Whether buying or selling a home, the process entails reviewing, signing, and organizing a vast array of documents. Real estate transactions can be huge commitments with a lot of money on the line, so you likely have enough stress to worry about without all the paperwork dominating your life. You might find, though, that efficiently managing your contracts, bills, and insurance records will empower you to approach the transaction with greater clarity of mind. By learning a few methods for organizing paperwork, the home buying or selling process can go much smoother.
1. Organize Documents by Type and Date
Experts explain that file management is important because it allows you to quickly find important documents in a centralized location. Having a system in place also reduces the risk of filing errors, which can save you precious time searching for documents that get stored incorrectly.
Proper labeling is the basis of any good file management system. Start by designating folders for certain types of documents, such as insurance records or mortgage statements. Within each individual folder, sort documents by date so you can easily browse through and find what you need.
2. Be Consistent When Naming Files and Folders
Keep in mind that during a real estate transaction, you might need to dig up records that are at least several years old. This illustrates the importance of being consistent with how you name your files and folders, as you might not otherwise remember where you stored certain documents.
As one example of this, you might choose to consistently include the year in each folder’s label. Additionally, you might commit to using tabs within your folders to mark off groups of documents by month. These consistent naming principles can also be highly effective if you choose to digitize your records.
3. Digitize Your Documents
Choosing to organize your documents digitally is a great way to ensure that you always have access to your files. After using a scanner or mobile scanning app to digitize your records, you can keep copies on your computer hard drive and in the cloud for remote access from any of your devices.
To keep your digital records even tidier, consider using a PDF extractor tool. With this, it is possible to extract many individual pages into one larger PDF file. By doing so, you can keep all related records stored in one convenient file.
4. Research Mortgages Ahead of Time
When buying a home, it is very important to consider your mortgage options. Applying for a mortgage means taking on even more paperwork, so it is a good idea to start the process early so as to avoid disrupting your organization system later on.
Lenders will review your credit score, income, and your requested borrowing amount when you apply for a mortgage. These factors will affect the interest rate you will pay on the loan, which should inform how much you can afford when conducting your house hunt.
When you’re ready to find an affordable mortgage with a lender you can trust, reach out to Dominion Lending Centres.
While conducting proper mortgage research and organizing digital documents can relieve a lot of stress, the last thing you need is an additional layer of stress and complication on top of your existing paperwork load. By keeping your documents organized and managing your paperwork, the process will go much smoother.