Short answer. No. The Civil Code forbids executors and administrators from acquiring, by purchase, the property of the estate under their administration. The ban applies even at a public or judicial auction and even if they buy through another person. Their duty is to the estate, not to themselves as buyers.
What the law says
Executors and administrators, the property of the estate under administration
Civil Code, Article 1491 — Persons Who Cannot Buy. Read the full provision →
Why the estate's manager cannot be its buyer
An executor or administrator is a fiduciary: he holds and manages the estate's property for the heirs and creditors, not for himself. Article 1491 keeps that role clean by listing among those who cannot acquire by purchase, even at a public or judicial auction, either in person or through the mediation of another, the class of executors and administrators, the property of the estate under administration. Letting the person in charge of selling estate assets also buy them would set his personal interest — paying as little as possible — against his duty to realize full value for the estate. The law forecloses that conflict outright rather than trusting each administrator to resist it.
A stricter ban than the agent's
Unlike the rule for ordinary agents, this disqualification carries no built-in escape through simple consent. The paragraph on executors and administrators states the prohibition without the qualifier that lets an agent buy with the principal's consent. The reason is that an estate is not a single principal who can freely waive protection: it stands for heirs and creditors, some of whom may be minors, absent, or in conflict with one another. The safeguard therefore does not bend to a private agreement in the way the agent's does, reflecting how much more exposed the beneficiaries of an estate are to abuse by the one administering it.
The purchase cannot be laundered
The same protective phrases apply. Because the ban covers acquisition through the mediation of another, an administrator cannot have a spouse, child, friend, or company buy the estate property and then transfer it to him; if he is the true buyer, the transaction is caught no matter whose name appears. And even at a public or judicial auction the prohibition holds, so the administrator cannot claim that an open, competitive sale cured the conflict. What the law targets is the administrator ending up as owner of what he was charged with managing, by whatever route.
Consequences and cautions
A purchase made in violation of this rule is legally infirm and exposed to being annulled, and the administrator may face separate accountability for breaching his trust. Heirs who suspect that estate property was funneled to the administrator should examine who the real buyer was and how the sale was arranged. An administrator who has a genuine interest in acquiring estate property should not attempt it on his own initiative; the proper course is to seek the appropriate authorization within the settlement proceedings. Because the stakes and the rules are strict, the specific facts should be reviewed carefully before relying on any such sale.