To put your house up for sale, you gather your ownership and loan documents, complete the disclosures your state and federal law require, price the home against recent comparable sales, sign a listing agreement with a brokerage, and publish an accurate MLS listing that stays within fair housing rules. Each step has to happen before showings begin, and each carries real financial consequences if handled carelessly.
Documents to Pull Together First
Start with your property deed. It proves ownership and shows any liens, easements, or encumbrances on title. A copy from your county recorder’s office or a title company typically runs $15 to $50. Read it. A forgotten co-owner or old lien is a problem you want to find now, not when a buyer’s title search flags it weeks into escrow.
Request a payoff statement from your mortgage servicer. This is not your monthly statement balance; it is an exact payoff figure that accounts for accrued interest through a specific date. Federal law requires your servicer to provide it within seven business days of a written request.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1639g – Requests for Payoff Amounts of Home Loan Order it early so the number does not surprise you when you estimate proceeds.
Round out the folder with current property tax records from your local assessor (most are online) and your homeowners insurance declarations page. If the property sits in a homeowners association, request the HOA resale package: the CC&Rs, recent financials, meeting minutes, a reserve study, and a resale certificate showing unpaid dues or pending violations. Most management companies take five to fourteen days and charge a preparation fee, so start that request as soon as you decide to sell.
Disclosures You Have to Make
If your home was built before 1978, federal law requires you to disclose known lead-based paint hazards before a buyer is locked into a purchase contract.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S.C. 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property You must give the buyer a lead hazard information pamphlet, share any inspection reports you have, and allow the buyer at least ten days to conduct their own lead paint inspection.3eCFR. 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F – Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale or Lease of Residential Property The inflation-adjusted penalty for violations currently exceeds $22,000 per violation.4Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment
Most states also require a general property condition disclosure. The forms vary, but the principle is the same: you must tell the buyer about known material defects that affect the home’s value or safety. Structural problems, past water damage, a failing HVAC system, foundation cracks, pest infestations. If you know about it, disclose it. Buyers who discover hidden defects after closing have grounds for fraud claims that cost far more than a reduced offer ever would.
Should You Get a Pre-Listing Inspection
A pre-listing home inspection is optional. It runs roughly $300 to $425 for a typical single-family home and gives you a chance to fix problems before they derail a deal or become negotiating leverage for the buyer. A clean report on the kitchen counter during showings also signals confidence in the property.
If the inspection surfaces something significant, like a roof near end of life, outdated electrical panels, or a water heater about to fail, you can repair it, adjust your asking price, or disclose it proactively. Any of those beats a buyer demanding a $15,000 credit three weeks into escrow after their inspector finds the same thing.
Pricing the Home
Every overpriced listing eventually sells for less than it would have at the right price on day one. The market punishes stale listings, and price cuts read as desperation. Getting the number right upfront matters more than almost anything else in this process.
A comparative market analysis from a listing agent pulls recent sales of similar homes and adjusts for size, condition, and features. It is free when you are working with the agent. For an independent opinion, or if you are selling without one, a licensed appraisal runs roughly $400 to $600 and produces a formal valuation tied to specific comparables. Because lenders rely on appraisals to approve buyer financing, an early appraisal also tells you whether your target price will survive a lender’s review.
Whatever price you settle on, run a seller net sheet before you list. Closing costs for sellers typically run 8% to 10% of the sale price once agent commissions are included, and title insurance, escrow fees, recording charges, prorated taxes, and your mortgage payoff add up quickly. The net sheet prevents the surprise of seeing your proceeds check at closing and realizing it is thousands less than you expected.
Signing the Listing Agreement
The listing agreement is your contract with a brokerage authorizing them to market the property. It sets the listing duration (typically three to six months), the asking price, what stays and what goes, and the commission structure.5NAR.realtor. Consumer Guide to Listing Agreements Every term is negotiable despite what a pre-printed form suggests. Read it before you sign.
The agreement should include the property’s legal description, not just the street address. Title companies and closing attorneys use the lot-and-block reference or metes-and-bounds description recorded in county land records to confirm the contract covers the right parcel. Verify it matches your deed.
Commission Terms After the NAR Settlement
Commission negotiations look different than they did a few years ago. Since August 2024, the National Association of Realtors settlement prohibits listing agents from advertising buyer-agent compensation on any MLS platform.6National Association of REALTORS®. What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers You can still offer to help cover the buyer’s agent fee, but that offer has to happen off the MLS: through your agent, in marketing materials, or as a general closing-cost concession in an offer.
