Guides to selling a home
How to sell a house, written out in full.
Start wherever you are. Every guide follows the sale in order, from the questions before listing through the last things after closing.
Start where you are
Which part sounds like you?
Phase 1
Before you list
Everything that happens while the sign is still in the garage.
Who runs a home closing, and how to choose them
Learn who commonly handles closings in your state, what each role does, and which questions to ask about services and fees.
Read guide →5 stepsHow to price your home
How to gather comparable sales, review online estimates, and organize information about the home's condition and local market. Keighbor doesn't recommend a list price.
Read guide →6 stepsGetting your home ready to sell
A practical getting-ready list and a plan for the photo session.
Read guide →6 stepsProperty facts and seller disclosures
How to gather square footage, system ages, taxes, and information commonly requested for listings and disclosures. Requirements vary by sale and location.
Read guide →3 stepsHow to write a listing description
What to lead with, what to leave out, and the fair-housing rules that decide how you word it.
Read guide →Phase 2
On the market
Getting seen, getting people through the door, and getting an offer.
Listing and marketing your home
Compare flat-fee MLS and direct-posting options, along with other ways to share a listing.
Read guide →6 stepsHosting showings and open houses
How to set showing hours, manage access, and keep records after a visit.
Read guide →6 stepsHow to review an offer and negotiate
How to organize price, financing, contingencies, timing, and other terms side by side. Keighbor doesn't recommend a response.
Read guide →Phase 3
Under contract
The stretch between a signed offer and a clear-to-close.
Going under contract
Earnest money, confirmed contract dates, and the people who may need a copy of the agreement.
Read guide →5 stepsThe buyer's inspection, and what happens after
What an inspection commonly covers and the general options that may follow a repair request. Your contract and professional advisers determine what applies.
Read guide →4 stepsTitle work, and what a title search turns up
What the commitment says, what a lien means for your sale, and how surveys fit in.
Read guide →4 stepsSettling repairs after an inspection
How repairs, credits, quotes, and written amendments commonly fit together. Get advice before agreeing to terms.
Read guide →4 stepsThe appraisal, and what may happen if it comes in low
What an appraisal considers and the general options when the value is below the contract price.
Read guide →2 stepsThe buyer's loan and common causes of delay
Underwriting in plain terms and changes that can affect a buyer's financing.
Read guide →Phase 4
Closing
The last few weeks, and the day itself.
Clearing title before closing
Working with the closing team on liens, title insurance, and preliminary settlement figures.
Read guide →5 stepsClear to close
The final walk-through, settlement statement, and steps for verifying payment instructions.
Read guide →5 stepsClosing day
What sellers commonly sign and bring, and how to confirm funding and recording.
Read guide →5 stepsAfter closing: the last few things
Handing over the keys, cancelling what you no longer need, and the tax paperwork that follows.
Read guide →The shape of a sale
4 stretches. One clear order.
If the whole library feels big, remember only this much.
- Before you list: decide who will help, understand the numbers, prepare the home and its information.
- On the market: get seen, manage visits, and compare what comes in.
- Under contract: keep inspection, title, appraisal, financing, people, and dates moving together.
- Closing: clear the last conditions, verify the money, sign, and hand over the keys.
Stay in the Learn library
Keep the same question moving.
The guide explains the work. These help with the words, paperwork, and numbers around it.
Written and checked by Keighbor Research. The guides are general information, not advice about your sale.
See how we researchThe education is free. Your Room is where it becomes usable.
Inside a Room, the guide sits beside the step, and the dates, documents, messages, and work you add stay together.
Free to start. No credit card. Starting a Room does not list your home.