Ocean County, New Jersey
An inherited house in Lavallette, handled with care.
When your family sells the property to us, we handle the probate at the Ocean 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 Lavallette
What families find in Lavallette.
Planned in 1878 under the name Lavallette City by the Sea, this Barnegat Peninsula borough has Toms River Township's shore sections on either end, Ortley Beach to its south and the Dover Beaches on the north, and Route 35 runs its full length between ocean and bay. Homes here greatly outnumber the households living in town all year, so an inherited house is often a family summer place that heirs now share from a distance.
Entirely in a flood zone
The borough states that all of its land is mapped as a special flood hazard area. Once repairs or improvements reach half of a home's market value, the house has to be raised to current standards. An estate holding an unelevated house may face that rule before any major work. We purchase homes that haven't been raised.
Unfinished storm work
Superstorm Sandy did catastrophic damage to Lavallette's houses, roads and boardwalk in 2012. A parent may have started repairs and never completed them, or the elevation certificate may be missing from the family papers. The borough's FEMA Community Rating System standing helps with premiums, but costs continue while the house sits. We take it as it stands.
One house per lot
The original plan used lots of a standard 50 by 100 feet along wide streets. Later rules allowed only a single dwelling on each lot and barred commercial buildings from the oceanfront and bayfront. Heirs hoping to split a lot or add a second house will run into that history. We look at the lot as it is and handle title work with the family.
Probate for a Lavallette property
The Ocean 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 Ocean County that's the Ocean County Surrogate's Court in Toms River. 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 Ocean County Surrogate.
4 · Get paid
Close as-is, often in 30 to 60 days.
Lavallette and the towns around it
Neighboring towns we also serve
We serve every municipality in Ocean County and all 21 New Jersey counties.
Lavallette questions
Our parents never elevated the Lavallette house. Does the estate have to?
Not to sell to us. We purchase houses below current flood elevation as they stand, so the estate does not need to raise the home first.
The house is still furnished from summers past. Can it stay that way?
Yes. Heirs can take what they want, and we buy the house with the rest of the contents.
Where is probate filed for a house in Lavallette?
Probate for someone who lived in Lavallette is handled by the Ocean County Surrogate's Court in Toms River. 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 Lavallette 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 an Ocean County property?
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