis usually erases capital-gains tax either way, the real comparison isn't tax — it's months of carrying costs plus agent commission (about 6%) against a clean cash sale that closes in days once you're legally cleared to sell.
A cash sale can close fast once probate clears title. Confirm the probate path with a Washington attorney, then weigh the certainty against the retail upside.