Selling Your House By Owner in Indiana: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you list: get the forms and paperwork ready

Do this before the first showing. It's the part that causes the most trouble when it gets rushed after an offer shows up.

• The Seller's Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure. Indiana law requires the owner to fill out and sign this form and give it to a buyer before accepting their offer (IC 32-21-5-10). It covers houses with up to four units. It asks what you actually know about the foundation, roof, mechanicals, water, sewer and so on. Answer from what you know; "do not know" is an allowed answer when it's true. Have it filled out and ready to hand over, so it's never the reason an accepted offer stalls. Before closing, an accepted offer can't be enforced against the buyer until both of you have signed it (same section).
• Lead-based paint disclosure if the house was built before 1978. Federal rule: disclose anything you know about lead paint, hand over any reports you have, give the buyer the EPA lead pamphlet, and give them a 10-day window to test (you and the buyer can agree in writing to change that window). The disclosure form goes with the sales contract, and you keep a signed copy for three years. You don't have to test or remove anything (EPA: Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule; HUD).
• A folder buyers will ask for. Twelve months of utility bills (gas, electric, water, sewer, trash), HOA documents and dues if there's an HOA, warranties (roof, furnace, water heater, appliances, any transferable structural warranty), permits and receipts for major work, your survey if you have one, and your mortgage payoff contact. Scan it all into one folder so you can send it in a minute.
• Who owns the house. Everyone on the deed signs the sale. If an owner has passed away, the house is in a trust, or you're going through a divorce, talk to a real estate attorney before you list. Some of those sales also don't use the disclosure form (IC 32-21-5-1).

Don't mix this form up with the Indiana Sales Disclosure Form (State Form 46021). That one is a county tax filing, and the title company completes it at closing (Indiana DLGF).

Marketing and photos

• Photos do most of the work. Shoot in daylight with every light on and the blinds open. Hold the camera level at about chest height and shoot from the corners of each room. Clear the counters and pick up the floors. Get the front of the house, every main room, the kitchen, bathrooms, the yard and any mechanicals that are newer.
• Don't change the house in the pictures. No editing out cracks, poles, power lines or anything permanent. Buyers notice at the showing, and it costs you trust you need later.
• Write the description about the house. Square footage (and where the number came from: county record or measured), bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, lot, updates with the year they were done, and what conveys. Describe the house, not the people you picture buying it or who lives nearby.
• Get it in front of buyers. A yard sign with a phone number you'll answer, the by-owner websites, and your own social media.
• List the basics everywhere: price, address, how to schedule a showing, and that the disclosure and paperwork are ready.

Offers: get them in writing and compare more than the price

Every offer in writing, signed, with a response deadline. A verbal number on the phone isn't an offer. If two buyers are interested, compare them side by side on paper.

The price is the headline. These decide whether it actually closes and what you walk away with:

• Financing. Cash, conventional, FHA or VA. Ask for a pre-approval letter (or proof of funds for cash) with the offer, and call the lender on the letter to confirm it's real. FHA and VA appraisals also check certain property conditions.
• Earnest money. How much, and who holds it (usually the title company or the buyer's agent's brokerage).
• Inspection terms. How many days the buyer gets, and what happens if they ask for repairs.
• Appraisal terms. What happens if the appraisal comes in under the price. Some buyers agree to cover part or all of a gap.
• Other contingencies. A buyer who has to sell their own house first is a different offer than one who doesn't.
• Money they ask you to pay. Closing cost help, a home warranty, their agent's fee. All of it comes out of your proceeds.
• Closing date and possession. When you get paid, and when you have to be out.

Add up what you'd actually net from each one: price, minus what they're asking you to pay, minus your payoff and your share of closing costs. Our Indiana closing costs guide lists the usual seller costs.

