What should I get from the seller at closing?
A homeowner's checklist of the keys, documents, manuals, and details worth collecting from the seller when you close on a house.
Closing day is a blur of signatures, but it's also your best chance to collect things you'll wish you had later. Once the seller hands over the keys and moves on, tracking them down gets a lot harder. A little insistence now saves you real headaches in the first year.
Here's what's worth asking for — and worth writing down while the seller is still reachable.
The physical stuff
Keys and access
Ask for every key, and ask what each one opens. It's common to end up with a ring of mystery keys, so label them together while the seller can still tell you which is which.
- House keys (front, back, side, garage entry)
- Mailbox key
- Gate, shed, and outbuilding keys
- Garage door remotes and the keypad code
- Any lockbox or padlock keys
- Smart lock and alarm codes, plus who has access
A good habit for peace of mind: plan to have the locks re-keyed after you move in, since you rarely know who else has a copy.
Remotes, fobs, and openers
Garage openers, gate remotes, and any building fobs (for condos or gated communities) should all come with the house. Confirm how many exist.
The paperwork
This is where most of the lasting value is. Gather everything you can about the systems and history of the home.
Manuals and warranties
- Owner's manuals for appliances, the furnace, water heater, and HVAC
- Warranty documents, especially anything still active (roof, appliances, systems)
- Any home warranty policy the seller is transferring to you
Records of work done
- Receipts and invoices for recent repairs or replacements
- Permits for renovations or additions
- Inspection reports (yours, and any the seller had)
- Roof, septic, or well service records
These tell you the age and condition of major systems — which is exactly what you'll want to know when something needs attention down the road.
Official documents
- The deed and title paperwork (your closing agent handles most of this)
- Survey of the property, if one exists
- HOA documents, rules, and contact information
- Property tax records
The knowledge only the seller has
Some of the most useful things aren't documents at all. Ask the seller these questions before they leave, and write the answers down:
- Where are the main water shutoff and electrical panel?
- Where's the gas shutoff, if applicable?
- Which breaker controls what? (Ask if the panel is labeled.)
- Who are the contractors, plumbers, and electricians they trusted?
- Are there quirks — a temperamental faucet, a door that sticks, a sump pump that runs a lot?
- Where are the septic tank, well, or irrigation controls?
This local knowledge is genuinely hard to reconstruct once the seller is gone. A five-minute conversation now can save you an emergency search for a shutoff valve later.
Leftover supplies
Sellers often leave behind touch-up paint, extra tiles, or spare parts. Ask what's staying, and get the paint colors and finishes written down even if the cans are empty.
Start your home record now
Everything you collect at closing is the foundation of your home's living record. Rather than letting manuals and receipts scatter into a junk drawer, capture them in one place while they're fresh — the appliance ages, the contractor names, the shutoff locations, the paint colors.
Jack's View is built for exactly this: keeping the documents, equipment details, and people connected to your home in one organized record, so the knowledge you gathered on day one is still there years later.
When to call a professional
If the seller can't answer questions about major systems — the age of the roof, the last time the septic was pumped, whether there's knob-and-tube wiring — that's a cue to have a qualified professional inspect and document those systems for you. It's far cheaper to know now than to discover a problem after you've moved in.
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Common questions
- What documents should I make sure I leave closing with?
At minimum, get all keys and remotes, appliance and system manuals, active warranties, records of recent repairs or renovations, HOA documents if applicable, and the closing paperwork your title agent provides. Also write down the seller's answers about shutoff locations and trusted contractors.
- Should I re-key the locks after buying a house?
It's a smart precaution. You rarely know how many copies of the keys are floating around — former owners, cleaners, neighbors, contractors — so having a qualified locksmith re-key or replace the locks gives you a clear starting point on who has access.
- What if the seller doesn't have manuals or repair records?
It happens often. Note the make, model, and rough age of each appliance and system so you can look up manuals online, and consider a professional inspection of the major systems to document their condition. Keep whatever you find in one place so you're building the record going forward.
- What information about the house is hardest to get after closing?
The seller's personal knowledge — shutoff valve locations, which breaker controls what, quirks of the home, and the contractors they trusted. None of it lives in the paperwork, so ask before they leave and write it down right away.
Keep a record your home deserves.
Jack's View is the home management system that remembers so you don't have to. Maintenance, documents, projects, equipment — one place. Built by a homeowner, named for a craftsman.
Start with Jack's View