AUTHORITY FIRST, THEN PRICE. THAT ORDER IS WHAT KEEPS AN ESTATE SALE QUIET.

The first document is Letters. Once the court issues Letters (JDF 915), the personal representative can list, contract and close while the estate is open, and C.R.S. 15-12-711 gives the personal representative an owner's power over estate property without a court order (VERIFIED). A practice that starts with a list price before Letters exist is guessing, and the guessing is where the arguments start. A house held in a trust follows a different path, and the existing answer on selling a house held in a trust in Colorado covers it.

The second document is the reading of the house. Condition, title, insurance, HOA and permit history are read while contract rights are open, on /buy/read-the-house, and every unknown becomes an inspection, a document request, a specialist, a reserve or a contract term. An estate that reads the sewer line before the buyer does has one fewer renegotiation to survive.

A written cash offer is brought when speed is worth more than the last dollar, and it goes on the same sheet as the listing paths so the cost of speed is visible in dollars (PROBABLE as to the gap, which depends on the house). If the estate has time, the rent-vs-sell tool on /tools/rent-vs-sell prices holding the house for a period first.

The market clock goes on the sheet too. Denver metro median days on market was 57 days in August 2026, and that runs to contract, not to closing (VERIFIED, FRED MEDAONMAMSA19740). The estate pays taxes, insurance, HOA and utilities from the day Letters issue, so the clock is a carrying cost, and the sheet shows it as one.

The lanes are fixed and stated. The estate attorney leads probate and inheritance questions. The CPA leads tax on the gain and the basis. The title company leads its premium, closing fee and the deed. The inspector and the specialist lead what the showing cannot show. A practice that answers a probate question itself is adding drama, not removing it.

The record is public. Robert An is a broker associate at Compass, Colorado license 100084328, licensed since 2019, with 5.0 across 32 Zillow reviews and 54 recorded sales, 18 in the last twelve months (VERIFIED, Zillow profile, read 2026-09-24). The fit page /is-homesy-right-for-you names probate as a situation this practice fits, and says it fits less well for someone who wants a lighter, faster-moving experience. Tell Robert the date Letters issued or are expected and whether the house is vacant, and the sequence starts from authority.