What does it cost to keep an empty house while we settle the estate?

The insurance first. Many homeowner's policies restrict or void coverage once a home sits empty for thirty to sixty days. An estate house needs a vacant-home policy, and it needs it before something happens, not after. Then winter: in Minneapolis, the heat stays on, because a burst pipe in January can erase more value in one night than a year of patience earned. Around those two, the steady drip — mortgage if there is one, property taxes, utilities, lawn or snow, and eventually the homestead tax classification falls away and the tax bill climbs. None of it is a reason to rush. All of it is a reason to know the monthly number.

I'll put that number on one page for your actual house — so waiting is a decision, not a drift. Just call.