Since the start of the pandemic, the real estate market has experienced various ups and downs.
Whether you’re planning to buy or sell a home, understanding the ins and outs of the process is
essential to ensure a smooth and successful transaction. Today, Harcourts Home Oregon Coast
will explore a step-by-step process for home buying and selling, which covers common types of
documentation you’ll need to collate and verify for making an informed decision.
Common Paperwork Needed in the Home Buying/Selling Process
Even before you reach out to potential sellers, here is a list of documents you should have in
hand:
? Credit Report:
This report is a comprehensive summary of your credit history, which
covers information regarding your spending history, how and when you’ve made debt
repayments, and other credit-related information. Canadians can access their credit
report for free from Equifax or TransUnion.
? Proof of Income:
A letter of employment, recent pay stubs, and tax returns for the past
2-5 years are common documents requested by lenders and sellers when accessing
your application.
? Property Information &x; Appraisal: When selling a home, you’ll need to collate all
property-related documents, such as the title deed and property contracts, in addition to
conducting an appraisal, which takes into account renovations and upgrades made to
the home to ascertain its current selling price.
Securing Funding for a New Home
Once you have collated the above-mentioned documents, you can turn your attention towards
securing a mortgage from banks to purchase a home. But documentation requirements between
lenders can vary to include the following requirements, as well.
Keeping Documents Digitally Organized and Secure
During the home buying/selling process, you will submit numerous applications to real estate
agents, lenders, and more. Rather than using paper copies of important documents, consider
digitally storing them on the cloud for ease of access and security. Here’s how:
? Scan Documents as Word or PDFs: These are two commonly used file formats that
are easily editable and shareable, and you can change a file back to its original format
quickly, depending on your needs. Additionally, when it comes to PDFs, you can encrypt
your file and password-protect it to ensure your sensitive personal information never falls
into the hands of bad actors.
? Follow A Naming Convention: Develop a consistent naming convention for your files,
which makes it easy to sort and share them with required individuals as and when
needed.
? Use Color Coding: Given that you will retain original documents in paper format,
consider color coding them based on type, such as financial, personal identification,
property documents, etc. This will automatically create a sound filing system that can be
followed when including new documents in the future.
Navigating the real estate market can be challenging, especially for first-time homebuyers. But,
following an organized approach towards collecting and storing important documents is bound
to make the process easier and streamlined. From obtaining a credit report to sharing property-
related documents, all of these tasks can be managed digitally by storing documents as a
PDF/Word file on the cloud and sharing it digitally with relevant stakeholders.
If you’re looking to buy or sell real estate, call Harcourts Home Oregon Coast today at
(541) 921-5315.