Selling a home in Massachusetts: from choosing an agent to handing over the keys

The stages at a glance

Dates come from the listing agreement, the offer and the purchase and sale agreement, but the order of events is much the same from one sale to the next.

Choosing a listing agent and reading the agreement

Interview more than one agent and ask each to explain a suggested price from closed sales, not from other asking prices. Ask how the home will be photographed and described, how showings and open houses will be run, and how often you will hear about activity and feedback.

At the first personal meeting about your property, a Massachusetts licensee should give you the state agency disclosure form, which explains whom the licensee represents. The listing agreement that follows is a contract. It sets the term and end date, the services included, the compensation and when it is earned, whether compensation will be offered to a buyer's agent, and what happens if you withdraw the home. Ask for changes before you sign, not after.

• Which closed sales support the suggested price, and what adjustments were made
• What marketing is included: photography, floor plan, description, open houses
• The term, the end date and the conditions for withdrawing early
• The compensation, when it is earned, and how any buyer's agent compensation is handled

Preparing the home and the file

Buyers, their agents, lenders and attorneys will ask for the same documents, so gather them before the listing goes live: the deed, recent tax bills, permits and warranties for major work, a year of heating and utility costs, current mortgage details for the payoff, and any past inspection, lead paint or septic reports. For a condominium, add the master deed, bylaws, rules, budget, current fee and the management contact.

On the house itself, two kinds of work usually make sense: deferred maintenance an inspector will find, such as active leaks or systems that do not run, and presentation, such as clearing clutter and fixing lights. Larger renovations take time and should be weighed against recent comparable sales. The guide to preparing to sell covers documents, repairs and timing in more detail.

What sellers and agents must disclose

Massachusetts does not prescribe one general seller disclosure form for most residential sales. That is not permission to conceal. The seller must not misrepresent the home or answer a buyer's questions falsely. A licensed agent has a separate duty to disclose material defects the agent knows about, so it is better to tell your agent about known problems early and decide with your attorney how they will be presented.

Some disclosures have their own required forms. For a home built before 1978, the buyer must receive the Massachusetts Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification before signing the purchase and sale agreement, together with copies of any lead inspection reports, risk assessments or letters of compliance or interim control, and anything else the seller knows about lead in the home. Both sides sign the certification page; signing it does not mean the home is free of lead. Separately, unless an exemption applies, the buyer must receive the state home inspection disclosure before or at the signing of the first purchase contract.

Reviewing offers: price, credits and certainty

Put every offer in the same table: price, requested seller credits, deposits, financing, inspection and other deadlines, and the closing date. A pre-approval letter is a starting point, not a final loan commitment; the property, the buyer's income and assets and the loan terms still have to be reviewed.

A seller credit is paid at closing; it does not by itself change the contract price. A hypothetical comparison: offer A is $900,000 with a $15,000 credit to the buyer, and offer B is $890,000 with a $3,000 credit. After the credits alone, A comes to $885,000 and B to $887,000. That is not your full net proceeds; the two offers still differ in other costs, conditions and timing.

When the offer or purchase and sale agreement, whichever comes first, is signed after October 15, 2025, in sales of one-to-four-unit homes, condominium units and co-op units, a seller or agent may not make acceptance depend on the buyer waiving or limiting a home inspection, and the seller may not accept an offer that says the buyer intends to waive one. Exemptions include certain sales between relatives or former spouses, foreclosures, estate planning transfers and some homes sold before construction is complete. The parties may still agree on reasonable inspection terms, such as the time allowed, a repair-cost threshold for ending the deal, or limits on deposit refunds if the buyer ends it based on the inspection. A buyer is not required to have an inspection and may decide not to, as long as the seller's side has not pressured or rewarded that choice.

From accepted offer to signed P&S

After acceptance, the buyer usually schedules the inspection within the window in the offer, and the attorneys draft the purchase and sale agreement. That contract covers the price and deposits, who holds the deposit, the closing date, the condition of the home at delivery, title, the financing contingency and what happens on default. No standard form, extension or deposit rule applies to every sale automatically, so have your attorney review the draft and any riders.

If the inspection turns something up, the buyer may ask for repairs, a credit or a price change. That negotiation is separate from any right the buyer has under the law or the contract to withdraw. Agreeing to talk about repairs does not remove that right, and whether a deposit comes back depends on the contract terms and the facts. Your part is to give the inspector reasonable access; the listing agent does not need to attend.

• Deposit amounts, who holds them and how a dispute is handled
• The inspection terms carried over from the offer
• The mortgage commitment date and the closing date
• The condition the home must be in at closing, and what stays with it

The buyer's financing and the value

If the buyer is borrowing, the buyer's lender decides how the property's value is assessed, which is often, but not always, an appraisal. A cash buyer has no lender review unless the buyer orders one. The purchase and sale agreement normally sets a mortgage commitment date; until then the loan is not final.

If the lender's value comes in below the price, what follows depends on the contract: the parties may renegotiate, the buyer may cover the difference if that was agreed, or the buyer may rely on a financing contingency. A seller is not obliged to lower the price unless the contract says so. Keep every change in writing through the attorneys.

Certificates before closing

Selling a home in Massachusetts generally requires a certificate of compliance from the local fire department showing that the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms meet the requirements for a sale. What is required depends on when the home was built, when the last building permit was issued and the type of building. Call the fire department to schedule the inspection as soon as you have a closing date. Check the manufacture date on each alarm before the visit; state guidance treats an alarm with no date as expired. Replacing hard-wired alarms may need an electrician, and the department charges a local fee.

Your attorney will usually arrange the rest: the municipal lien certificate, final water and sewer readings, and, for a condominium, the 6(d) certificate from the association. Homes on a septic system need a Title 5 inspection, which is worth scheduling early.

Closing: payoff, proceeds and the keys

Your attorney requests a payoff statement from your mortgage servicer. The payoff amount is not the balance on your last statement: it includes interest up to the day the loan is paid and may include unpaid fees. For a loan secured by a dwelling, the servicer must give an accurate payoff figure as of a specified date, so ask for one dated for the closing. Review the settlement figures with your attorney before closing day.

A hypothetical example of how the figures flow: a sale price of $1,000,000, a mortgage payoff of $350,000, assumed total transaction costs of $45,000 and a $10,000 credit to the buyer leave $595,000 before taxes are considered. The $45,000 is an assumed total for illustration, not a commission quote, a tax rate or a market standard.

For a Massachusetts sale with a gross price of $1,000,000 or more closing on or after November 1, 2025, the withholding agent, usually the closing attorney, escrow or title company, must file Form NRW with the Department of Revenue, and each seller completes a Transferor's Certification on or before closing. If a seller is a nonresident, tax may also be withheld from the proceeds. Ask your attorney and tax adviser how this applies to you.

Closing day is a common moment for wire fraud. Agree in advance who will send you the proceeds and how, keep a phone number for your attorney that you obtained independently, and confirm any payment instructions by calling that number, never a number in the message itself. If you suspect fraud, contact your bank at once and report it; recovery is not guaranteed.

• Payoff statement dated for the closing, reviewed with the settlement figures
• Smoke and carbon monoxide certificate, and any condominium or septic documents
• Final utility readings and account transfers arranged
• The home left in the condition the contract requires, with keys, remotes and codes ready for the buyer's final walk-through