The Home Sale Paperwork You Need to Know

Home sale paperwork will depend heavily on the province of the home, but it doesn't hurt to become familiar with the general rules before gathering up the documents in preparation of selling a home. Home sale paperwork used to be fairly minimal. However, the number of disputes and confusion that stemmed from a lack of data triggered a more rigorous process for organizing the information. The perk of taking the time to understand the principles behind paperwork is that it can make the escrow period fly by if sellers take the time to do the legwork.

Documents for the Buyer

A thorough buyer is going to want to know what the seller paid in property taxes last year, the expiration date of the warranty, and how much was spent on electricity. They're going to want to know how much effort a seller had to put into fixing the toilet that broke five years ago. All of this information makes it easier for them to decide if the home and the neighborhood are right for them. Starting with the essential facts can really help sell the home—even if it's not technically required in a province. Sellers should also encourage buyers to ask questions to find out more about what day-to-day life is really like.

Getting Ready for Research

Some provinces are going to ask the seller to find the original property or tax assessment of the home. Sellers may also need to have a surveyor come out to give their opinion on the property. In addition, sellers should become very familiar with the Standard Agreement of Purchase and Sale form, where they'll list the inclusions of the home to the buyer. In Canada, all fixtures belong to the buyer while all chattel (personal possessions) belong to the seller. If there are any discrepancies to this rule, then the agreement will have to explicitly state them in order for it to be valid. So if a satellite dish is left behind by the seller, they're allowed to ask for it back if it was never specifically stated as an inclusion.

The Title Search

One of the most important steps during escrow (and sometimes the most complicated), buyers will generally verify the actual owner status of the property before taking hold of it. Sellers can sometimes make mistakes or even commit outright fraud during the sales process. They may think they own 5 acres of land, when really the neighbor believes they own a full acre of it. Or they may think their divorce has been settled until an ex-spouse pops up to claim that half the property is theirs. They may even have a lien on the home in Heritage Hills that was never settled with the original lender! Collecting the deed and financial information for the home can go a long way to speeding up the process.

Home sale paperwork can be complicated, so talking to a real estate professional is usually a necessity rather than a luxury. Even one mistake on the final paperwork can set an escrow period back days or even weeks. Worse, a mistake could end in legal action! To make sure that every punctuation mark is picture-perfect, it helps to have an experienced real estate agent involved. But no matter how good an agent may be, a seller will still need to bear some responsibility (and do some work) to ensure they don't delay the sales process.