Seller Resources
Home Selling Timeline
What happens, in what order, from the first conversation to handing over the keys.
Every home sale moves at its own pace — the condition of the home, the market, and the buyer who shows up all play a part. What doesn’t change is the sequence of events.
Knowing what comes next, and why, removes most of the stress. Here’s the order things typically happen in, from your first strategy conversation to the day you hand over the keys.
The Timeline
Strategy conversation & CMA
We start by talking through your goals — why you’re selling, where you’re headed next, and what timing makes sense for you. I’ll put together a comparative market analysis so you understand where your home stands against what’s recently sold and what’s currently competing for buyer attention.
What you’ll be doing: sharing your goals and reviewing the CMA togetherPrepare the home
This is where repairs, deep cleaning, and staging decisions happen. Not every home needs the same amount of work — we’ll walk through what’s worth doing and what isn’t, based on your home’s condition and your budget. This step often takes longer than people expect, and that’s fine — it pays off once the home is on the market.
What you’ll be doing: tackling repairs, cleaning, and staging decisionsPhotography & launch prep
Once the home is ready, we schedule professional photography and write the listing copy that will introduce it to buyers. This is also when we finalize pricing strategy and prepare everything that needs to be in place before the home goes live.
What you’ll be doing: a final walkthrough before photos and a last look at the listing copyOn market
The home is live and visible to buyers. Showings get scheduled, and feedback starts coming in — on price, on presentation, on anything that might be giving buyers pause. If adjustments are needed, we make them together rather than waiting and hoping.
What you’ll be doing: keeping the home show-ready and reviewing feedback with meOffers & negotiation
When an offer comes in, we look at the whole picture — not just price, but financing terms, contingencies, proposed timeline, and how serious the buyer is. Negotiation can mean going back and forth once, or several times, before terms are agreed on.
What you’ll be doing: reviewing offer terms with me and deciding how to respondEscrow: inspections, appraisal, contingencies
This is the busiest stretch of the whole process, even though it’s the least visible from the outside. Inspections happen, the appraisal is ordered, and contingencies get worked through one by one. Repair requests or credit negotiations are common here — we’ll handle them as they come up.
What you’ll be doing: coordinating access for inspections and reviewing paperwork as it arrivesClosing & move
Final paperwork gets signed, funds are transferred, and the sale is recorded. Once that’s complete, you hand over the keys. We’ll coordinate the details so moving day lines up cleanly with the closing.
What you’ll be doing: signing final documents and planning your move-outWhat Usually Moves the Timeline
These are the factors that most often shift how a sale unfolds — framed as things to be aware of, not predictions.
How ready the home is at launch
A home that’s clean, decluttered, and well-presented from day one tends to make a stronger first impression than one that needs adjustments after it’s already live.
The buyer’s financing path
A cash buyer, a conventional loan, and a government-backed loan can all move through escrow differently. The buyer’s lender and loan type play a real role in how smoothly things proceed.
Inspection findings & repair negotiations
What the inspection turns up — and how repair requests or credits get negotiated afterward — can add steps that aren’t fully known until the home is under contract.
Coordinating a purchase at the same time
If you’re buying your next home while selling this one, aligning both transactions adds another layer of coordination on top of the sale itself.
Selling and Buying at Once
If your next move depends on this sale, there’s a way to sequence both so neither one stalls the other.
Let’s Build Your Timeline
Start with a free home valuation, and we’ll map out what the process looks like for your home specifically.