Free to set up. No credit card. Nothing starts a clock.
Closing · 5 steps · free · the same words a Keighbor seller reads
Why this page existsThis is the guide a Keighbor seller reads at the "Closed and funded" milestone, published in full so you can read the whole job before anybody asks you to pay for help with it.
Key takeaways
The buyer confirms they have all keys, codes, and orientation, and your smart-home apps show you removed.
Every provider has confirmed cancellation or transfer, effective the day after closing.
USPS forwarding is active and your key accounts have the new address.
You have seen the recorded deed in the county's online records.
Your closing documents are saved and organized.
1
Hand over keys and access
You're done when: The buyer confirms they have all keys, codes, and orientation, and your smart-home apps show you removed.
A clean handoff means the buyer has full control of their new home from day one, and you are no longer holding access to a house you do not own.
How to do it
Hand over every key, remote, fob, and written code: front door, back door, mailbox, gates, sheds, pool, utility rooms.
Factory-reset every smart device - locks, thermostats, cameras, doorbells, garage openers - and remove your accounts from them.
Give the buyer the written codes and a short orientation on anything quirky: the alarm, the well pump, the sump, the irrigation.
Reset or reprogram old garage-door remotes and keypad codes.
Get written confirmation that the buyer has everything.
Worth knowing
Check every smart-home app and confirm you have removed yourself. This is standard practice, and it is easy to miss one.
The keys people forget: mailbox, gate, shed, pool, utility rooms.
A five-minute orientation on the odd systems is a small courtesy that gets remembered.
What it costs
Free
Where to check
Written confirmation from the buyer, and your own app list
2
Cancel utilities and services
You're done when: Every provider has confirmed cancellation or transfer, effective the day after closing.
Cancel or transfer your utilities and services effective the day after closing, so you are not paying for the buyer's usage and there is no gap in coverage on their first day.
How to do it
Work through the utility list you built earlier and cancel or transfer each one, effective the day AFTER closing.
Give each provider a forwarding address for final bills and any deposit refunds.
Cancel the add-ons too: security monitoring, lawn care, pest control, pool service, HOA autopay, anything subscribed to the address.
Cancel your homeowner's insurance the day AFTER closing, not before.
Confirm the final meter reads and any refunds owed to you.
Worth knowing
The day after is the right date for all of it. Earlier leaves the buyer with a gap; later means you pay for their usage.
Your homeowner's insurance may have a prorated refund coming. Ask for it.
This is where the utility sheet you built before listing earns its keep.
What it costs
Free. You may be owed refunds
Where to check
Written confirmation from each provider
3
Forward your mail
You're done when: USPS forwarding is active and your key accounts have the new address.
Redirect your mail so nothing keeps arriving at an address you no longer own - including your Form 1099-S at tax time.
How to do it
File a USPS change of address at usps.com, or in person. There is a small verification fee online.
Update your banks, credit cards, employer, insurance, subscriptions, and any government agencies.
Update your driver's license and vehicle registration per your state's timeline, usually 30 to 60 days.
Watch for your Form 1099-S. The closing agent usually issues it, mailed by 31 January following the sale.
Update your voter registration.
Worth knowing
USPS forwarding lasts twelve months and can be extended.
Watching for the 1099-S saves you a surprise at tax time.
Mail sent to your old address after forwarding lapses simply stops arriving. Update the accounts, do not rely on forwarding.
What it costs
About $1-2 for the USPS online verification fee
Where to check
USPS confirmation, and a test piece of mail
4
Confirm the deed recorded
You're done when: You have seen the recorded deed in the county's online records.
The deed transferring ownership is recorded at the county recorder's office, usually the same day or the next business day. Confirming it is your proof the sale is fully complete.
How to do it
Ask your closing agent when the deed will be recorded.
A week later, verify it yourself by searching your county recorder's online records.
Confirm any lien releases were recorded too.
Save the recorded deed number for your records.
If anything is still missing after two weeks, follow up with your closing agent.
Worth knowing
Recording occasionally lags a few days. Past two weeks is worth chasing.
Lien releases sometimes lag longer than the deed does. Your title company tracks this.
Once the deed is recorded, the sale is fully complete. That is the actual end.
What it costs
Included in closing costs
Where to check
Your county recorder's own online records
5
Save your closing documents
You're done when: Your closing documents are saved and organized.
Cost basis, exclusion eligibility, and depreciation recapture all depend on documents from this sale. Future you will be glad present you kept them.
How to do it
Save the settlement statement, the deed, the mortgage payoff, and any credits or concessions documentation. All of it stays in your room and is downloadable.
Save your improvement receipts. They raise your cost basis and can reduce capital gains.
Watch for Form 1099-S from the closing agent, usually mailed by 31 January following the sale.
If you have questions about the tax treatment, a CPA can help. IRS Publication 523 covers the common cases.
Keep everything for at least three to seven years, longer if you did a 1031 exchange or the sale was complicated.
Worth knowing
Most primary-residence sellers can exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 filing jointly, if they owned and lived in the home for two of the last five years. Even when it is excluded, the sale is usually still reported.
Improvement receipts are the cheapest tax planning there is, and only work if you kept them.
This is not tax advice. A CPA can look at your actual numbers; we cannot.
What it costs
Free
Where to check
IRS Publication 523, or a CPA
There are 17 more like this one
Every step of a home sale has a guide this long behind it. Your room opens them one at a time as you reach them, and whatever you work out gets saved into the step.
