Sell Your Home For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in Hartford, CT: The Closing Checklist (2026)

Updated October 2026. A closing checklist for selling a Hartford home by owner, from the condition report to the smoke and carbon monoxide affidavit you sign at closing, with the rules for handing over tenants’ security deposits on a two- or three-family. Statutes are from the Connecticut General Assembly site; mill rates from the state’s open data portal.

To sell a house by owner in Connecticut, you give the buyer the residential condition report before any contract, hire a closing attorney, sign a smoke and carbon monoxide detector affidavit at closing, and pay the conveyance tax. As of October 2026, on a $247,100 Hartford home (Census median value), that tax is about $2,471. On a rental, the tenants’ deposits pass to the buyer.

Jump to: 🪜 Checklist · 🏠 Condition report · ⏱️ Detector affidavit · 🤝 Tenants · 💲 Taxes at closing · ❓ FAQ

Selling a house by owner in Hartford, Connecticut is legal, and you don’t need a realtor; it’s your choice. An agent would price, market and negotiate for a commission you agree on. By owner, you do those jobs and an attorney handles the legal side of closing, as in most Connecticut sales. This page is the paperwork side. For pricing and listing, read selling a Hartford home without a realtor and listing a Hartford home on the MLS by owner.

What is the Hartford FSBO closing checklist?

Here’s the order most sales follow. Each step has a document behind it.

1. Before you list: fill in the residential condition report, and the lead paint form if the home was built before 1978.
2. Before you accept an offer: book a Connecticut real estate attorney and get a flat fee quote.
3. At contract: attach the condition report signed by both sides; agree in writing who pays what.
4. During the contract: your attorney orders the payoff letter; the buyer’s side runs the title search and the lender’s appraisal.
5. Two weeks out: gather leases, tenant deposit records and keys if the home is rented.
6. At closing: sign the deed, the conveyance tax return and the smoke and carbon monoxide affidavit.

Your attorney will draft or review the purchase agreement. Our guide to drafting a FSBO contract in Connecticut lists the clauses to watch. For plain-English legal guidance on home selling and real estate contracts, Nolo is a good start.

What does the condition report require?

Connecticut requires most sellers of residential property to give the buyer a written residential condition report before the buyer signs a binder, contract or option, and a copy signed by both sides goes with the agreement (CGS 20-327b). If you don’t, the purchase agreement must credit the buyer $500 at closing.

Paying the $500 doesn’t get you out of disclosure. Under CGS 20-327c, a seller who credits the buyer can still be liable for known defects that the report would have covered. Fill it in honestly and keep a copy.

Hartford’s housing is old. The median home was built in 1944 (Census ACS 2024). So the federal lead paint disclosure applies to most sales: give the buyer the EPA pamphlet and any known reports, and allow a 10-day window to test unless the buyer waives it (EPA).

What is the smoke and carbon monoxide affidavit?

It’s a short sworn statement you hand the buyer at closing. For a one- or two-family home, or a unit in a common interest community, the seller must present an affidavit that the home has working smoke detection and warning equipment, and carbon monoxide equipment, or that it has no fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage. You sign and date it (CGS 29-453).

The affidavit also says, to your knowledge, whether the smoke detectors are battery powered, near each bedroom, wired to the house power and interconnected. For a home built before January 1, 1990, you may note that interconnection doesn’t apply. Each detector must be in or near every bedroom and sound when you press the test button.

Test every detector the week you list, and replace dead ones. Three-family and larger buildings fall outside this section, but they have their own fire code rules; ask your attorney what applies.

How do you sell a Hartford rental with tenants in place?

Carefully, and on paper. In Hartford, a by-owner sale often means a two- or three-family with tenants. Connecticut law says any transfer of a landlord’s interest in residential property assigns the landlord’s security interest in all tenants’ security deposits to the new owner (CGS 47a-21). In plain words, the deposits, and the duty to return them with interest, go to the buyer.

• Make a list of each unit: tenant, rent, lease end date, deposit amount and interest owed.
• Give the buyer copies of the leases and any notices you’ve sent.
• Have your attorney show the deposits as a credit to the buyer on the settlement statement.
• Tell tenants in writing who the new landlord is and where to pay rent.

Lenders financing a rental often ask for the leases and a list of rents. Have them ready before you list. If you’re buying another home at the same time, read how to sell and buy at once.

What will you pay at closing in Hartford?

Two items stand out. The conveyance tax on a home is 0.75% to the state on the price up to $800,000, plus 0.25% to the town; some towns can add up to 0.25% more, so ask your attorney which rate applies on your closing date (CGS 12-494). On $247,100, the base is $1,853.25 to the state and $617.75 to the City of Hartford, about $2,471. Across Hartford County, the state part is the same; the town part goes to whichever town the home is in.

Then the property tax proration. Connecticut towns assess at 70% of value (CGS 12-62a). Hartford’s mill rate is 69.95 for fiscal year 2027, up from 68.95 for 2026; West Hartford’s is 46.77 and East Hartford’s 47.24 (CT open data). On a $247,100 value, that’s an assessment of $172,970 and a yearly tax of about $12,099. Your attorney splits it at closing so you pay up to the closing date. Our page on the Connecticut mill rate explains the bill.

If the buyer has a loan, their lender sends the Closing Disclosure before closing. The federal consumer resources on real estate transactions and mortgage processes at the CFPB explain each line. Check your price first with a tool to estimate your Hartford home’s value.

How do you list a Hartford home by owner?

On Smart MLS, which covers most of Connecticut. Beycome lists Hartford homes there (Beycome internal data, October 2026) through Beycome of Connecticut, a DBA of the licensed Connecticut broker; here’s how Beycome expanded to Connecticut. You can start your FSBO listing in Hartford with Beycome for $99 (Basic), with $0 due to Beycome at closing. Want an expert to negotiate while you make each call? Concierge is $1,399.

More Connecticut reading: selling by owner in Connecticut. Buyers looking at by-owner homes can read how to buy a FSBO home with confidence.

Buying in the Hartford area next? The Beycome buyer program has no upfront fee and is open to every buyer on homes listed by other agents. Beycome keeps 1% of the price (minimum $1,499) and credits the rest of the buyer-agent commission at closing, with lender approval. On a $400,000 home with 3% offered, that’s $8,000 back. The credit can’t apply where no buyer-agent commission is offered, like most FSBO homes, or on homes listed by Beycome sellers.

Frequently asked questions about selling a house by owner in Hartford, CT