Passaic County, New Jersey
An inherited house in Totowa, handled with care.
When your family sells the property to us, we handle the probate at the Passaic 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 Totowa
What families find in Totowa.
Along the Upper Passaic River, Totowa covers roughly 4.1 square miles, bordered by Woodland Park, Little Falls, Wayne, Haledon and Paterson. Route 46 and Interstate 80 cut through, and the 2020 census counted 4,026 housing units, very few vacant. The name derives from a Native American word for the Passaic Falls, and the land goes back to Willock's Patent of 1696. For heirs, an empty inherited house here stands apart from the occupied homes around it.
Few empty houses
In 2020, Totowa's homeowner vacancy rate was 0.6 percent and its rental vacancy rate 1.8 percent. A parent's house that goes dark during an estate is unusual on such streets, and it still needs heat, insurance and someone to look in on it. We can purchase while the estate is still being settled.
River crests
The Upper Passaic has reached major flood crests in 1903 and again in 2010 and 2011, and several crossings link Totowa over the river. If an inherited home sits on low ground, the heirs may not know what was repaired after each event. We review its water history ourselves and purchase it without asking for any work first.
Founded in 1898
Totowa's first election, in April 1898, took place at the Willard Park Hotel, which served as the unofficial town hall until a municipal building opened in 1910. A house with a long ownership history may have older records the title search has to trace. We handle that with the family and the title company as part of the purchase.
Probate for a Totowa property
The Passaic 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 Passaic County that's the Passaic County Surrogate's Court in Paterson. 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 Passaic County Surrogate.
4 · Get paid
Close as-is, often in 30 to 60 days.
Totowa and the towns around it
Neighboring towns we also serve
We serve every municipality in Passaic County and all 21 New Jersey counties.
Totowa questions
The Totowa house is empty and the estate isn't settled yet. Can we talk with you now?
Yes. You can contact us before the estate is opened. We explain how we work alongside the estate process and speak with each heir separately.
Mom's Totowa house is near the Passaic and had water in 2011. Will that be an issue?
We look at the house and its flood history ourselves and account for it in our evaluation; the estate is not asked to make repairs first.
Where is probate filed for a house in Totowa?
Probate for someone who lived in Totowa is handled by the Passaic County Surrogate's Court in Paterson. 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 Totowa 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 Totowa?
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