The Nebraska Home-Selling Process: Your Step-by-Step Checklist

Look at more than just the headline price. Compare the financing type (cash vs. loan), the size of the earnest money deposit, the closing date, contingencies for inspection and appraisal, what personal property is included, and any request for seller concessions toward closing costs. A slightly lower price with cleaner terms is often a better deal.

Cost: $0

Since the NAR settlement took effect, the buyer's agent compensation is now spelled out in the buyer's written agreement with their own brokerage, not on the MLS. The buyer or their offer may ask you to cover some or all of that fee as a seller concession. Decide with your agent whether you are willing to pay it, partially pay it, or leave it for the buyer to fund, and respond in writing.

Cost: varies

If the offer is close but not right, your agent will prepare a written counter that changes the terms you want to change, like price, closing date, repair credits, or what stays with the home. Keep all negotiation in writing on Nebraska-standard forms so nothing important lives only in a phone call or text.

Cost: $0

When you and the buyer agree on terms, both sides sign the purchase agreement. Initial every page where the form asks, read every blank, and confirm the closing date, the earnest money amount, the inspection and appraisal contingency timeframes, and any agreed seller concessions match what you negotiated. The signed agreement is the contract that controls the rest of the deal.

Cost: $0

Nebraska is a title-company-led closing state. The chosen title company opens the file, orders the title search, prepares the title commitment, and will coordinate the closing. Make sure your agent sends the signed contract to the title company right away so they can start the title work.

Cost: $0 (title and escrow fees are paid at closing)

Earnest money is the buyer's good-faith deposit, usually held by the title company or the listing brokerage's trust account. Your agent should confirm in writing, within a few days of contract acceptance, that the funds have actually been received. If the buyer never funds the deposit, that is a red flag worth raising right away.

Cost: $0

If you are selling a condominium, Nebraska's Condominium Act requires you to give the buyer a package that includes the declaration, bylaws, current rules, recent financials, the operating budget, the reserve balance, any pending or threatened lawsuits against the association, and the association's certificate of insurance. Townhomes have a similar requirement under the Townhome Act. The buyer has a rescission window after delivery, so getting these documents in their hands quickly keeps the deal on schedule. Skip this task if your home is a single-family home not in an association.

Cost: varies ($50-300 typical for resale package fees)

Nebraska does not have a standalone flood disclosure statute, but a property's location in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area is considered a material fact under the state's agency law. If you know the home is in an SFHA, along the Missouri, Platte, Republican, Loup, or Elkhorn River corridors or anywhere else, you must disclose that to the buyer. You can also point them to the FEMA Flood Map Service Center so they can verify for themselves.

Cost: $0

If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident for tax purposes, you will sign a non-foreign affidavit at the title company stating that. If you are a foreign person under IRS rules, federal FIRPTA law generally requires the buyer to withhold 15% of the sale price and send it to the IRS from your closing proceeds, unless an exception or reduced withholding certificate applies. Tell the title company and your tax advisor your status well before closing so there are no surprises.

Cost: $0 (withholding, if any, comes out of proceeds)

Coordinate with your agent so the buyer's home inspector, plus any specialty inspectors for things like radon, sewer, or roof, can get into the home during the inspection window in the contract. Make sure pets are secured and utilities are on. The smoother access is, the less reason there is for the buyer to extend the inspection period.

Cost: $0

After the inspections, the buyer will usually send a written request, either asking you to fix specific items, give a closing credit, or both. Read the inspection report and the request together with your agent. Focus on safety, structural, water, and major system issues, because those are the ones a future buyer is most likely to flag too.

Cost: $0

You can agree to make repairs before closing, give the buyer a credit at closing to handle the work themselves, lower the price, refuse, or do some combination. Document the agreement on a Nebraska-standard amendment so it is part of the contract, not a side deal. Closing credits are often cleaner than rushed repairs.

Cost: varies

If you agreed to make repairs, use licensed and insured contractors where the work calls for it, finish before the final walkthrough, and keep copies of every invoice and receipt. The buyer will look for proof at the walkthrough, and clean documentation prevents last-minute disputes that can delay closing.