Contract to closing: inspection, appraisal, title and closing day

• Open title right away. Send the signed contract and earnest money to the title company named in the contract. They search the title, order your mortgage payoff, prepare the closing documents, file the county paperwork and pay everyone at closing. In Indiana, title companies handle most home closings.
• Inspection. The buyer's inspector goes through the house, then the buyer can ask for repairs, a credit, or nothing. You can agree, counter or decline, within the deadlines in your contract. Watch those dates; they matter more than anything else in this stretch. If a report finding worries you, our inspection report guide explains the common ones.
• Appraisal. The lender orders it. Have the house clean and accessible, and have your list of updates ready. Indiana law says the appraiser gets a copy of your disclosure form on request (IC 32-21-5-10).
• If something changes after you've handed over the disclosure (a new leak, a failed water heater), tell the buyer in writing. Indiana's disclosure law covers what happens next (IC 32-21-5-12 and -13).
• Before closing. Schedule utility shutoff or transfer for the day after closing. Leave keys, garage remotes, codes and manuals. The buyer usually does a final walkthrough shortly before closing.
• Closing day. Bring a photo ID. You'll sign the deed and the closing paperwork, and the title company sends your proceeds.
• Wire instructions. Never act on wiring instructions sent by email or text without calling the title company at a number you looked up yourself. Scammers send fake instructions that look real.

Selling by owner in Indiana: questions and answers

Do I have to fill out a disclosure form in Indiana?

Yes, for most home sales. Indiana requires the owner to complete and sign the Seller's Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure and give it to the buyer before accepting their offer (IC 32-21-5-10). It applies to houses with up to four units. Some transfers are exempt, including court-ordered sales, transfers between co-owners or to a spouse or a direct relative such as a child or parent, transfers to a living trust, and the first sale of a house no one has lived in (IC 32-21-5-1). If the house was built before 1978, the federal lead-based paint disclosure applies too.

Do I need a lawyer to sell by owner in Indiana?

Indiana doesn't require an attorney for a home closing; title companies handle most of them. Many owners selling on their own still pay a real estate attorney to write or review the purchase agreement, especially when the buyer has no agent either, or when the sale involves an estate, a trust or a divorce. The title company can't give either side legal advice.

What do I do when an agent says they have a buyer?

Ask whether the buyer has seen the house online and wants a showing, or whether the agent is calling about listing it. If it's a real buyer, agree on whether you'll pay the agent anything, and how much, in writing before the showing (Step 06). Then schedule it like any other showing.

Do I have to pay a buyer's agent?

No. Paying a buyer's agent is a choice you negotiate, not a requirement. Commissions aren't set by law (NAR). Some buyers can't cover their agent's fee on top of a down payment and closing costs, so a buyer may ask for it in their offer. Treat it like any other cost in the offer and compare what you'd net.

How do I know if a buyer can actually afford my house?

When the offer comes in, ask for a pre-approval letter from a lender (a pre-qualification is weaker), or a recent bank or brokerage statement showing the funds for a cash offer. Call the lender on the letter, confirm they issued it, and ask whether anything is still outstanding. Make sure the amount and loan type fit your price and the offer's terms.

Who handles the closing?

A title company, in most Indiana home sales. It searches the title, gets your mortgage payoff, prepares the closing documents, files the county paperwork, holds the money and pays everyone. The contract says which title company you're using. On closing day you sign and they send your proceeds.

What if I get a cash offer from an investor or a "we buy houses" company?

Compare what you'd net, not just the speed. Cash can be worth a lower price if you need to move fast, can't fix the house, or don't want showings. Read the contract closely: ask for proof of funds, a real earnest money deposit, a short inspection period, and a title company you've heard of. Watch for "and/or assigns" after the buyer's name, which lets them sell the contract to someone else, and for long inspection periods that get used to renegotiate the price just before closing.

When does it make sense to bring in an agent?

When it's been a month or more with little activity, when you're getting offers you can't make sense of, when you're moving and can't handle showings, or when the sale has complications like an estate or a short timeline. It's your house and your call. If you want a second opinion first, ask me; I'll tell you what I see either way.