The same settlement requires buyers to sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring homes together.7NAR.realtor. Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements For you as a seller, buyers now negotiate their agent’s fee separately, and some may ask you to contribute toward it in their offer. Total commission rates still average around 5% to 6% of the sale price nationally, though the split between listing and buyer sides is less standardized than it used to be. Your listing agreement should specify exactly what you are paying your listing agent, with any buyer-side contribution handled in the purchase offer rather than baked into the listing.
What Stays and What Goes
Spell out inclusions and exclusions. Appliances, window treatments, light fixtures, mounted TVs, and outdoor structures are common flashpoints. If a chandelier is going with you, say so in the listing. Ambiguity here creates disputes that can blow up a deal at the worst possible moment.
Publishing the Listing
Once the agreement is signed, your agent uploads the property data to the local Multiple Listing Service. If you are selling independently, flat-fee MLS entry services charge roughly $100 to $500 for a set listing period. Either way, verify every detail before it goes live: square footage, room counts, lot dimensions, year built, and school district. Errors in these fields do not just look sloppy. They can trigger appraisal disputes or misrepresentation claims.
Include the specifics buyers and their agents actually look for: ages of the roof, furnace, and water heater; recent upgrades with approximate costs and dates; utility averages; and neighborhood amenities. Detailed, accurate listings get more showing requests than vague ones. After submission, the listing typically syndicates to third-party real estate websites within 24 to 48 hours.
Fair Housing Rules in Your Description
Federal law prohibits any real estate advertisement that expresses a preference or limitation based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing That applies to your MLS listing, social media posts, flyers, and any other marketing. Describe the property, not who you think should live there. Phrases like “perfect for young professionals,” “ideal Christian family home,” or “adult community” violate fair housing law unless the property legitimately qualifies for a statutory exemption, such as a designated senior housing community. Stick to features and you stay on the right side of the line.
Closing Costs Sellers Should Plan For
Beyond agent commissions, expect to cover some or all of the following at closing:
- Title insurance. In most markets the seller pays for the buyer’s owner’s title insurance policy, with premiums around 0.5% of the sale price.
- Escrow or settlement fees for document preparation, notarization, and disbursement, ranging from a few hundred dollars to 0.5% of the purchase price depending on your location.
- Transfer taxes charged by state or local governments when property changes hands. Rates range from zero in roughly a third of states to as high as 3% in others, so check your local rate before finalizing the net sheet.
- Recording fees for filing the new deed with the county, typically $50 to $250.
- Prorated property taxes through the closing date.
- Mortgage payoff plus any prepayment penalty. Your payoff statement will include the exact balance and per-diem interest through the expected closing date.
Roughly half the states require or strongly expect a licensed attorney to handle the closing. In the others, a title company or escrow officer manages the process. If your state requires an attorney, that fee (usually several hundred to over a thousand dollars) is another line on your settlement statement. Confirm local requirements early.
Capital Gains Tax on the Sale
If the home has appreciated significantly, you may owe federal capital gains tax on the profit. Most homeowners qualify for a substantial exclusion. You can exclude up to $250,000 of gain filing single, or up to $500,000 filing jointly, provided you owned and used the home as your principal residence for at least two of the five years before the sale.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence You also cannot have claimed the exclusion on another home sale within the past two years.10Internal Revenue Service. Sale of Residence – Real Estate Tax Tips
For married couples filing jointly, both spouses must meet the use test, though only one needs to meet the ownership test.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence If your gain falls below the exclusion threshold and you certify the home was your principal residence with no periods of nonqualified use after 2008, the closing agent may not need to file a Form 1099-S reporting the transaction to the IRS. If the sale price exceeds $250,000 for a single filer, or $500,000 for a joint filer with certification, a 1099-S will be filed regardless of whether the gain is fully excludable.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions
One boundary worth flagging: if you are a foreign person selling U.S. real property, the buyer is required to withhold 15% of the sale price under FIRPTA and remit it to the IRS, with a narrow exception when the price is $300,000 or less and the buyer intends to use the home as a personal residence.12Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding The Section 121 exclusion above assumes a U.S. seller; foreign sellers face a separate process.