What Documents Do I Need to Sell My House in Texas? The List, Before the Sign Goes Up

It helps to know who is who:

• You gather what only you have: your receipts, your warranties, your details.
• The title company confirms the house is legally yours, checks for debts or liens against it, requests the exact payoff from your lender and handles the money on closing day.
• I explain every document, tell you which one is needed when, and make sure nothing gets delayed because a paper was missing.

1. Who you are and who is on the title

• Current ID for every person listed as an owner.
• Knowing who is on the title. Normally, everyone listed as an owner signs the sale. If someone passed away, if there was a divorce, or if a relative is still on the title, say so from the start. It can be worked out, but it takes time and sometimes needs an attorney.

2. Your mortgage

• Your latest statement and loan number.
• If you have a second loan or a line of credit on the house, that too.

With that, the title company requests the exact balance for closing day. That balance is paid from the sale proceeds. If you want to see how what you keep is figured, start with How much will I walk away with if I sell my house?

3. The house on paper

• Your deed or the papers from when you bought. If you cannot find them, do not worry. The title company can pull the record.
• The survey, a drawing of the lot with the boundaries and what is built on it. If you have the one from when you bought, keep it. Sometimes it can be reused, and that is up to the title company and the buyer's lender.
• Homeowners association (HOA) details, if there is one: name, contact, rules and what you pay.

4. Your home's history

• Receipts for major work: roof, foundation, air conditioning, water heater, plumbing.
• Warranties that transfer to the new owner, if any (for example, a foundation repair with a warranty).
• Permits for additions or remodels, if you pulled them.

These are the papers that protect the most money. When the buyer inspects and asks questions, a receipt answers in one minute what turns into a negotiation without it.

5. The disclosure form

In most Texas sales, the seller puts in writing what they know about the condition of the house. I covered it fully in Do I have to tell the buyer about problems in my house?

6. What you hand over the day you leave

Keys, garage remotes, alarm or gate codes, and manuals for the appliances that stay. It seems small, but it is what the buyer remembers about day one.

• Waiting to have everything before calling. The list gets built alongside the plan, not before it.
• Finding out late that someone else is on the title. It is one of the things that delays a closing the most.
• Throwing out repair receipts. Keep them even if they are old.
• Forgetting the second loan or line of credit. It gets paid at closing too.

When you sell and buy in the same year, the paperwork for the sale and for your new loan cross paths. Your purchase lender will ask about your current home. That is why I keep both in one folder and on one calendar. Here is what that looks like in The plan on paper.

Do I need an attorney to sell my house in Texas?

In many sales, the title company and the TREC forms cover the process. If there is an inheritance, a divorce, or a question about who owns the house, an attorney is a good idea.

I lost my deed. Can I still sell?

Yes. The title company checks the county record.

How far ahead should I gather the paperwork?

From the first meeting. That way, when an offer comes in, there is nothing to hunt for.

You do not need everything perfect to start. You need to know what is missing and who gets it.

Which of these papers do you not know where you put?

Text or email me your address and I will send you the list made for your situation, with what you already have and what is missing. No commitment, nothing to sign.

I am Veronica Yeary, a REALTOR in Dallas-Fort Worth, CRS, ABR, SRS and CIPS, in real estate since 2010. I sell your home and find the next one with a single plan, with me, start to finish.

469-441-8890 · Text or call · veronica@veronicayeary.com · Email