Selling: 2. Gather Paperwork & Partners

Know the process and your team!

Are you ready?
You've done the research to get a sales price for your home. Before you proceed, you need to be 100% sure that this is exactly what you want to do. Selling a home is serious business, and once you accept an agreement, you are legally bound to complete it.

Title Company and Closing Officer
Luckily, in New Mexico, you've got an excellent ally on your side. Closing officers at title companies can have all the authority of a real estate attorney. Before anyone sets foot inside your home to view it, you should let a title company know that you are selling your home by owner and that you will need a closing officer. Refer to our Santa Fe Title Companies list, or choose your own - make an appointment, interview a closing officer. These are very professional, friendly and helpful offices. Title companies may be able to provide you with every piece of paperwork that you need to sell your house - just ask them!

While there will be more coordination later on with the title company, the important reason to get this set before you show your house is that you will ask the closing officer to whom the earnest money check should be made out to. The earnest money is a portion of the purchase price, which is held in escrow to establish the seriousness of buyers and move you towards closing. Ask your title company.

It is the job of the title company to act as an escrow agent, a holder of documents as you progress, and an impartial third party. The title company makes sure that the final agreement is satisfactory to all parties involved.

Real Estate Attorneys
Even with the help of a title company, some people choose to speak to a real estate attorney, which is never a bad idea. See our terms of use for the importance and responsibility you have for the decisions you make. Selling anything other than a single family residential home may have important, additional legal considerations than are mentioned in these steps, and you should definitely consult an attorney.

Seller financing is a fantastic opportunity for selling your house - you get liquidity for further investments, and you make monthly cash flow on the house itself. While seller financing documents can be simple, there are especially important legal and financial consequences and you really need to hire a professional.

Communication Facilitation
Once you have a buyer, you are going to be faxing a lot of documents back and forth. Make sure that you have a fax machine and fax line, or have easy, immediate access to one. You will need to be able to receive and respond quickly to fax and phone communication!

The Process
The largest question in the minds of home owners going FSBO for the first time is "How do I get to closing?" As with other legal processes, there will be a lot of paperwork to assemble and information to communicate with your lender, title company and buyer. As the buyer solidifies their financing in preparation for closing, you are getting ready to payoff all amounts due on loans, guarantee your title to the home and the condition of it.

• You go to closing a day or so before the buyer(s) and clear and sign over all of this paperwork with the help of your title company closing officer;
• The buyer then goes to their closing to finalize and start their loan;
• When the buyer is funded a couple of days later:
  • You (probably your title company) hand over the keys
  • Your loans get paid off; and
  • You get a check!
  • Note that funding date is later than the closing date

As always, your title company should be completely happy to answer your questions on this - it's part of what they're paid to do!

Gather Paperwork
Your title company and lender will be asking you for paperwork as you move towards closing, but the papers below are what you're going to be needing first and you'll need to get them ready now:

• Property Condition Disclosure Statement - see this example You'll provide this to buyer(s). As with all forms linked from this website, refer to your title company, real estate attorney and our terms of use.
• Improvement Location Report or Boundary Survey (It's great to include an informal "plat" with your sales sheet), ask your title company or real estate attorney
• City/County real estate records of the "legal lot of record"
• The legal description of your propery (goes into your purchase agreement, possibly as an attachment)
• Any local rules and regulations, such as home owners association agreements or covenants (CC&Rs)

As soon as you accept a purchase agreement, you'll be required to order title insurance, also formally known as a "commitment for a New Mexico ALTA owner's policy of title insurance covering the Property from the Title Company in the name of the Buyer and in the amount of the Purchase Price". You can get through these forms - just take them one at a time, and ask your title company or real estate attorney anytime you have a question. This paperwork is nearly all of the "Sell By Owner Battle!"

More Paperwork: Offer to Purchase and Real Estate Sales Agreement
There are pros and cons to having your own agreements. The biggest pro is that you're fully prepared for all buyers and offers that walk through your door. The con is that a buyer may be more wary of a form that you've printed out - and they may instead want to bring their own (and you'll be wary of that) or to use a pre-printed form. You should ask what your title company has available - a pre-printed document from the title company is safe middle ground and you can be done with this complicated part of the process! If not, see the FAQ links below to purchase or print forms.

While the Offer to Purchase and Real Estate Sales Agreement can be two separate documents, they are also commonly created as one document. At a minimum, the offer itself usually includes:

• Deposit (earnest money) amount
• Total purchase price
• A time frame (typically one day) in which the seller must respond with acceptance, rejection or further terms to the buyer, and how/to whom (fax? buyer or buyer's representative/real estate attorney?) the seller will send the acceptance

And the Sales Agreement usually includes:

• Name and current address of buyer and seller
• Common street address of premises for sale
• exclusions, if any
• deed and title policy information
• Buyer's access to premises information
• distribution of closing costs and prorations (you the seller are fully responsible for the property expenses through the date of closing)
• closing date and possession
• name of title insurance company
• title, financing, lead hazard and inspection contingencies and time frames
• terms for amounts of time to respond to communications
• post-occupancy information if the seller won't have moved out before closing

A little more paperwork: Lead Based Paint Information
Before any buyer can make an offer, you'll need to provide them with these two forms:

1. EPA Document "Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home" PDF
2. Seller-filled-out copy of "Lead Warning Statement" PDF

Seller Financing
A surprising number of properties, especially FSBO properties can carry seller financing options - which can be very attractive to a buyer. It is beyond the scope of these steps to advise you how to finance the sale of your home. For that you will definitely need to contact a real estate attorney.

Frequently asked questions on this page

Q: Where can I get offers and agreements?
A:

• Buy an Offer To Purchase at Office Depot for $5
• Download an Offer To Purchase from Socrates Media for $10

• Buy a Real Estate Sales Agreement at Office Depot for $5
• Download a Real Estate Sales Agreement from Socrates Media for $15

See all frequently asked questions