All the documents needed to sell your house

You are about to move to another city and have thought about selling your house in order to be able to purchase a new one without getting into too much debt. You may wonder what documents you need to sell your house. In fact, it is the bureaucratic part that scares you the most. Also because you cannot afford to arrive at the last moment, in front of the notary for the deed, and discover that you are missing a couple of papers. 

An always comfortable and convenient solution is to rely on a professional in the sector who will give you a hand not only in selling the house but also in preparing the necessary documents. A real estate agent, in short. Whether you make this choice or decide to do everything yourself, it is still advisable to be informed of what is needed. Let's review what will certainly be necessary to put in the document binder to sell the house.

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The seller's documents

We start from the ABC: those who sell a house will have to present their identification documents, that is identity card and tax code. If requested, the certificate will also be needed marital status or the extract of the marriage certificate, to find out if there may be other subjects with real rights on the property. 

The cadastral part

Between the documents necessary to sell a house there are at least two that have to do with the land registry. One is the cadastral survey, or the document that unequivocally identifies the property being sold. It therefore reports information such as the cadastral category of the property, the class, the cadastral income, the consistency.

Not only that: the title search also contains the personal data of those who have real rights over the property, for example your data if you are the owner of the house, but also those of a possible usufructuary. However, this is information that is not normally updated in the Land Registry registers, so it is necessary to check.

Then there is the mortgage certificate. It is a search that allows us to understand whether a person, natural or legal, is the owner of a property through the verification of the transcriptions for and against that person, as well as to determine whether there are any encumbrances on the property (for example a mortgage or a summons). This type of measurement also allows us to know how the right to the property came about, i.e. whether the current owner bought it, inherited it, received it as a donation, etc.

The other cadastral document is the plan. It is, simply, the drawing of the property which shows the distribution and measurements of the rooms. Be careful, however: you shouldn't be satisfied with the form found in the land registry, because the one that is authentic is the plan filed with the Municipality. It is therefore essential to verify in the municipal technical office that the actual state of the property coincides with what appears in the land register. 

The certificates

We now mention three certificates to put in the famous binder documents for selling a house:

• the certificate or request for usability or habitability: it certifies that it is possible to live in that property as the hygienic-sanitary conditions are in place, the systems are compliant and safe and the building complies with the construction project;
• the energy performance certificate: known as the Ape, it is another of the essential documents to be able to sell a house. So important that even real estate agencies are obliged to report it when they advertise a property to be put on the market;
• the urban planning destination certificate: also known as Cdu and available from the Technical Office of the Municipality, it is a document that reports the intended use of the area pertaining to the property. It is normally required in large villas or properties with large land around them. 

Documents on the past of the property

Some documents for the selling a house they talk about the past of the property and how the seller came into possession of the real right.

In particular, the qualifying building permit it is requested for newly built properties or for those in which an urban or building renovation has been carried out, especially if these works have modified the cadastral plan we talked about before. In practice, it is the building permit issued by the Municipality and any variations compared to the initial project.

Then there is the deed of origin, which is the one that certifies the ownership of the real right on the house by a natural or legal person. It may be a sentence from a judge or a private deed or a notarial deed which, for example, certifies a successful sale or acceptance of an inheritance.

It is also advisable to present the conformity certifications of the systems and the boiler booklet issued by the qualified technicians.

The documents in the condominium 

If the house you want to sell is located in a condominium, among the documents you must deliver to the buyer there must be the condominium regulation, mandatory if there are at least 11 co-owners in the building.

If the condominium is managed by an administrator, you must ask for a certificate demonstrating the regular payment of expenses and the situation regarding any arrears so that the buyer cannot be asked for money already paid by the seller: for two years, in fact, the buyer is liable for expenses not paid by the seller.

Documents in particular cases

It may happen that the house to be sold is encumbered by a mutual which passes into the hands of the buyer. In this case, a copy of the financing contract must be presented. Furthermore, if the property is rented to a third person, the rental contract is needed. The last document to be delivered to the notary at the time of the deed, but not least, is a copy of the payment instrument used for any deposit paid (bank draft, bank transfer, etc.).