FSBO Guide

10 Steps to Selling Your Home Yourself

Selling your home without a listing agent means taking the lead on pricing, marketing, showings, negotiations, and deadlines.

Preparation helps you make informed decisions and recognize when professional support is needed. Use these steps to organize your plans.

1. Start With Your Goals

Think about why you’re moving, your preferred timeline, and what you need from the sale.

Consider how much time you have to answer inquiries, arrange showings, review offers, and coordinate the transaction. Decide early which tasks you’ll handle and where you’ll seek help.

2. Research Your Asking Price

Compare your home with similar properties that recently sold. Look at location, size, condition, features, and updates.

Review competing listings as well. They show the choices buyers have, while completed sales show what buyers have paid.

Online estimates are a starting point. They may not reflect your home’s condition or the most relevant local sales.

3. Estimate What You’ll Keep

Your sale price is different from your net proceeds, which is the money remaining after your expenses and mortgage payoff.

Build an estimate that includes:

• Mortgage and other amounts owed against the property

• Preparation and repair expenses

• Photography, advertising, and listing services

• Attorney and closing expenses

• Any buyer credits or agent compensation you agree to pay

• Moving expenses and ongoing ownership costs until closing

Update your estimate when reviewing offers.

4. Prepare Your Home

Start with cleaning, decluttering, and needed maintenance. Keep walkways clear, improve lighting, and make each room’s purpose easy to understand.

Look at your entrance and landscaping through a buyer’s eyes. Address noticeable concerns before spending money on major improvements.

Gather available repair records, warranties, surveys, and information about updates.

5. Arrange Professional Help Early

Contact a real estate attorney before accepting an offer. Ask which contracts, disclosures, and closing steps apply to your property.

Read documents carefully and ask questions before signing. Avoid relying on a generic online form without checking whether it fits your transaction.

Keep an organized folder for documents and correspondence.

6. Create a Marketing Plan

Use clear, well-lit photos and an accurate description. Highlight useful details, such as room layout, storage, outdoor space, and recent improvements.

Check the requirements, fees, and reach of any listing service you choose. Confirm where your listing will appear and who is responsible for updates.

Keep your price, description, and availability consistent across your advertisements.

7. Plan Safe, Organized Showings

Schedule appointments, confirm visitor contact information, and arrange for another adult to be present.

Lock away medications, valuables, and personal records. Keep your phone with you and arrange a check-in with someone you trust.

Ask visitors to stay together during the tour. Give them room to look without leaving them unattended.

Read 14 Safety Tips for Showing Your Home before your first appointment.

8. Check Buyer Readiness

Ask financed buyers for a recent lender preapproval letter. For cash offers, request proof of available funds with sensitive account details removed.

Let the lender evaluate credit, income, and loan eligibility. A preapproval is not a guarantee that financing will close.

If a buyer has an agent, clarify whom the agent represents and discuss any requested seller-paid compensation before agreeing to it. Commissions are negotiable.

9. Review the Whole Offer

Look beyond the offered price. Review:

• Financing and any home-sale condition

• Earnest money and how it will be held

• Inspection and appraisal terms

• Requested repairs, credits, or included belongings

• Closing and possession dates

• Deadlines and cancellation rights

Ask your attorney to explain terms you do not understand. Put agreed changes in writing using the appropriate documents.

Keep conversations focused on the property and the offer. You can protect private financial details while answering questions truthfully and providing required disclosures.

10. Stay Organized Through Closing

An accepted offer starts another stage of work. Track inspections, financing, appraisal, repair agreements, and other contract deadlines.

Coordinate with your attorney and the professionals involved. Keep records of completed work and any changes to the agreement.

Before sending money or sharing banking details, verify instructions by calling a known, independently confirmed phone number.

Confirm when possession transfers and when to hand over keys. After closing is confirmed, coordinate utilities, insurance, and your move.

Review Your Progress

If inquiries are limited or showings are not leading to offers, revisit your price, presentation, marketing, and buyer feedback.

You can seek help at any point. Selling independently does not mean handling every question alone.

Have a Question? Start With a Conversation.

Whether you’re preparing to sell or already have your home on the market, I’m happy to talk about your plans and the support you’re looking for.

This guide provides general information. Consult the appropriate professionals for advice about your transaction.