Cost: varies

The buyer's lender hires an appraiser to confirm the home is worth at least the purchase price. Coordinate access through your agent, make sure the home is clean and presentable, and leave any documents that support the value, like a list of recent upgrades, on the counter. You do not get a copy of the appraisal automatically; it goes to the lender and the buyer.

Cost: $0 (appraisal is paid for by the buyer)

If the appraisal is lower than the agreed price, the lender will usually only loan based on the lower number. You and the buyer can choose to lower the price, have the buyer bring extra cash to make up the gap, split the difference, or, if the contract allows, the buyer can cancel. Your agent can also try to challenge the appraisal with better comparable sales, though those rarely change.

Cost: $0

Before you start packing the moving truck, your agent should confirm with the buyer's agent or the lender that the loan has cleared underwriting and the financing contingency has been formally removed in writing. Until that happens, the deal can still fall apart over a loan denial, and you do not want to be packed and homeless.

Cost: $0

The title company issues a title commitment showing what it will insure and what exceptions exist, like easements, old liens, judgments, or unreleased mortgages. Your agent and the title company will flag anything you need to clear so you can deliver clean title at closing. Old mortgages that were paid off but never formally released are the most common headache, and clearing them can take time.

Cost: $0 ($150-500 for any payoff or recording fees, paid at closing)

The title company will need a current payoff statement from every lender that has a loan against your property, including any home equity line of credit you may have forgotten about. Payoffs are time-sensitive and recalculated daily, so the title company will request fresh figures close to the closing date. Make sure the title company has the lender names, loan numbers, and your authorization to request payoffs.

Cost: $0 (payoffs come out of proceeds)

Call your electric, gas, water, internet, and trash providers to cancel or transfer service effective the closing date. File a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service and notify your insurance, bank, employer, and any subscriptions of your new address so refund checks and final bills do not get lost.

Cost: $0

Move all your belongings out by the contract deadline, do a final clean, and leave only what the contract said stays, like a refrigerator or window coverings. Leave manuals, garage door remotes, mailbox keys, and warranty paperwork on the counter. The buyer's final walkthrough usually happens 24-48 hours before closing, so anything not done by then becomes a last-minute renegotiation.

Cost: varies (moving and cleaning costs)

Before signing day, the title company will send a seller closing statement showing the sale price, what you owe in mortgage payoffs, the documentary stamp tax, title and escrow charges, any commission, and what you walk away with. Compare it to the estimated net sheet your agent gave you when you listed. If anything looks off, ask the title company to explain before you sign.

Cost: $0

Bring a government-issued photo ID and meet at the title company on closing day. You will sign the deed transferring the home, a non-foreign affidavit, the closing statement, and any other documents the title officer puts in front of you. Read titles before you sign, and ask the closing officer to explain anything that does not match your understanding.

Cost: $0 (your costs come out of sale proceeds)

Nebraska charges a documentary stamp tax of $2.25 per $1,000 of the sale price on the deed, and by long-standing custom and statute the seller pays it. On a $350,000 sale that is about $787.50. The title company calculates the exact amount, deducts it from your proceeds, and pays it when the deed is recorded, so you do not write a separate check.

Cost: $2.25 per $1,000 of sale price (e.g., $787.50 on a $350,000 sale)

Once funds from the buyer and their lender land in the title company's escrow account and all documents are signed, the title company disburses your net proceeds. Wire transfer is fastest and safest; a paper check is slower and easier to lose. Confirm wire instructions with the title company in person or by a phone number you already trust, because wire fraud in real estate is common.

Cost: $0 ($15-30 wire fee typical)

Once the deed is signed, funds are confirmed, and the title company gives the green light, give the buyer or their agent all the keys, garage remotes, mailbox keys, gate fobs, and door codes. If your contract says possession is at funding or a few days later, do not give possession early without a written rent-back agreement.

Cost: $0

After closing, the title company records the deed and the documentary stamp tax with the county register of deeds. Ask the title company to confirm the recording and to send you a recorded copy. Save your signed closing statement, the recorded deed, and any inspection and repair records for at least seven years for tax purposes and in case any question about the sale comes up later.

Cost: $0