Preparing to Sell Your House

If you are considering selling your house, there are some documents which you should gather so that you may streamline the process when you obtain a buyer for your house:

1. The deed which you obtained when you purchased the house. This will supply such important information such as the correct owners of the house as well as the spelling of their names as they appear in the county records. The deed will also supply the legal description of the property.

2. The most current tax bill for your property. This will contain the most recent tax block and lot description to be used in preparing the contract for the sale. While the deed may also contain a tax lot and block, these may change over time and using the tax bill will provide the most current information.

3. The survey which was performed when you purchased the property. Although not everyone had a survey performed when they purchased their property, in most cases surveys were done. The survey will graphically describe the property and will show you and the buyer the exact dimensions of the property. Additionally, the buyer may be able to use the same survey company which may speed up the survey process and the closing of title.

4. The title insurance policy which you obtained when you purchased the property. This will assist the buyer in performing their own title search because they may use the same company as you. This may speed up the closing process since the title company may not have to conduct a full search. In addition, providing your title insurance policy to the buyer may clear up potential title issues before they become major issues.

5. If you have a mortgage or home equity loan on your property, you should obtain the names, addresses, telephone numbers and account numbers for each mortgage or home equity loan. This will assist the buyer’s attorney in obtaining information so that those loans can be paid off at the time of the closing.

6. If you live in a condominium, an adult community or other development where there are association fees, you should obtain the name, address and telephone number of the association so that the buyer can obtain information from the association. In addition, it is a good idea to gather the most recent association documents to provide to the buyer so that they will know the restrictions, rules and regulations of the association before they go into contract on the property.

7. If you have any warranties or service plans for the appliances and systems for your house, you may wish to provide them to the buyer as this may make you house more attractive to potential buyers if they know that certain items in your house are under warranty.

By assembling these items before you find a buyer for your house, it will speed up the contract process and the sale of your house.

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