My mom just died and owned a house. What do we do first?
Nothing about selling — not yet. The first jobs are quieter: lock the house, round up the spare keys that have drifted to neighbors and family over the years, keep the utilities on, and call the insurance company to tell them the home is unoccupied.
Then gather, don't sort. The will, the deed, bank statements, the tax records — collect them somewhere safe before anything in the house moves. Don't let anyone start taking keepsakes yet, even with good intentions; who-gets-what has a process, and skipping it is how households fracture. If it's winter, the heat stays on — a burst pipe grieves nothing and ruins everything. The selling question will keep for a few weeks. This part won't.
There's no clock on any of the rest. When you're ready to talk about what happens next, call me. The first call is just listening.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.