What to hand the buyer when you sell your house

Hand over what the next owner can’t find out alone: the manuals and warranties for what stays, the record of work done with its permits and receipts, the codes and keys, and the people who know the house. Give the disclosures your state and the federal lead rule require, keep a copy of all of it, and keep your own tax records.

What the law asks of you first

What a seller must disclose is set by your state, and the form usually comes from your agent or a real estate attorney. Fill it in from your records, not from memory.

For a house built before 1978, a federal rule adds its own list. The EPA says sellers must “Disclose any known information about the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards,” and “Provide all available records and reports” on it. They must also give buyers the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home and include a Lead Warning Statement in the contract. Buyers get “a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment”, which both sides can agree in writing to lengthen or shorten, and which the buyer can waive (EPA).

If you’ve tested for radon, keep the result for the buyer. The EPA’s advice runs both ways: “If you are buying or selling a home, have it tested for radon” (EPA).

The handover list

What to hand over	Why the next owner needs it
Manuals for every appliance and system that stays	The model number, the filter size and the service schedule are in them.
Warranties that stay with the house	A roof, windows, a furnace or a water heater may still be covered. See the next section.
The record of work done, with dates and who did it	The next roofer or plumber starts from what was done before.
Permits and their final inspections	Your building department keeps them by address, and the buyer can ask too. See How to get your home’s permit history.
Paint colors, with brand and color name	Touch-ups match.
Codes and keys	Garage door remotes, gate and alarm codes, mailbox and shed keys, smart lock and thermostat accounts handed off or reset.
Where the shut-offs are	Water, gas and the main breaker. See How to shut off the water, power and gas.
Who services the house	The pros you’d call again, and the utility and trash companies.
What’s coming due	Filters, the chimney sweep, a roof near the end of its life. See How long does a water heater, furnace or roof last?.

Warranties: some follow the house, some don’t

Whether a warranty carries over to the next owner is in its own words. The FTC tells companies a full warranty covers “anyone who owns the product during the warranty period” (FTC). A limited warranty can end when the thing is sold. The FTC’s own sample says, “Coverage terminates if you sell or otherwise transfer” it.

So for each warranty, read who it covers, and look for words like “original purchaser”. Some makers ask the new owner to register the transfer, or charge a fee, so give the buyer the warranty, the receipt and the maker’s contact. The FTC says to save the receipt with the warranty, because it “proves the date you bought the product” (FTC).

If you bought a home warranty, its own terms say whether it moves to the buyer.

What to keep for yourself

Keep a copy of everything you hand over, and the signed disclosures.

Keep your own tax records too. The IRS says, “Any time you buy real estate, you should keep records to document the property’s adjusted basis,” and “In general, keep these records until 3 years after the due date for your tax return for the year in which you sold your home” (IRS Publication 523). The receipts for improvements belong in that pile: they can raise your basis.

How Homaic does it

Choose your house’s name at the top of the page, then Handover. It’s one sheet for the house, made from what Homaic holds: the house’s papers, each room’s things with their facts and papers, the work done with its day and who did it, the dates coming up and the people to call. It never shows what anything cost. Print it, choose Download as a spreadsheet, or choose Share to send a link with a last day you set. The sheet says whether the link has been opened, and Stop sharing ends it at any time. For what Homaic does when you’re selling, see homaic.io/selling.