Monmouth County, New Jersey
An inherited house in Highlands, handled with care.
When your family sells the property to us, we handle the probate at the Monmouth County Surrogate's Court and can cover its costs, including the family's estate attorney fees. We speak with each heir separately and privately, and we take the property as it stands.
Inherited property in Highlands
What families find in Highlands.
Highlands sits where the Shrewsbury River opens into Sandy Hook Bay, next to Middletown and Atlantic Highlands, with Sea Bright reached over the Route 36 bridge. Highlands became a borough in 1900. Some of the town lies at water level and some rises up the bluff beneath the Navesink Twin Lights, which date to 1862. Inherited houses here range from storm-affected homes by the water to hillside places above the river.
A house Sandy reached
In 2012 Sandy's surge reached close to ten feet in Highlands, and roughly four of every five homes suffered severe damage. A parent may have made partial repairs, started elevation work or left a claim unresolved. Gembrook buys the house with that history in place, so the estate doesn't have to finish the job before settling.
Waterfront or bluff
Houses near the river and bay face flood-zone and insurance questions, while those on the bluff can bring steep lots and drainage concerns. Either way, an empty house during probate needs someone keeping watch. Gembrook takes the property in the condition the family received it and handles those items afterward.
Rentals and part-time homes
Of the borough's roughly 2,930 homes in 2020, about 17 percent stood vacant, many of them part-time or rental. If a parent owned a rental, the estate inherits its tenants and repair calls. We can buy with tenants in place, so the family doesn't have to step in as landlord while the estate is open.
Probate for a Highlands property
The Monmouth County Surrogate's Court, handled for you.
In New Jersey, an estate is opened in the county where the person who passed away lived. For Monmouth County that's the Monmouth County Surrogate's Court in Freehold. With a will, the executor is appointed there; without one, an administrator is appointed, and the other heirs typically sign renunciations.
Before an inherited house can be sold, New Jersey also usually needs an inheritance tax waiver — or, for close family, an affidavit — and any liens, judgments or back taxes have to be resolved. We coordinate all of it for you. Read our full New Jersey probate guide →
1 · Reach out
A short, unhurried call about the property and your family.
2 · Private offer
A private, written offer for the property, with every number shown.
3 · We handle probate
We handle it with the Monmouth County Surrogate.
4 · Get paid
Close as-is, often in 30 to 60 days.
Highlands and the towns around it
Neighboring towns we also serve
We serve every municipality in Monmouth County and all 21 New Jersey counties.
Highlands questions
Mom never finished the Sandy repairs on her house. Can the estate still sell it?
Yes. Gembrook buys homes with incomplete storm repairs, permits that were never closed, or elevation work left half done, in their current state.
Dad rented out his Highlands house. What happens to the tenant during the estate?
The lease transfers with the property. Gembrook can purchase with the tenant in place, so heirs don't need to arrange a move-out.
Where is probate filed for a house in Highlands?
Probate for someone who lived in Highlands is handled by the Monmouth County Surrogate's Court in Freehold. That's where a will is admitted, or an administrator is appointed when there's no will. When your family sells to Gembrook Properties, we handle this step with you, and in most cases you just sign where needed.
Can you cover the probate costs for a Highlands property?
Yes, when your family sells the inherited property to Gembrook Properties. In many cases we cover the cost of opening the estate, including the family's estate attorney fees, so the family pays nothing out of pocket.
What if the heirs don't agree?
That's common. We speak with each heir separately and privately, so no one has to negotiate as a group, and the executor or court-appointed administrator signs the sale.
Inherited a house in Highlands?
Talk to a real person — not a call center.
No pressure, no cost. Just an honest conversation about the property and your options.
New Jersey counties we serve