Thinking about selling, and not sure yet?
Eight questions, and a first look that draws itself as you answer: when you'd need to start for a month you have in mind, the shape of your number, and what people in your position usually find out next. No score, no verdict.
What's got you thinking about it?
There's no wrong answer here, and you can pick the closest one.
The reason shapes which stretch of a sale matters most. Needing more room makes the dates the question; the money makes the number the question. Nothing here is scored: it decides what the first look shows first.
Part 1 of 5
How do I know if I'm ready to sell my house?
There is no test for whether you should sell your house, and anybody offering one is guessing. What people usually do instead is find out three things: what they'd walk away with after the mortgage and the costs of selling, what the next place would take, and what a sale actually involves. Once those are on paper, the decision tends to make itself. The first look above puts the first and the third on paper in about three minutes.
Part 2 of 5
The five things people work out first
Every one has a free page that answers it. Beside each, where your own first look stands.
Two estimates: what may remain after your payoff and selling costs, and what your next home may take. The first one is arithmetic, and the calculator does it line by line.
Nobody can time a market. What can be known is how long a sale commonly takes, who does each part, and when you would need to start to reach a month you have in mind.
A home sale is 18 milestones and 85 steps. Every one is written out on this site, free, so the whole job is visible before anybody asks you to decide anything.
Agent fees if you use one, title and closing charges, a credit to the buyer for taxes you haven't paid yet, and whatever comes out of the inspection. Typical figures differ by state, and the research behind them is published.
That depends on what you want done and what you'd rather do yourself. Asking two or three agents the same questions and reading the answers side by side is how people find out.
Part 3 of 5
What people do with the time, by how far out they are
The same five jobs, done differently with a year in hand than with a few months. Say roughly when and your column is shaded. None of it commits anybody to selling.
| The job (yours) | A year or more out | This year | The next few months |
|---|---|---|---|
| The house | Plan the projects: the exterior and low-cost ones tend to return the most, and larger interior remodels usually return less than they cost. There is time to pick. | The small repairs you already know about, and the clear-out, spread over weeks. | The clear-out and the repairs that show, in the order the checklist has them. |
| The papers | Find the folder from when you bought, and keep the warranties as they arrive. | Find the deed, the survey, permits and warranties, and keep them together. | Gather them now; a title company will ask within days of an offer. |
| The number | A rough first look, and a season of watching what sells nearby. | The calculator, line by line, with a payoff figure from your lender. | The calculator with a real payoff quote, and an eye on the buyer's agent fee line. |
| The agent question | Nothing yet; the answers change with the market. | Meet two or three, ask each the same questions, keep the answers. | Decide it first: the listing agreement is where the calendar starts. |
| The reading | The guides, at leisure, one milestone at a time. | The guides for the first stretch, and the paperwork your state uses. | The checklist's first section, and what happens after an offer. |
On the projects: per Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, a garage door replacement recoups about 268% of its cost and a steel entry door about 216%, while larger interior remodels usually return less than they cost. The getting-ready guide has the figures and the source.
Part 4 of 5
What a room does with a first look
A Keighbor room is where a whole sale lives once there is one. Saving a first look opens a free room with these already in it, and nothing else starts.
The four dates of the sketch land on the room's calendar as deadlines: start getting ready, listing goes live, aim to be under contract, closing day. Move them as the plan firms up; the room's next-step button names what is coming.
Your guess at the price, what you owe, and your state's typical costs are saved as the room's baseline scenario. Every line is editable there, and the room keeps the sheet next to the offer, the inspection and the appraisal when those arrive.
The room's getting-ready milestone keeps a projects list: what it would cost, and do or skip. The guide beside it says which kinds of project tend to pay back.
If the agent question is what you are least sure about, the room opens with the comparison ready: the same questions for every agent you meet, kept side by side, seen by nobody else.
All 18 milestones and 85 steps, in order, with the guide beside each, and one thing shown at a time. Until you list, nothing costs anything and nothing starts a clock.
Part 5 of 5 · where to read next
Questions people ask
How do I know if I'm ready to sell my house?
There's no single test for readiness. It can help to write down three things: your estimated proceeds after the mortgage and selling costs, what your next home may require, and what the selling process involves. The first look above puts two of the three on paper. The decision stays yours.
Should I sell my house now or wait?
That's a personal and financial decision, and Keighbor doesn't advise you on it. We provide general information about the process, common timing, and possible costs so you have clearer information to consider.
How much does it cost to sell a house?
Not counting agent fees, seller closing costs commonly land around one to three percent of the price: title work, the owner's title policy, settlement and recording fees, prorated taxes, and any transfer tax. Fourteen states charge no transfer tax; a few charge the seller two percent or more. Agent fees, if you offer any, come on top. The customs, state by state.
Can I start getting ready before I've decided?
Yes. You can find the deed and survey, make a list of repairs and projects, and read how the process works before you decide. None of that commits you to selling, and a room set up now holds all of it without starting anything.
What happens to my answers?
Nothing, unless you press the button that saves them to a room. The questions run entirely in your browser. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent to us, and we don't ask for your email.
A first look, not a verdict
Nothing on this page says whether to sell. The dates are typical stretches worked back from a month; the number is your own guesses with typical costs of selling. Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.
Written and researched by Keighbor Research · read against the published guides, the timeline's typical ranges and the by-state closing-cost research · how we research and check what we publish
One piece of your sale. Here is where all the pieces live.
Keep the first look, and nothing starts.
A Keighbor room is free to set up, keeps everything you just worked out (the dates on its calendar, the number as the calculator's starting point), and waits. Nothing starts a clock, nobody is contacted, and you can delete it whenever you like.