What Paperwork Should You Gather Before Selling a Home in Estero?

Start with six things: the home's permit record, your association documents and the names of every association the home belongs to, the details of any CDD charge on your tax bill, your current insurance policies with a recent wind mitigation report, the warranties and service records for the roof and major systems, and the written disclosures Florida requires from sellers. With that folder ready before the first showing, you can answer the questions Estero buyers ask first, and the contract is far less likely to stall during the inspection period or while waiting on an association.

I am Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, and I help buyers and sellers in Estero and eight other Southwest Florida markets. So much of Estero is built as master-planned communities that nearly every sale here involves at least one association, and the paperwork behind a home often decides how smoothly it closes. This is where I start with every seller here.

Because three different parties need answers from you, not just the buyer. The buyer's lender and insurance agent want to know how old the roof and systems are and what protects the windows and doors. The title company needs to know every association the home sits in and whether a CDD charge applies. And the association itself may need to approve the buyer before closing. Each one works on its own clock.

A seller who can hand over a document for each question, rather than a memory, saves days at every step. A seller who cannot will usually see the same questions come back later as inspection requests, insurance delays or a closing date that slips.

The Village of Estero handles building permits for homes inside its limits, so ask for the full permit history on your address and read it before a buyer does. Look for three things.

• Open or expired permits. A permit that was opened and never closed with a final inspection is one of the most common problems a buyer's permit search turns up. Closing one out takes time, so find it before you choose a list date.
• The roof, air conditioning, water heater and windows. Replacements of these usually needed permits, and the finals are what show a buyer and an insurer the work was done and checked.
• The pool, the screen enclosure and any addition. The Village lists screen enclosures among the work that needs a building permit, so a rebuilt pool cage should have one.

If some work was done without a permit, tell me early. There is usually a way to deal with it, and that path is much easier to plan before the home is on the market than in the middle of a contract.

Start by listing every association the home belongs to. Many Estero homes sit in a master association that runs the gate, roads and shared amenities and a neighborhood or condominium association for the individual village or building. For each one, gather the declaration, bylaws, rules, the current budget, your latest statement and the management company's contact details. If the home is in a condominium, Florida law entitles the buyer to a set of association documents, and a complete set delivered quickly protects your sale.

Then find out two things from each association. First, whether it requires a buyer application or approval before closing, and how long that usually takes, because it is often the slowest part of an Estero sale. Second, whether any special assessment has been approved or is being discussed, because buyers will ask. The title company will order an estoppel certificate from each association once you are under contract, and my article on HOA estoppel certificates in Estero explains what that statement shows.

Then gather your most recent property tax bill and find the CDD line on it. A community development district is a special district that can levy its own assessments, and in Estero those usually appear on the county tax bill rather than on the association's statement. Florida law requires a contract for a home in a CDD to include a notice about the district's taxes and assessments, so the buyer will see it either way.

Ask the district whether its debt assessment can be paid off early, and whether you have already done that. A buyer will want to know whether the debt portion of the charge continues and for how long, and a clear answer helps them compare your home with one nearby that has no CDD at all. My article on CDD fees versus HOA fees in Estero explains the difference buyers are weighing.

These come up on nearly every sale here.

• A recent wind mitigation report. It records the features insurers price on, such as how the roof is attached and whether the windows and doors are protected. Buyers want insurance quotes in the first days of the contract, and a current report speeds that up. My article on hurricane shutters and impact windows in Estero covers what buyers look for on the openings.
• Your current homeowners and flood policies. Have the declarations pages ready. A flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program can usually be assigned to the buyer at closing; ask your insurance agent how that works for yours.
• An elevation certificate, if you have one. Not every Estero home needs flood insurance, but a buyer whose lender requires it will ask. My article on flood insurance in Estero explains how flood zones work here.
• Warranties and service records. Roof and air conditioning invoices, service records and any transferable warranty. If the home is still within a builder's warranty, find out whether it transfers and what you need to do to transfer it.

Florida has long required sellers to disclose known facts that materially affect a home's value and are not readily observable to a buyer. Section 689.302 of the Florida Statutes adds a written flood disclosure that the seller of residential property must give the buyer at or before the time the contract is signed. It asks about flooding you know damaged the property while you owned it, flood insurance claims you filed, and help you received from any source to repair flood damage. Even if your home has never flooded, the form still has to be completed.

If the home is in a homeowners association, Florida law also requires the buyer to receive a disclosure summary about the association, and the standard contract forms account for it. Gather your claim records and repair invoices before you complete any of these forms, and answer each question with what you actually know. If you are unsure how to answer something, ask a real estate attorney before you sign it.

Two items. First, your most recent property tax bill, so a buyer can see the current taxes and the CDD line if there is one, and understand that the home will be reassessed after the sale. Second, if the home is your homestead and you plan to buy another home in Florida, ask the Lee County Property Appraiser about portability, which can let you carry some of your accumulated tax savings to the next homestead if you apply on time. My article on the homestead exemption in Estero explains how it works from the buyer's side. Your tax adviser can tell you how the sale itself affects you.

Before you choose a list date. Permit searches and close-outs, association documents and an association's approval process all take time, and none of them move faster once a buyer is waiting. I start this list in my first conversation with a seller, as part of how I sell a home, so the paperwork is ready before the photographs are.

My page on selling your home in Estero covers pricing, timing and marketing here. If you are thinking about selling and want to know what your own folder is missing, get in touch or call (239) 300-1427, and we can go through it item by item.

This article is a general overview and is not legal, tax or insurance advice about any particular property. Confirm the specifics with a real estate attorney, your title company, your insurance agent, your tax adviser, your association and the Village of Estero.