Documents To Gather Before Selling Your El Paso Home
Getting your El Paso home ready to sell includes finding the paperwork that explains the property. An organized folder helps you answer questions, identify missing records and give your agent and title company a useful starting point before contract deadlines arrive.
You do not need every item below to begin a conversation. Some records are useful background; others may be required by your property, contract or circumstances. Start with what you have, label what is missing and ask who should obtain the rest.
Stock photo illustrating property-record organization; not an El Paso property, listing or client. Photo: Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels.
1. Start With Your Previous Closing Packet
Look for a copy of your deed, owner’s title insurance policy, settlement statement and existing survey. Keep the property’s legal description with the packet so records can be matched to the correct home. These older documents are background for the title company, not a substitute for its current title work.
Flag ownership questions early, such as a deceased owner, a trust, an old lien or a name change. Let the title company identify what it needs, and involve an attorney when legal advice is necessary. Do not assume a document you found online resolves an ownership issue.
2. Gather Records That Support Your Disclosure Answers
Collect previous inspection reports, repair invoices, treatment records, insurance-related records and notes about known problems. Keep the date, scope of work and supporting paperwork together. Separate what you know from what you still need to investigate.
The current TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice is form 55-1, effective May 28, 2026. It addresses the seller’s knowledge when signed, rather than providing a warranty or replacing inspections. Most residential sales require a disclosure notice, but exceptions exist and this particular form is not the only possible notice.
The current form includes questions about insurance, private-road maintenance, conservation easements and certain storage tanks, along with property-condition questions. Use the current form and answer the questions that apply. Ask your agent or attorney about uncertainty instead of guessing or copying an old answer.
If a report raises questions about the home’s condition, see Should You Get A Pre-Listing Home Inspection In El Paso? for a separate discussion of that optional planning step.
3. Find The Survey, But Check Whether It Can Be Used
Locate the full survey from your purchase, not just a cropped picture or a tax-map screenshot. Make a separate list of changes since it was prepared, such as a fence, addition, patio or other improvement. Do not mark up the original as though you were updating a professional survey.
Under the current TREC resale contract, an existing-survey option calls for the survey plus a T-47 affidavit or T-47.1 declaration within the agreed deadline. The title company and buyer’s lender, if applicable, must accept the documents. Finding an old survey does not guarantee that a new one will be unnecessary.
Ask which document is appropriate, what changes must be described, when delivery is due and who pays if a new survey is needed. The contract’s selected terms matter. Have your agent or title company explain those terms before you rely on the old survey.
4. Match Improvement Records To The Work
For a roof replacement, HVAC installation, addition or other significant project, group the contract or invoice, payment record, permit information, inspection paperwork and warranty. Note the contractor, approximate completion date and any unresolved issue. A receipt alone may not answer whether work needed a permit or received final approval.
For property within the city’s jurisdiction, the City Of El Paso Planning & Inspections resources link to permit and application information. Use them as a starting point for locating records. An empty online search does not establish that a permit was never issued. For addresses outside city jurisdiction, check with the responsible authority.
Read warranty transfer terms rather than promising a buyer that coverage automatically follows the house. Keep any required transfer process or fee with the warranty. Save manuals and service records separately for the eventual handoff.
5. Put HOA Information In Its Own Folder
If an association applies, gather its management contact, recent account statement, governing documents, architectural approvals and any notices about assessments or violations. Tell your agent about questions that remain open.
For covered subdivision associations, Texas Property Code Chapter 207 addresses a current resale package that includes governing documents and a resale certificate with information such as assessments, unpaid amounts and certain violations. Your older papers help with preparation, but they are not a replacement for a current package. Coordinate the request, cost and timing with your agent and title company. Condominium associations follow different provisions.
6. Identify Agreements That May Affect The Sale
Make a list of anything connected to the property that is leased, financed or covered by a separate agreement. Examples may include solar equipment, a security system, a propane tank or an existing tenant lease. Find the actual agreements and ask about payoff, transfer, consent or termination requirements rather than assuming the buyer will take them over.
Also gather any well records, water-rights documents or related agreements. TREC’s water-rights disclosure guidance explains that the current contract may require a separate disclosure. An exemption from the usual Seller’s Disclosure Notice does not automatically settle that question. Ask which requirements apply to your property.
Use A Simple Missing-Records Tracker
For each item, write down four things: the record, whether you have it, who can provide it and the next action. For example: “Survey: missing; ask the prior title company whether a copy is available; confirm acceptance after it is found.” A short tracker is more useful than a large folder with no indication of what remains unresolved.
Have: save a readable copy with a descriptive name and date.
Missing: identify the likely source and ask how to request it.
Needs Review: note the specific question for your agent, title company or attorney.
Private: keep account details and identity documents out of public listing materials and general inquiry forms.
Keep originals secure. Use a sharing method agreed with the intended professional for sensitive records, and confirm who needs each document. Do not email a full closing packet broadly just because one page has been requested.
For the financial side of your preparation, use the El Paso Home Selling Costs And Net Proceeds guide. A current payoff and transaction-specific estimates belong in that separate calculation.
Talk Through What You Have And What Is Missing
You can start with a list of available records, your approximate selling timeline and the questions you want answered. There is no need to send private financial documents in an initial inquiry.
Visit the El Paso Seller Resource Hub for related planning guides, or contact Rene Armijo to discuss your next step.
This checklist is general preparation information, not legal or tax advice. Required documents, disclosures and deadlines depend on the property, transaction and contract. Confirm your situation with the appropriate professionals. Official resources reviewed November 10, 2026.
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