What Seller Documents YOU Need Before Selling Your Home

Are you going to sell your property and you're wondering which documents are going to be important? In this episode of Aloha O'ahu, we’re going to talk about two specific documents you're going to want to have in hand in advance of selling your home on O'ahu. We’ll learn about everything from the acronym “SRPD” to what a prelim is so you’re best prepared for the selling process. What is an SRPD?

Disclosing Property Issues

Often, the “meatiest” section of the SRPD is the defects, repairs, and replacement section of the report. It is here that sellers need to tell the buyers about past and present issues with the property. These include appliances and the foundation to windows and everything in between.

If you replace the refrigerator, great; write that down. If there was a plumbing leak in your kitchen and you had to have that fixed and the cabinet replaced, include that. This is the place where you let the buyer know every little thing you know about the property so that they are informed and it does not come back to bite. My advice is to disclose, disclose, and disclose everything.

The Preliminary Title ReportThe SRPD

The SRPD is an acronym that stands for “Sellers Real Property Disclosure.” It is a five-plus page document in which the sellers tell the buyer any material facts they know about the property. It’s also required by law.

The sellers disclose everything from general disclosures—like whether a property is in a flood zone—to the utilities and services that are available and their general costs. It will also disclose if the property is part of an association and any improvements that have been made to the property.

Now that we've talked about the SRPD, let's talk about the other document I think you should have: the preliminary title report. The good news is that as a seller, there's no form to complete for this. As your realtor, I will request this document from the title and escrow company.

Their preliminary title report—or prelim for short—contains a lot of specific information about the property. The preliminary title report will give you information such as the property's legal description and the history of the property documents that have been filed up to that point. It can describe any easements or access to the property and the terms under which a title policy will be issued.

When I get a copy of a title report, the first thing I look at is how much the seller owes on the property and if there are any liens. I also check for any encroachments on record and, if so, whether there are any encroachment agreements.

A Smooth Transaction

Why do I advise my clients to have these two documents and other documents in line before we list? As soon as I know that a seller is going to list their house, I start pulling about a dozen or so documents and start compiling information. This is because I do not like real estate surprises.

I want my sellers to be able to go through this process as smoothly as possible. We want to know if any issues need to be resolved—and as many as possible—before we actually go on the market. Neither the buyer nor the seller wants to be in the middle of a transaction and find out that the property cannot be closed on for some reason or another, so it's important to take care of any issues in advance.

I’m Here To Help

I come from the perspective of helping my sellers have the smoothest transaction possible. Part of that is getting our ducks in a row early. So if you have specific questions about getting your home ready to go on the market, please feel free to reach out and ask.

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