When you decide it’s time to sell your home, you might wonder what to do first. While many sellers ask their friends and neighbors for advice, here’s a step-by-step checklist of what you need to do to sell your house, whether you’re going to be listing with a real estate agent or going down the for-sale-by-owner or iBuyer path. Let’s get you ready to sell!

How to sell a house

1. Clean

You’ll want your home to give potential buyers a good first impression. Not only can a dirty home distract buyers from appreciating your home’s best features, but it can also give the impression that you haven’t taken care of bigger maintenance and upkeep tasks.

2. Inspect

Many sellers choose to pay for their own pre-inspection. A home inspector will take a thorough look at your home’s structural components, major systems, and appliances, and report back on any issues that may be red flags to potential buyers. A pre-inspection can help you prioritize any repairs that need to be done and direct you toward a reasonable sales price.

3. Repair and touch up

Even if you don’t have any major repairs that need to be taken care of, it’s important to go through your home and complete any minor repairs you’ve been putting off. Patching holes, repairing trim, and repainting can make a big difference.

4. Appraise

You may also choose to get an appraisal of your home. A big part of the process of selling a house is deciding on a list price, and having an objective, professional opinion on the value of your home can be helpful.

5. Stage

There are two ways to stage your home. First, you can simply declutter, remove personal effects like family photos, and arrange furniture in a way that highlights your home’s best attributes. Or, you can hire a professional stager. Either way, the goal is to help potential buyers picture themselves living in the home.

6. Price 

The process when selling with an agent: When you’re working with an agent, you can rely on their expertise to guide you to an accurate list price. They’ll start by providing you a comparative market analysis (CMA, commonly known as comps). Since they’re not emotionally connected to your home, they’ll be able to really hone in on the fair market value.

The for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) process: When you’re managing your own listing, you can still request a comparative market analysis from a local agent. You can also do your own research, finding comparable properties online and following best practices for pricing.

A comparative market analysis is often abbreviated as a CMA and is a report your real estate agent provides that includes a compilation of recent sales from your area. It focuses on similar homes to yours and includes home details, days on the market and the final sale price. A good CMA can help you select the right price for your own home.

7. Market

The process when selling with an agent: Most agents will recommend professional photography (and they’ll likely have a photographer they always work with, often for a discounted rate). Once you have the photos done, your agent should go full steam ahead, advertising your listing online, on social media, via word of mouth, and around the neighborhood.

The FSBO process: The marketing is all up to you, but you’ll still probably want to get professional photos taken. There are many websites where you can list your FSBO, and you’ll want to share the listing on social media, too. Once the requests for showings start rolling in, try to keep an open schedule (and a clean home) to accommodate as many potential buyers as possible.

Consider your home selling options

Selling For Sale By Owner requires more ownership of the entire process, including a significant time commitment. Although, FSBO sellers can avoid paying some of the commissions involved in a traditional transaction.

Traditional selling includes hiring a real estate agent to list your home for sale. Your agent will generally handle the last few stages of the home selling process, helping to advise on the most important home improvements, landing on a competitive list price and advertising appropriately for the market.

When you sell with an iBuyer, you can focus more energy on your next home purchase because your home sale is typically handled quickly and often online. You can sell as-is.

How long does it take to sell a house?

Allow two months to prepare

If you’re thinking of selling your home and your moving timeline allows for it, allow at least two months before listing to complete all your preparations.

Allow a month to receive an offer

Depending on the state of your local market, you should expect to start receiving offers within the first month of listing. According to Zillow Research, the average U.S. home was on the market for 55-70 days in 2020, measured from the day a home is listed to the day the sale is finalized. On average, homes in 2020 went under contract just 25 days after listing, down from 30 days in 2019.

Avoid common mistakes of selling your home

If you’re worried about falling into typical seller mistakes, consider these red flags. When selling traditionally, your agent can help guide you through these hurdles. If you’re selling to Zillow, your advisor will answer any questions that arise. And, if you’re selling FSBO, be mindful of these pitfalls.

Overpricing

Getting too emotional

Not doing enough prep work

Not hiring a photographer

Not accounting for all closing costs

Checklist: What you need to do to sell your house

Follow a detailed timeline to prepare your home for sale. Or, begin with this short checklist of presale tasks.

 Complete a deep cleaning of the entire home
 Get a pre-inspection
 Do any repairs and touch-ups
 Order an appraisal
 Declutter and stage
 Decide on your list price
 Take photos and plan your marketing