For sellers
Seller resources
Checklists and reference material for getting a New Jersey home to market and through closing.
Pre-listing checklist
- Seller consultation and comparative market analysis
- Choose a New Jersey real estate attorney
- Complete preparation and repairs
- Gather documents (see below)
- Professional photography scheduled
- Pricing strategy and go-live date confirmed
- Showing instructions and access method set
Documents to gather
- Survey
- Current property tax bill
- Association documents, budget and rules, if applicable
- Permits and certificates of approval for past work
- Well and septic records
- Oil tank removal or abandonment records
- Flood elevation certificate and insurance declarations
- Appliance and system warranties
- Dated list of improvements
Under contract checklist
- Attorney review: stay reachable
- Provide inspection access promptly
- Respond to the inspection request within contract timeframes
- Schedule smoke, CO and fire extinguisher certification early
- Apply for a municipal CO inspection if your town requires one
- Prepare for the appraisal: access and a list of improvements
- Coordinate your move-out and utility transfer
- Leave the property broom clean with all keys, remotes and manuals
An estimate is not an appraisal
An automated online home estimate is generated from public records and market data. It is not an appraisal, it is not a comparative market analysis, and it does not account for your home's condition, updates, view, layout or what is currently competing against it. Use it as a starting number. A licensed appraiser produces an appraisal; a licensed agent produces a comparative market analysis. We cannot promise a specific sale price or a specific number of days on market.
Not legal or financial advice
This page describes general practice in New Jersey residential real estate. It is not legal, tax, financial, insurance or engineering advice, and practice varies by county, contract and circumstance. Consult a New Jersey attorney, a licensed lender, a licensed home inspector and a tax professional about your own transaction.
Use one working file for the sale
Turn the checklists into a working record rather than several disconnected lists. Keep a folder for property documents, a list of unanswered questions, and a task sheet showing who is handling each item. Mark a document as missing or awaiting clarification when appropriate; an empty space can otherwise look like a completed task.
Use descriptive file names and keep revised versions distinguishable. For a question that involves more than one professional, note who has been asked and what response is still needed. This makes it easier to follow up without sending several slightly different versions of the same question.
Add the practical move details to the same system: items to remove, instructions to locate, and arrangements that depend on other dates. Bring unresolved preparation questions to a seller consultation and use the preparation guide for the work before marketing. The resource is most useful when it reflects the actual state of your sale.
Record what stays with the property
Prepare an inventory of appliances, fixtures, equipment and other items you expect to leave. Note any item you want to take with you, including something visible in marketing photographs. Discuss that list with your agent before the property is advertised and have the final agreement reviewed for consistency. Keep available manuals, warranty information and operating instructions together so they can be located when the agreed transfer is being organized.
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