Sell a Home

How to Sell a Home — A State-by-State Guide

Selling a home is a state-specific transaction wrapped around a federal tax mechanic. The federal §121 exclusion lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 married filing jointly) on a primary residence — but the state layer underneath is where most surprises live: which seller-disclosure form is required, who customarily pays the transfer tax, whether your closing must be conducted by a real-estate attorney, what point-of-sale inspections (smoke/CO certs, septic, water-heater bracing) you have to furnish, what the HOA package timing rules are, and whether your state withholds at closing for non-resident sellers.

This guide walks the complete sale process in order — get-ready, pricing and path, list and market, offers and contract, under-contract due diligence, closing day, and the post-close tax cleanup — with a separate page for every state that surfaces the disclosure form, transfer tax, attorney rules, point-of-sale requirements, and capital-gains state treatment you actually need to plan around.

What this guide covers

Each phase contains the specific, in-order steps that apply across every state — with state-specific amounts, deadlines, and official links layered in on the per-state pages.

How Life Mapt does this differently

Life Mapt turns this into a personalized plan keyed to your state, your stage, and your §121 eligibility — including the post-NAR-settlement buyer-broker compensation decision, the HOA resale-package clock, and the post-close tax filings most sellers forget until they get the IRS CP2000 letter.

State-by-state guides

Pick your state for the specific deadlines, fees, and official links that apply to you. Pages marked Verified have fully researched state-specific data; all other states include the same complete workflow with clear prompts for local verification.