CHASING PAPER
NEW ESCROW, LIST SIDE
WHO
PROPERTY
SELLER
CONTRACT
OTHER SIDE
VENDORS
ADMIN
WHOSE ESCROW
Who you are and who signs for your broker. Everything after this is about the file.
Your brokerage
Does your broker review before anything goes out for signature?
Did this listing launch through Chasing Paper?
Yes
No, it came in another way
If it did, everything from the listing launch is already in the property folder and this form will not ask you for any of it again. Say no and it asks for the whole picture.
Are you representing the buyer too?
Yes, I have both sides
No, another agent brought the buyer
A double end changes the paperwork, not just the cheque. Everyone has to sign the agency disclosure and there is no cooperating broker to work with.
THE PROPERTY
What sold, and what is attached to it.
What kind of property is it?
Single family
Condo
Townhome
PUD
2 to 4 units
Manufactured
Land
Each one pulls a different disclosure set.
Who is in it right now?
Owner occupied
Tenant occupied
Vacant
THE TENANCY
What happens to them at close?
Buyer takes it tenant occupied
Delivered vacant
Not decided
Delivered vacant means a move out date the seller has to hit, and it goes on the calendar the day escrow opens.
WHILE IT SITS EMPTY
Are the utilities on?
Inspections and the appraisal need them on, so this usually has to be handled in the first week.
Is there an HOA?
THE ASSOCIATION
Have the HOA documents been ordered?
Already have them
Ordered
Not yet
HOA document delivery runs on its own clock and is the single most common reason a sell side file misses a date.
Is there a second association?
Has anything changed since the listing launch?
Occupancy is the usual one. If it was tenant occupied at listing and the tenant is gone, or it was owner occupied and they have already moved out, say so here. Everything else carries over from the listing.
HOA documents
No HOA
Already have them
Ordered
Not yet
These run on their own clock and are the most common reason a sell side file misses a date.
THE SELLER
Who is signing, and how title is held.
The sellers
+ ADD ANOTHER SELLER
How is title held?
Individuals
A trust
An entity
Estate, probate or conservatorship
Under a Power of Attorney
This decides who signs and what has to come with the signature.
THE TRUST
Is the original trustee still the one signing?
Yes
No, a successor trustee is signing
Do not know yet
A successor trustee needs the certification of trust plus whatever title asks for to prove the handoff. Escrow will ask in week one.
THE ENTITY AND WHO SIGNS FOR IT
THE POWER OF ATTORNEY
Is it recorded?
Title has to approve the Power of Attorney before close and will usually want it recorded. A specific one naming this property is safer than a general one.
THE ESTATE
Full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act?
Full authority
Limited, court confirmation needed
Do not know yet
Limited authority means a court confirmation and overbid, which changes the timeline and the forms completely.
Is there a loan to pay off?
THE PAYOFF
Does it pay off normally?
Yes, normally at closing
No, it comes up short
In default or notice of default
HEADS UP
A short payoff or a default puts a lender approval in front of the close date, and escrow needs to know on day one.
Is the seller buying something else as part of this?
THE REPLACEMENT
If the two have to close together, that is a contingency and a coordinated close, not a preference.
When is the seller usually reachable?
Mornings
Afternoons
Any time
Signings get scheduled around this.
THE CONTRACT
The numbers and the dates. This is what the whole calendar is built from.
The contract date is what is printed on the RPA.
Acceptance date is the date the last signature landed and delivery was made, and every contingency is based off of.
The deposit
A dollar amount
A percentage
How is the buyer paying?
THE FINANCING
What kind of loan?
Conventional
FHA
VA
Jumbo
Something else
The down payment
A dollar amount
A percentage
Contingency periods
Any of them waived up front?
Investigation waived
Appraisal waived
Loan waived
Leave them blank and 17 days is assumed, which is what the current RPA defaults to.
Is the seller giving a credit?
Is the seller staying after close?
THE RENT BACK
29 days or less is form SIP, the Seller in Possession Addendum
30 days or more is form RLAS, a Residential Lease After Sale
PITI means Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance.
What does the seller pay?
Free
PITI
Per diem
Something else
Who is paying the TC fee?
THE OTHER SIDE
Who we are working with for the next thirty days.
The buyers
+ ADD ANOTHER BUYER
Names exactly as they read on the contract, since this is what goes on the deed.
How is the buyer taking title?
Individuals
A trust
An entity
Under a Power of Attorney
HOW THEY ARE TAKING TITLE
Escrow needs this exactly right for the deed, and getting it wrong at the end means re-recording.
THE POWER OF ATTORNEY
Title has to approve the Power of Attorney before close, and a specific one naming this property is safer than a general one.
BOTH SIDES
You are the selling agent, so there is nothing to collect here. The agency disclosure needs signing by the buyer and the seller, and the commission below is all yours.
Does the selling agent have a TC?
Buyer's lender
On the sell side this is who gets chased about the appraisal and loan contingency, so it is worth having before you need it.
VENDORS
Who is holding the money, the title and the paperwork, and what has actually been opened.
Has the NHD been ordered?
Is retrofit required?
THE RETROFIT
Has it been ordered?
Smoke detectors, CO2 and water heater bracing. The certificate has to be in before close.
Is a city presale inspection required?
THE CITY PRESALE
Has it been ordered?
Cities run their own queue and some take weeks, so this is the one that quietly moves a close date.
Is there a home warranty?
Are there reports already done?
Home inspection
Termite
Sewer
Roof
Pool
Chimney
Foundation
Anything already in hand gets delivered with the disclosure package rather than found later.
DISCLOSURES AND ADMIN
The last few things needed to run the file.
Can disclosures go straight to the seller?
Yes, send them direct
No, route them through me
Utilities and services, for the buyer at closing
All optional. Whatever you fill in here goes to the buyer so they can transfer service without chasing the seller after close.
ON IT
Here is what is happening while you close this tab.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The property folder gets built and shared to your email.
Everything you just answered lands in a doc inside it.
Pilar is notified, and you get a copy.
If you have not already, email the executed contract to
[email protected].