February 4, 2011 (Shirley Allen)

Not only is your home probably the largest purchase you’ll ever make, the amount of paperwork involved with the purchase of your home is enough to make an environmentalist cringe! The main reasons to keep your documents are for future reference, meaning for your own review, or in the event you need to file a claim, either against the seller, your professional representation team or contractors.

So with all of that paperwork, how do you know which ones to keep and file away for future use? Here are a few of the “must save” items:

1. Truth in Lending statement: This handy paperwork helps to summarize the details of your mortgage, including your percentage rate.

2. Insurance: Not only does it serve for proof of coverage, but just in the case you need to make a claim, you will have contact and coverage information on hand. Make sure you update this if you change insurance companies.

3. Deed: This paperwork proves that the property has “indeed” been transferred to your ownership.

4. Riders: These are sale contract changes (amendments) that affect you directly.

5. HUD-1 Settlement Statement: This is a great itemized list of your closing costs. It will be especially important for when it comes time to pay income taxes.

6. CCR Rules: With so many communities now “master-planned communities” Keeping your CCR is important in case you decide to make improvements and upgrades to your home. If you go to sale your home later, potential buyers may want to read it.

The most important thing is to keep it organized. If you sold another home to purchase your current home, don’t mix your paperwork up. Make sure you keep it in separate files. It’s best to store all of your important documents in a fire proof safe.

For a more in depth list of items to keep, be sure to ask your lender and real estate agent.

Tags: closing paperwork, home purchase, truth in lending, insurance, hud-1 statement, ccr, deed, riders